About a Classic Film..."One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.." .....

[Stuart G]

Last edited Sat Sep 24, 2022, 05:20 PM - Edit history (1)

....That film, although it won awards, was the 2nd most depressing film I have ever seen. And I saw it more than
once cause it won those awards. It still depressed the hell of me. Even thinking about it is upsetting.

The single most depressing film I have ever seen is now up on Democratic Underground'' post 8 at this link:

You are warned if you watch this film, you will be very depressed, it is real and truthful history

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=17191080

[Thunderbeast]

1. I loved the movie at the time...but...

It portrayed damaging stereotypes of mental health treatment and caregivers that persist today. It is a sad reality that there are some that suffer from brain disorders that can only be treated humanely in an institutional setting.

In order to "save" many of these patients, they were "released to community-based treatment". Most communities did not step up to build the clinics and group homes promised. Other priorities for local governments (stadiums, tax cuts, etc.) were more popular with voters.

You can see the results in the tent encampments on the streets of many of our cities. Those formerly hospitalized patients, unable to make safe choices, were left to "die with their rights on".

I am not defending the barbaric practices of some hospitals fifty years ago. Lobotomies were a disgraceful practice. Psychiatric practices have come a long way (but not far enough) since then. Medications and modern brain stimulation methods have helped many patients that were unable to escape their psychosis or depression.

Mental health treatment is seriously broken in this country. We used de-institutionalization as an excuse to neglect and ignore the severely mentally ill and hope they sleep on someone else's sidewalk or gutter.

[Doc Sportello]

3. The movie portrait was the same as in Kesey's novel

Which was based on his real life experience at working at a mental hospital. The characters were based on patients there, as was the staff and the treatments. And he actually underwent electroshock therapy to see what it was like. You can call it stereotyping but the story was true in its portrayal of the conditions at a hospital at that time.

[Auggie]

2. It ends on a high note that gives me chills (SPOILER)

McMurphy empowers Chief to escape. Taber (Christopher Lloyd) screams in victory. It’s a great moment in film.

[appalachiablue]

4. When the movie came out I heard about it, knew it received a lot

of attention and praise but I couldn't watch it. Maybe I will see it after all this time. Some relatives were friends of actor Brad Douriff who portrays the patient, Billy Bibbit in the film.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Dourif