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Teaching Sociology: Reviewed Work One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This article delves into the significance of mental illness through a sociological perspective. Also, the magnification of human character is a part of the article, especially with regard to Louise Fletcher’s part as Nurse Ratched. The article breaks the film up into different plot lines, some that are related and others that are independently important. First, “his undying devotion and loyalty to his fellow residents becomes central in the overall story line.” The article uses a good adjective to describe Nurse Ratched—sterile, or void of character and substance. The most important theme though of the story is the “struggle between McMurphy’s attempts at ‘drawing out’ the human elements within the residents and Nurse Ratched’s institutionalized framework.” But really, it is also important to value that creates these ‘normal’ standards and how are they more normal than those practicing standards of McMurphy as their friend? The article regards One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as a symbol of the “triumphs of human spirits over institutional control.” The film proves to be a good tool in discussing deviance and mental illness. The regimented life style is very institutionalized and calculated very carefully. A strong metaphor that the article presents is the residents as dependent children and Nurse Ratched as the mother. It is important also to reflect on the corruption of the word ‘normal’ as the characters in the film act normally for the surroundings of which they are a part. What’s more is that the diagnosis process can also be seen as corrupt if a patient can get away with falsely pretending to be both deaf and dumb. The last part of the article shows the contrast between institutionalization and voluntary treatment. It is similar to many peoples’ problems with substances today—often times they are forced through intervention to check into rehabilitation, but it is also a cry for self-help when a patient volunteers himself to be checked into a medical facility for mental or physical help. It is also recognized that often times being a part of or living in an institutionalized setting can be more detrimental to mental health if the surroundings are not right for the patient. We learn through this article that it is possible that some of the patients in the mental hospital would be better off in another atmosphere.

Teaching Sociology: Reviewed Work One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest