One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was particularly interesting to watch after reading and viewing Silver Linings Playbook because it was a different perspective on people with mental disorders. In Silver Linings Playbook, we didn't get to see Pat when he was in the facility while in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, a mental ward was basically the only setting. One of the most interesting concepts of the film was the relationship between Nurse Ratched and McMurphy. The two are basically polar opposites, but for some reason they seemed to have a weird connection.
Before McMurphy went to the ward, Nurse Ratched had all of the patients on a tight schedule and took pride in maintaining order. When McMurphy came and started to shake everything up, she did everything she could to put him in his place. Nurse Ratched's name comes from the word "ratchet," which is a both a verb and a noun for a device that uses a twisting motion to tighten bolts into place. This is very fitting to her character because she is constantly trying to keep everyone in place while McMurphy causes chaos and makes the other patients riot against her. McMurphy seems like Ratched's worst nightmare, so it confuses me why she voted for him to stay in the hospital. I think she wanted him to stay at the ward because thought she could save him, or make him a better person. I also think she wanted him to stay because she saw the ways he was positively affecting the other characters. In the end, however, it becomes evident that she cannot control McMurphy's crazy schemes and quiets him down once and for all.
Before McMurphy went to the ward, Nurse Ratched had all of the patients on a tight schedule and took pride in maintaining order. When McMurphy came and started to shake everything up, she did everything she could to put him in his place. Nurse Ratched's name comes from the word "ratchet," which is a both a verb and a noun for a device that uses a twisting motion to tighten bolts into place. This is very fitting to her character because she is constantly trying to keep everyone in place while McMurphy causes chaos and makes the other patients riot against her. McMurphy seems like Ratched's worst nightmare, so it confuses me why she voted for him to stay in the hospital. I think she wanted him to stay at the ward because thought she could save him, or make him a better person. I also think she wanted him to stay because she saw the ways he was positively affecting the other characters. In the end, however, it becomes evident that she cannot control McMurphy's crazy schemes and quiets him down once and for all.
If McMurphy was such a menace to Nurse Ratched, for what other reasons do you think she voted for him to stay at the ward?
I thought it was interesting how you compared this film to Silver Linings Playbook... I hadn't really thought about how they are similar and different. But to answer your question I think that Nurse Ratched voted for Mac to stay in the ward because she felt like she was his savior. We had briefly talked about the idea of a savior in class with Mac being the other mens savior. But I think Nurse Ratched saw herself as his. Therefore, she felt as if it was her duty to keep him in the ward and save him, even if that meant ultimately stripping him of his personality.
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