One flew over the cuckoos nest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

One flew over the cuckoos nest - Essay Example male lead, Nurse Mildred Ratched, who incorporates a strategy of humiliation and unpleasant treatment to exercise control over her charges in the ward. Thus, the main theme of the movie can be perceived as the protagonist’s resistance to conformity and his rebellion against the established norms to which he does not subscribe. The movie, due to its deft treatment of a poignant theme, never ceases to amaze its audience by delving into to the undercurrents of sexuality, compassion and emotional insecurity that force the protagonist to rebel against societal norms. While on the surface level it portrays the inmates in a mental institution, underneath it depicts the male vehemence and gusto and how society outside the walls that confine them has in one way or other castrated and broken down these men. Most of the male patients have been damaged by relationships with overpowering women. Mc Murphy does not have a disability but has an impetuous response towards the patients in the ward. He treats them like human beings, unlike Ratched, despite his rebellious attitude to authority. His character reminds the other inmates that there is a life beyond the four walls of the asylum and they could have one too. Mc Murphy’s mere presence inspires hope among the inmates, who until then were doomed to give into th e society that considered them stupid and crazy. Thus, through illustrating the compassion in the protagonist, the movie accentuates his rebellious attitude, which stems from the wrong way in which he has been treated. As the plot develops, Mc Murphy’s resistance to conformity intensifies, which reflects in his bonding with the other inmates. This, in a way, can be construed as his defiance to the people or the authority that condemned them to such a life. He, thus, encourages them to muster a sense of hope and expectation in their lives, when Ratched tries to suppress them by explicitly expressing her disgust at people like them. The nurse, who represents