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Greetings, and welcome to Earthling Cinema.[br]I am your host, Garyx Wormuloid. This week’s

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artifact is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,[br]or One Flew Over the for short. The film stars

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the inimitable Jack Nicholson, who is best[br]remembered as the mascot for the Los Angeles

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Lakers.

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When One Flew Over the begins, Randle P. McMurphy[br]has just been admitted to a mental institution,

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which is like a hotel for your brain. He befriends[br]the other residents of his ward, and starts

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up a classic rivalry with the domineering[br]Nurse Ratched. Before long, McMurphy steals

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a hospital bus and takes his friends on a[br]fishing boat to go fishing for fish. Later,

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after an impromptu brawl, Nurse Ratched gives[br]him shock therapy. Earth women, am I right?

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I don’t know if I’m right.

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McMurphy has had enough, so he decides to[br]escape. Naturally, he throws a party, subscribing

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to the human credo that alcohol fixes everything.[br]Turns out he’s a pretty great wingman. But

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he parties too hard [br]and falls asleep, which puts a damper on the[br]whole escape thing.

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Nurse Ratched arrives in the morning and notices a few things are out of place

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She threatens to tattle[br]on Billy, so he freaks out and kills himself.

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McMurphy is none too pleased about this, and[br]tries to hug Nurse Ratched’s neck to death.

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For this, he gets a lobotomy, which is where[br]they replace part of your brain with corned

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beef hash.

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In the end, the Chief gives McMurphy the old[br]Kevourkian treatment and then shamelessly

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plagiarizes his escape plan.

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At its core, One Flew Over the is about the[br]struggle between chaos and order. There’s

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no freedom without a little chaos, yet to[br]maintain order, there must be oppression.

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In this shot, McMurphy sees a baby horse running[br]along the edge of a chain link fence -- freedom

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vs. man-made social order. Little-known fact:[br]that horse would go on to star is several

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more movies, including Seabiscuit, Hidalgo,[br]and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps.

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McMurphy upsets the established routine of[br]the ward, asking for schedule changes and

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inspiring resistance during therapy sessions.[br]He teaches his fellow denizens to have fun

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and encourages them to embrace their disgusting human desires.

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McMurphy convinces them that not only are[br]they sane, but they are men, as evidenced

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by their desire to watch sports.[br]As he tells Martini during the card game,

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the residents of the ward are “real people.”

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In contrast, Nurse Ratched is an authoritarian.[br]The first time we see her she is framed by

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a gate, signifying imprisonment. Whereas McMurphy[br]flies by the seat of his pants, Nurse Ratched

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is always stoic, and nobody likes a stoic. The only time

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she shows any emotion is when McMurphy has[br]to literally choke it out of her, and that

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emotion is “ouch.”

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Order is imposed on the patients with an almost religious or cult-like rigor. When the patients

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are given their medicine, one of them receives[br]it on his tongue like communion. McMurphy

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rejects the communion when he spits the pills[br]out, choosing instead to forge his own destiny,

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one where he doesn’t have the icky taste[br]of medicine in his mouth. Maybe next time

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she’ll choose Flintstones.

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McMurphy soon discovers that he’s trapped[br]behind not just physical walls, but mental

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ones as well. Routine is imprisonment. While[br]many of the mental patients were self- admitted

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because they felt unfit to function in society,[br]their strict schedule makes them dependent,

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ensuring that they’ll stay that way. Meanwhile,[br]my strict schedule ensures that I’m never

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home in time to see my kids, so maybe it’s[br]not all bad.

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The sink, an old hydrotherapy console, represents[br]the establishment's hold over the patients;

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the oppressive structure labels them as "crazy"[br]and nullifies their will to freedom. McMurphy

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attempts to use it as a means of liberation,[br]but can’t do it because he’s not tall

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enough to be strong. Later, when the Chief[br]tries to lift the console, he is successful

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because McMurphy has made him feel “as big[br]as a mountain,” and also because he is as

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big as a mountain.

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At the end, order has been re- established.[br]People are taking their

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medicine again, and Nurse Ratched is wearing[br]a cute new accessory. However,

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Harding and the other guys still gamble, both[br]as a small gesture of rebellion, and because

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otherwise cards are just boring.

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It seems McMurphy’s influence has not completely[br]disappeared. When the Chief kills MacMurphy,

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he sets him free, immortalizing him as a symbol[br]of hope that will forever inspire the patients.

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He also sets the audience free by ending the[br]movie.

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For Earthling Cinema, I’m Garyx Wormuloid.[br]To get a lobotomy of your very own, click

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the subscribe button.