One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Analysis
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Plot: The movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, is set in 1963 in an Oregon psychiatric hospital and follows the ongoing group sessions held by the ward supervisor, Nurse Ratched. The character, McMurphy was sent from the prison work farm to be evaluated to determine whether or not he is “ill”. The psychiatrist performing McMurphy’s initial intake, states that it is believed he is faking his mental illness in order to get out of work detail. He was sent to jail for having sex with a minor, who he claimed told him was 18. There is immediate tension between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched when he challenges her authority just by being himself as she uses her position of power to force the patients on her ward to conform or be punished. He realizes that instead of helping the patients, she is terrorizing them with the help of Nurse Pilbow and the hospital orderlies who use force to keep the patients in line.
McMurphy leads the ward on forbidden excursions, which not only undermines Ratched’s authority, but also strengthens the patients’ independence, which is antithesis of Ratched’s goals for them. The two become embroiled in a power struggle, which leads to dire consequences. …show more content…
Context of sessions: The group sessions take place daily with Ratched as facilitator in what at first seems to be actual group therapy as she offers reasonable responses to all the rules she has in place.
For example, when McMurphy asks her if she would please turn down the music so the men wouldn’t have to shout to communicate, she counters that it is for the sake of the hard of hearing that the music be played at a high volume. His request is quite reasonable and valid, yet she asserts her authority under the guise of patient care and benefit to all. Her facial expression and tone of voice convey that she will not be swayed. The music playing in the ward is a symbol of oppression and foreshadows Ratched’s need to dominate the
patients.
The Group: Group sessions include the following characters;
Ratched, day ward supervisor and facilitator
McMurphy late 30’s, who is clearly the leader of the group of patients.
Billy is a young man about 19, who speaks with a stammer. Charlie, mid 40s who expresses himself through temper tantrums.
Chief, a large, solemn Native American man, who fakes being deaf and mute.
Martini, appears to be early 30s, delusional.
The group focuses on about nine patients who are capable of some form of interaction during these sessions.
Critiques: Let us start with the positive aspects of Ratched’s group therapy sessions. The sessions were an opportunity for the patients to spend time together in a group setting and an opportunity to listen and respond to other group members concerns, however limiting. The group sessions create a sense of belonging and of community. Nurse Ratched’s attempts to bring order to a sometimes-chaotic environment are necessary to maintain a sense of focus and direction.
Under the facade of group therapy with Ratched acting as therapist and facilitator, the group members are stifled of independent thought in their decision-making capacities. Facilitation is not meant to be oppressive or abusive with the end goal to break someone’s spirit. Ratched uses her power of authority, with the support of the institution, to push conformity onto the patients under the guise of therapy. Instead of bringing people together and channeling communication and resources, she humiliates, demeans and keeps the patients in a state of fear and dependence. She appears to be lacking a Code of Ethics and the values associated with them.
For example, during the second session, McMurphy requests that the work detail be changed to nights to accommodate the patients so they can watch the ’63 World Series. Her response is that there is a pre-existing schedule that patients are accustomed to and it would be upsetting to their mental health to change it. “Change it now and they might find it very disturbing”. While she responds in a way to suggest she is looking out for the welfare of the patients, it becomes clear that her main concern is controlling them. To this end, she allows a vote under the guise of democracy, but the patients are so intimidated by her, that only three hands are raised. “I only count three votes” she says, “and that’s not enough to change ward policy”. She knows too well that the group has submitted to her will, as does McMurphy. She does not appear to be interested in the welfare of the ward patients at all. It is not a democratic process when the officiator of the election has already planned the outcome.
Value 1: Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons
Principles: Social workers uphold each person’s right to self-determination, consistent with that person’s capacity and with the rights of others (CASW, 2005).
