Psychology in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jacob P. Brugh
Fort Mill High School
Psychology in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the film is based off of a critically acclaimed book by the same name written by Ken Kesey. Kesey intended the novel to explore psychological principles and took psychedelic substances to immerse himself in the world of the patients he characterized (Lehmann-Haupt, 2001). The film reflects this, and psychological principles are clearly displayed throughout the movie. The movie is set in a mental institution in Oregon controlled by the domineering Nurse Ratched who uses subtle put downs and her control of resources to subdue the patients of her ward. Randle McMurphy feigns mental …show more content…
McMurphy spends the entire movie attempting to improve the wellbeing of his fellow ward mates. He takes them fishing, teaches them to stand up for themselves, endures shocks for their sake, and shows them the night of their lives. He takes a special interest in Billy, asking him to escape to Canada with him and setting him up with Candy. Nurse McMurphy ruins everything McMurphy hoped to achieve from his time at the institution by shaming Billy into suicide. McMurphy’s hope to improve Billy’s life ended, and he missed his chance for a clean exit when he went to check on the commotion at the office. This fuels his outrage and desire to hurt the nurse leading him to a murder attempt. She destroyed his goals, so his response is to return the favor through bodily injury, exactly what the frustration-aggression principle predicts he would do.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is largely considered one of the greatest films of all time and undeniably one of the most awarded. Viewers are clearly fascinated by this tale of a criminal, his mentally ill followers, and their struggle against a nurse. It is probable that those who enjoy the film found a means of connecting with the eccentric character through the fundamental psychological principles they share. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest shows that even delusional schizophrenics follow many of the same basic principles of psychology as everyone
Jacob P. Brugh
Fort Mill High School
Psychology in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest the film is based off of a critically acclaimed book by the same name written by Ken Kesey. Kesey intended the novel to explore psychological principles and took psychedelic substances to immerse himself in the world of the patients he characterized (Lehmann-Haupt, 2001). The film reflects this, and psychological principles are clearly displayed throughout the movie. The movie is set in a mental institution in Oregon controlled by the domineering Nurse Ratched who uses subtle put downs and her control of resources to subdue the patients of her ward. Randle McMurphy feigns mental …show more content…
McMurphy spends the entire movie attempting to improve the wellbeing of his fellow ward mates. He takes them fishing, teaches them to stand up for themselves, endures shocks for their sake, and shows them the night of their lives. He takes a special interest in Billy, asking him to escape to Canada with him and setting him up with Candy. Nurse McMurphy ruins everything McMurphy hoped to achieve from his time at the institution by shaming Billy into suicide. McMurphy’s hope to improve Billy’s life ended, and he missed his chance for a clean exit when he went to check on the commotion at the office. This fuels his outrage and desire to hurt the nurse leading him to a murder attempt. She destroyed his goals, so his response is to return the favor through bodily injury, exactly what the frustration-aggression principle predicts he would do.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is largely considered one of the greatest films of all time and undeniably one of the most awarded. Viewers are clearly fascinated by this tale of a criminal, his mentally ill followers, and their struggle against a nurse. It is probable that those who enjoy the film found a means of connecting with the eccentric character through the fundamental psychological principles they share. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest shows that even delusional schizophrenics follow many of the same basic principles of psychology as everyone