WEBVTT 00:00:08.860 --> 00:00:14.599 Greetings, and welcome to Earthling Cinema. I am your host, Garyx Wormuloid. This week’s 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 00:00:19.750 --> 00:00:24.119 the inimitable Jack Nicholson, who is best remembered as the mascot for the Los Angeles 00:00:24.119 --> 00:00:24.820 Lakers. 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, 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 00:00:34.390 --> 00:00:39.300 up a classic rivalry with the domineering Nurse Ratched. Before long, McMurphy steals 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, 00:00:43.980 --> 00:00:52.760 after an impromptu brawl, Nurse Ratched gives him shock therapy. Earth women, am I right? 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.190 I don’t know if I’m right. 00:00:55.190 --> 00:01:00.600 McMurphy has had enough, so he decides to escape. Naturally, he throws a party, subscribing 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 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:16.300 he parties too hard and falls asleep, which puts a damper on the whole escape thing. 00:01:16.310 --> 00:01:19.690 Nurse Ratched arrives in the morning and notices a few things are out of place 00:01:19.690 --> 00:01:26.390 She threatens to tattle on Billy, so he freaks out and kills himself. 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. 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 00:01:36.240 --> 00:01:37.119 beef hash. 00:01:37.119 --> 00:01:42.720 In the end, the Chief gives McMurphy the old Kevourkian treatment and then shamelessly 00:01:42.720 --> 00:01:44.610 plagiarizes his escape plan. 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 00:01:50.270 --> 00:01:54.479 no freedom without a little chaos, yet to maintain order, there must be oppression. 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 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 00:02:04.830 --> 00:02:09.949 more movies, including Seabiscuit, Hidalgo, and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps. 00:02:09.949 --> 00:02:15.379 McMurphy upsets the established routine of the ward, asking for schedule changes and 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:21.380 inspiring resistance during therapy sessions. He teaches his fellow denizens to have fun 00:02:21.380 --> 00:02:25.090 and encourages them to embrace their disgusting human desires. 00:02:25.090 --> 00:02:34.410 McMurphy convinces them that not only are they sane, but they are men, as evidenced 00:02:34.410 --> 00:02:40.599 by their desire to watch sports. As he tells Martini during the card game, 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:44.640 the residents of the ward are “real people.” 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 00:02:49.700 --> 00:02:54.690 a gate, signifying imprisonment. Whereas McMurphy flies by the seat of his pants, Nurse Ratched 00:02:54.690 --> 00:02:58.910 is always stoic, and nobody likes a stoic. The only time 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 00:03:03.319 --> 00:03:05.560 emotion is “ouch.” 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 00:03:11.170 --> 00:03:15.030 are given their medicine, one of them receives it on his tongue like communion. McMurphy 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:20.890 rejects the communion when he spits the pills out, choosing instead to forge his own destiny, 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 00:03:24.720 --> 00:03:28.220 she’ll choose Flintstones. 00:03:28.220 --> 00:03:32.319 McMurphy soon discovers that he’s trapped behind not just physical walls, but mental 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:37.920 ones as well. Routine is imprisonment. While many of the mental patients were self- admitted 00:03:37.920 --> 00:03:44.920 because they felt unfit to function in society, their strict schedule makes them dependent, 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:49.159 ensuring that they’ll stay that way. Meanwhile, my strict schedule ensures that I’m never 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:52.659 home in time to see my kids, so maybe it’s not all bad. 00:03:52.659 --> 00:03:57.370 The sink, an old hydrotherapy console, represents the establishment's hold over the patients; 00:03:57.370 --> 00:04:02.299 the oppressive structure labels them as "crazy" and nullifies their will to freedom. McMurphy 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 00:04:06.830 --> 00:04:11.000 enough to be strong. Later, when the Chief tries to lift the console, he is successful 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 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:19.099 big as a mountain. 00:04:19.099 --> 00:04:22.409 At the end, order has been re- established. People are taking their 00:04:22.409 --> 00:04:26.580 medicine again, and Nurse Ratched is wearing a cute new accessory. However, 00:04:26.580 --> 00:04:30.539 Harding and the other guys still gamble, both as a small gesture of rebellion, and because 00:04:30.539 --> 00:04:34.490 otherwise cards are just boring. 00:04:34.490 --> 00:04:39.330 It seems McMurphy’s influence has not completely disappeared. When the Chief kills MacMurphy, 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. 00:04:50.700 --> 00:04:53.580 He also sets the audience free by ending the movie. 00:04:53.589 --> 00:04:59.300 For Earthling Cinema, I’m Garyx Wormuloid. To get a lobotomy of your very own, click 00:04:59.300 --> 00:04:59.970 the subscribe button.