1 00:00:08,860 --> 00:00:14,599 Greetings, and welcome to Earthling Cinema. I am your host, Garyx Wormuloid. This week’s 2 00:00:14,599 --> 00:00:19,750 artifact is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or One Flew Over the for short. The film stars 3 00:00:19,750 --> 00:00:24,119 the inimitable Jack Nicholson, who is best remembered as the mascot for the Los Angeles 4 00:00:24,119 --> 00:00:24,820 Lakers. 5 00:00:24,820 --> 00:00:30,119 When One Flew Over the begins, Randle P. McMurphy has just been admitted to a mental institution, 6 00:00:30,119 --> 00:00:34,390 which is like a hotel for your brain. He befriends the other residents of his ward, and starts 7 00:00:34,390 --> 00:00:39,300 up a classic rivalry with the domineering Nurse Ratched. Before long, McMurphy steals 8 00:00:39,300 --> 00:00:43,980 a hospital bus and takes his friends on a fishing boat to go fishing for fish. Later, 9 00:00:43,980 --> 00:00:52,760 after an impromptu brawl, Nurse Ratched gives him shock therapy. Earth women, am I right? 10 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:55,190 I don’t know if I’m right. 11 00:00:55,190 --> 00:01:00,600 McMurphy has had enough, so he decides to escape. Naturally, he throws a party, subscribing 12 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:05,640 to the human credo that alcohol fixes everything. Turns out he’s a pretty great wingman. But 13 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:16,300 he parties too hard and falls asleep, which puts a damper on the whole escape thing. 14 00:01:16,310 --> 00:01:19,690 Nurse Ratched arrives in the morning and notices a few things are out of place 15 00:01:19,690 --> 00:01:26,390 She threatens to tattle on Billy, so he freaks out and kills himself. 16 00:01:26,390 --> 00:01:32,340 McMurphy is none too pleased about this, and tries to hug Nurse Ratched’s neck to death. 17 00:01:32,340 --> 00:01:36,240 For this, he gets a lobotomy, which is where they replace part of your brain with corned 18 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:37,119 beef hash. 19 00:01:37,119 --> 00:01:42,720 In the end, the Chief gives McMurphy the old Kevourkian treatment and then shamelessly 20 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,610 plagiarizes his escape plan. 21 00:01:44,610 --> 00:01:50,270 At its core, One Flew Over the is about the struggle between chaos and order. There’s 22 00:01:50,270 --> 00:01:54,479 no freedom without a little chaos, yet to maintain order, there must be oppression. 23 00:01:54,479 --> 00:01:59,740 In this shot, McMurphy sees a baby horse running along the edge of a chain link fence -- freedom 24 00:01:59,740 --> 00:02:04,830 vs. man-made social order. Little-known fact: that horse would go on to star is several 25 00:02:04,830 --> 00:02:09,949 more movies, including Seabiscuit, Hidalgo, and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. 26 00:02:09,949 --> 00:02:15,379 McMurphy upsets the established routine of the ward, asking for schedule changes and 27 00:02:15,379 --> 00:02:21,380 inspiring resistance during therapy sessions. He teaches his fellow denizens to have fun 28 00:02:21,380 --> 00:02:25,090 and encourages them to embrace their disgusting human desires. 29 00:02:25,090 --> 00:02:34,410 McMurphy convinces them that not only are they sane, but they are men, as evidenced 30 00:02:34,410 --> 00:02:40,599 by their desire to watch sports. As he tells Martini during the card game, 31 00:02:40,599 --> 00:02:44,640 the residents of the ward are “real people.” 32 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:49,700 In contrast, Nurse Ratched is an authoritarian. The first time we see her she is framed by 33 00:02:49,700 --> 00:02:54,690 a gate, signifying imprisonment. Whereas McMurphy flies by the seat of his pants, Nurse Ratched 34 00:02:54,690 --> 00:02:58,910 is always stoic, and nobody likes a stoic. The only time 35 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:03,319 she shows any emotion is when McMurphy has to literally choke it out of her, and that 36 00:03:03,319 --> 00:03:05,560 emotion is “ouch.” 37 00:03:05,560 --> 00:03:11,170 Order is imposed on the patients with an almost religious or cult-like rigor. When the patients 38 00:03:11,170 --> 00:03:15,030 are given their medicine, one of them receives it on his tongue like communion. McMurphy 39 00:03:15,030 --> 00:03:20,890 rejects the communion when he spits the pills out, choosing instead to forge his own destiny, 40 00:03:20,890 --> 00:03:24,720 one where he doesn’t have the icky taste of medicine in his mouth. Maybe next time 41 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,220 she’ll choose Flintstones. 42 00:03:28,220 --> 00:03:32,319 McMurphy soon discovers that he’s trapped behind not just physical walls, but mental 43 00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:37,920 ones as well. Routine is imprisonment. While many of the mental patients were self- admitted 44 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:44,920 because they felt unfit to function in society, their strict schedule makes them dependent, 45 00:03:45,370 --> 00:03:49,159 ensuring that they’ll stay that way. Meanwhile, my strict schedule ensures that I’m never 46 00:03:49,159 --> 00:03:52,659 home in time to see my kids, so maybe it’s not all bad. 47 00:03:52,659 --> 00:03:57,370 The sink, an old hydrotherapy console, represents the establishment's hold over the patients; 48 00:03:57,370 --> 00:04:02,299 the oppressive structure labels them as "crazy" and nullifies their will to freedom. McMurphy 49 00:04:02,299 --> 00:04:06,830 attempts to use it as a means of liberation, but can’t do it because he’s not tall 50 00:04:06,830 --> 00:04:11,000 enough to be strong. Later, when the Chief tries to lift the console, he is successful 51 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:17,399 because McMurphy has made him feel “as big as a mountain,” and also because he is as 52 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:19,099 big as a mountain. 53 00:04:19,099 --> 00:04:22,409 At the end, order has been re- established. People are taking their 54 00:04:22,409 --> 00:04:26,580 medicine again, and Nurse Ratched is wearing a cute new accessory. However, 55 00:04:26,580 --> 00:04:30,539 Harding and the other guys still gamble, both as a small gesture of rebellion, and because 56 00:04:30,539 --> 00:04:34,490 otherwise cards are just boring. 57 00:04:34,490 --> 00:04:39,330 It seems McMurphy’s influence has not completely disappeared. When the Chief kills MacMurphy, 58 00:04:39,330 --> 00:04:46,330 he sets him free, immortalizing him as a symbol of hope that will forever inspire the patients. 59 00:04:50,700 --> 00:04:53,580 He also sets the audience free by ending the movie. 60 00:04:53,589 --> 00:04:59,300 For Earthling Cinema, I’m Garyx Wormuloid. To get a lobotomy of your very own, click 61 00:04:59,300 --> 00:04:59,970 the subscribe button.