In the third session: Billy quietly recounts his marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Celia. Ratched asks him why he wanted to marry her and he responds he was in love with her. Ratched responds by stating that his mother told her that he never told his mother about it. We have a huge problem here with confidentially as well as a conflict of interest. Ratched then asks why he didn’t tell his mother about it. How does she know he never told his mother about it? She keeps hammering away on him and asks him if that was the first time he tried to commit suicide. Again, she breaches confidentiality. He doesn’t respond and another patient, Charlie asks her if he does not feel like talking, why is she pressing him and why can’t they move on to other business? She responds by saying that the business of the meeting is therapy. Yes, the business of the meeting is therapy, but it is not therapeutic to humiliate an individual and to do harm.
Value 4: Integrity in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers establish appropriate boundaries in relationships with clients and ensure that the relationship serves the needs of clients.
Value 5: Confidentiality in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers respect the client’s right to confidentiality of information shared in a professional context.
Social workers only disclose confidential information with the informed consent of the client or permission of client’s legal representative (CASW, 2005).
Charlie then brings up game two of the World Series and suggests that to watch it would be good therapy as well. This is perhaps his attempt to flatter her by saying that what she offers is great therapy and perhaps they could expand on her good work. This probably comes from his previous experience with her so he is aware that he must tread lightly when he suggests they try something new. Nurse Ratched then directs her question at McMurphy as she recognizes that it is he who has instigated this desire in the first place. One would assume that her intent is to settle the matter according to the wishes of the group. We can see in retrospect that she has no desire to relinquish control. “Would one more vote satisfy you, Mr. McMurphy?” This time she says she only counts nine votes. She then states to McMurphy that there are 18 patients on the ward and that a majority is the only way to change ward policy. She tells them they can put their hands down. When McMurphy persuades, Chief to raise his hand for the tie-breaking vote, Ratched tells him it’s too late, the meeting was adjourned and the votes were in. She uses power, manipulation, and oppression to keep the patients in line.
Value 3: Service to Humanity
Principles: Social workers strive to use the power and authority vested in them as professionals in responsible ways that serve the needs of clients and the promotion of social justice.
Value 6: Competence in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers demonstrate due care for client’s interests and safety by limiting professional practice to areas of demonstrated competence (CASW, 2005).
In McMurphy’s final group escapade, he pays off the orderly with booze and arranges a date with one of his friends. A party ensues with the entire ward in attendance and when Ratched arrives the next morning to the carnage she begins the task of doling out punishments and assigning blame for what has happened. She finds Billy with a woman and begins to manipulate him by using his mother as a punishment. Billy, feeling pressured and boxed in, blames McMurphy for everything. Then Ratched tells Billy she will tell his mother and has him removed to await the doctor for further treatment. While Billy is left alone in the doctor’s office, he cuts himself with a piece of glass and bleeds to death. McMurphy blames Ratched for Billy’s death, then attacks her, strangling her until the orderlies arrived and pulls him off of her.
As a punishment, Ratched has McMurphy sent to another ward where he is not seen by the other patients for two months. When McMurphy returns, it is in the middle of the night and the only patient to see him is the Chief. Upon realizing that McMurphy has undergone a lobotomy and is now in a vegetative state, Chief does what he thinks is best for his friend and suffocates him with a pillow, then escapes out a window and runs off into the night.
Ratched plays a central role in the tragedies that transpired due to her ineffectiveness as a true facilitator and her manipulation of people in a misguided desire to oppress the patients into a state of conformity. She does not recognize the patients as individuals at all, nor does she appeal to their strengths. The concept of empowerment does not come into play throughout her therapy sessions. This movie is an excellent example of possible outcomes of not following a Code of Ethics and the principles therein.
References
Forman, M., Zaentz, S., Douglas, M., Hauben, L., Goldman, B., Nicholson, J., Fletcher, L., ... Warner Home Video (Firm). (1997). One flew over the cuckoo 's nest. Burbank, Calif: Warner Home Video.
CASW. (2005). Social Work Code of Ethics. Ottawa: Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW).
