One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

1975

Directed by Milos Forman

Netflix says… While serving time for insanity at a state mental hospital, rabble-rouser Randle Patrick McMurphy inspires his fellow patients to rebel against the authoritarian rule of head nurse Ratched. Milos Forman’s masterpiece won all five major Oscars.

This is one I’ve never seen before. I’m actually a little surprised Ms. Russell didn’t show this to us during Psychology in my senior year of high school. She loved to show us the movies. Speaking as someone who has worked as a counselor and has facilitated group therapy sessions (albeit with children), that first group session we’re privy to near the start of the film is just all kinds of messed up. No way that was therapeutic for anyone. I’m glad there have been a lot of advances in psychiatric medicine since the time of this movie’s portrayal. I spent time in a psych hospital during high school in the mid-90s. I’m hopeful that improvements have been made even since then. It’s sad to think that people with psychiatric disorders or illness were just dropped in these sanitariums to be forgotten about. At least now, I’m pretty sure the powers that be are a little more concerned with actually treating patients instead of just giving them a safe place to be insane. I wasn’t sure what I’d think of this before I saw it. Turns out I thought it was great.