Plot: The movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, is set in 1963 in an Oregon psychiatric hospital and follows the ongoing group sessions held by the ward supervisor, Nurse Ratched. The character, McMurphy was sent from the prison work farm to be evaluated to determine whether or not he is “ill”. The psychiatrist performing McMurphy’s initial intake, states that it is believed he is faking his mental illness in order to get out of work detail. He was sent to jail for having sex with a minor, who he claimed told him was 18. There is immediate tension between McMurphy and Nurse Ratched when he challenges her authority just by being himself as she uses her position of power to force the patients on her ward to conform or be punished. He realizes that instead of helping the patients, she is terrorizing them with the help of Nurse Pilbow and the hospital orderlies who use force to keep the patients in line.
McMurphy leads the ward on forbidden excursions, which not only undermines Ratched’s authority, but also strengthens the patients’ independence, which is antithesis of Ratched’s goals for them. The two become embroiled in a power struggle, which leads to dire consequences. …show more content…
Context of sessions: The group sessions take place daily with Ratched as facilitator in what at first seems to be actual group therapy as she offers reasonable responses to all the rules she has in place.
For example, when McMurphy asks her if she would please turn down the music so the men wouldn’t have to shout to communicate, she counters that it is for the sake of the hard of hearing that the music be played at a high volume. His request is quite reasonable and valid, yet she asserts her authority under the guise of patient care and benefit to all. Her facial expression and tone of voice convey that she will not be swayed. The music playing in the ward is a symbol of oppression and foreshadows Ratched’s need to dominate the
patients.
The Group: Group sessions include the following characters;
Ratched, day ward supervisor and facilitator
McMurphy late 30’s, who is clearly the leader of the group of patients.
Billy is a young man about 19, who speaks with a stammer. Charlie, mid 40s who expresses himself through temper tantrums.
Chief, a large, solemn Native American man, who fakes being deaf and mute.
Martini, appears to be early 30s, delusional.
The group focuses on about nine patients who are capable of some form of interaction during these sessions.
Critiques: Let us start with the positive aspects of Ratched’s group therapy sessions. The sessions were an opportunity for the patients to spend time together in a group setting and an opportunity to listen and respond to other group members concerns, however limiting. The group sessions create a sense of belonging and of community. Nurse Ratched’s attempts to bring order to a sometimes-chaotic environment are necessary to maintain a sense of focus and direction.
Under the facade of group therapy with Ratched acting as therapist and facilitator, the group members are stifled of independent thought in their decision-making capacities. Facilitation is not meant to be oppressive or abusive with the end goal to break someone’s spirit. Ratched uses her power of authority, with the support of the institution, to push conformity onto the patients under the guise of therapy. Instead of bringing people together and channeling communication and resources, she humiliates, demeans and keeps the patients in a state of fear and dependence. She appears to be lacking a Code of Ethics and the values associated with them.
For example, during the second session, McMurphy requests that the work detail be changed to nights to accommodate the patients so they can watch the ’63 World Series. Her response is that there is a pre-existing schedule that patients are accustomed to and it would be upsetting to their mental health to change it. “Change it now and they might find it very disturbing”. While she responds in a way to suggest she is looking out for the welfare of the patients, it becomes clear that her main concern is controlling them. To this end, she allows a vote under the guise of democracy, but the patients are so intimidated by her, that only three hands are raised. “I only count three votes” she says, “and that’s not enough to change ward policy”. She knows too well that the group has submitted to her will, as does McMurphy. She does not appear to be interested in the welfare of the ward patients at all. It is not a democratic process when the officiator of the election has already planned the outcome.
Value 1: Respect for the Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons
Principles: Social workers uphold each person’s right to self-determination, consistent with that person’s capacity and with the rights of others (CASW, 2005).
In the third session: Billy quietly recounts his marriage proposal to his girlfriend, Celia. Ratched asks him why he wanted to marry her and he responds he was in love with her. Ratched responds by stating that his mother told her that he never told his mother about it. We have a huge problem here with confidentially as well as a conflict of interest. Ratched then asks why he didn’t tell his mother about it. How does she know he never told his mother about it? She keeps hammering away on him and asks him if that was the first time he tried to commit suicide. Again, she breaches confidentiality. He doesn’t respond and another patient, Charlie asks her if he does not feel like talking, why is she pressing him and why can’t they move on to other business? She responds by saying that the business of the meeting is therapy. Yes, the business of the meeting is therapy, but it is not therapeutic to humiliate an individual and to do harm.
Value 4: Integrity in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers establish appropriate boundaries in relationships with clients and ensure that the relationship serves the needs of clients.
Value 5: Confidentiality in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers respect the client’s right to confidentiality of information shared in a professional context.
Social workers only disclose confidential information with the informed consent of the client or permission of client’s legal representative (CASW, 2005).
Charlie then brings up game two of the World Series and suggests that to watch it would be good therapy as well. This is perhaps his attempt to flatter her by saying that what she offers is great therapy and perhaps they could expand on her good work. This probably comes from his previous experience with her so he is aware that he must tread lightly when he suggests they try something new. Nurse Ratched then directs her question at McMurphy as she recognizes that it is he who has instigated this desire in the first place. One would assume that her intent is to settle the matter according to the wishes of the group. We can see in retrospect that she has no desire to relinquish control. “Would one more vote satisfy you, Mr. McMurphy?” This time she says she only counts nine votes. She then states to McMurphy that there are 18 patients on the ward and that a majority is the only way to change ward policy. She tells them they can put their hands down. When McMurphy persuades, Chief to raise his hand for the tie-breaking vote, Ratched tells him it’s too late, the meeting was adjourned and the votes were in. She uses power, manipulation, and oppression to keep the patients in line.
Value 3: Service to Humanity
Principles: Social workers strive to use the power and authority vested in them as professionals in responsible ways that serve the needs of clients and the promotion of social justice.
Value 6: Competence in Professional Practice
Principles: Social workers demonstrate due care for client’s interests and safety by limiting professional practice to areas of demonstrated competence (CASW, 2005).
In McMurphy’s final group escapade, he pays off the orderly with booze and arranges a date with one of his friends. A party ensues with the entire ward in attendance and when Ratched arrives the next morning to the carnage she begins the task of doling out punishments and assigning blame for what has happened. She finds Billy with a woman and begins to manipulate him by using his mother as a punishment. Billy, feeling pressured and boxed in, blames McMurphy for everything. Then Ratched tells Billy she will tell his mother and has him removed to await the doctor for further treatment. While Billy is left alone in the doctor’s office, he cuts himself with a piece of glass and bleeds to death. McMurphy blames Ratched for Billy’s death, then attacks her, strangling her until the orderlies arrived and pulls him off of her.
As a punishment, Ratched has McMurphy sent to another ward where he is not seen by the other patients for two months. When McMurphy returns, it is in the middle of the night and the only patient to see him is the Chief. Upon realizing that McMurphy has undergone a lobotomy and is now in a vegetative state, Chief does what he thinks is best for his friend and suffocates him with a pillow, then escapes out a window and runs off into the night.
Ratched plays a central role in the tragedies that transpired due to her ineffectiveness as a true facilitator and her manipulation of people in a misguided desire to oppress the patients into a state of conformity. She does not recognize the patients as individuals at all, nor does she appeal to their strengths. The concept of empowerment does not come into play throughout her therapy sessions. This movie is an excellent example of possible outcomes of not following a Code of Ethics and the principles therein.
References
Forman, M., Zaentz, S., Douglas, M., Hauben, L., Goldman, B., Nicholson, J., Fletcher, L., ... Warner Home Video (Firm). (1997). One flew over the cuckoo 's nest. Burbank, Calif: Warner Home Video.
CASW. (2005). Social Work Code of Ethics. Ottawa: Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW).