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Post by baza on Feb 15, 2020 0:17:33 GMT -5
I was watching this film again earlier this week. It was huge when released in 1975.
The featured character - RP McMurphy - worms his way into a mental health facility to avoid doing a stretch in jail. In the facility there is an eclectic group of inmates. The facility is run by Nurse Ratchid who imposes many petty rules on the inmates pretty much stifling them and inflicting great misery. McMurphy is constantly pushing the boundaries imposed by Ratchid, and stirring up the inmates. At one point, he busts the group out of the facility and gets them all out on a boat, drinking, smoking and altogether having a fine old time. And really, most of them are no-where near as crazy as one may initially have thought. McMurphy starts asking assorted inmates when they finish their sentences and what they plan to do when they get out. Turns out that none of the inmates have a clue what they'd do on release. And further, it is revealed that all bar two criminally insane inmates (and McMurphy) all the rest of the inmates are voluntary admissions to the facility, and could walk out whenever they liked !! McMurphy is gob-smacked by this, and can't figure out why they don't do so. They've become institutionalised .
It put me in mind of an ILIASM marriage. Most of the disenfranchised people in a bad marriage (nominally the refused spouse) are unhappy in the situation. And most have no clue about what they'd do if they did choose to end their sentence. And thus most of them keep extending their sentence by their own choice. They've also become institutionalised.
There's a lot more to the film than the above (and if you haven't seen it I'd recommend you do) but this portion referred to above struck a chord with me.
Warning - it doesn't end well for McMurphy.
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Post by isthisit on Feb 16, 2020 5:28:08 GMT -5
This is an astute and rather revealing observation, and fits my ex-circumstances pretty aptly. *Grimace*
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Post by Handy on Feb 16, 2020 15:54:11 GMT -5
Good analogy Baza.
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Post by lessingham on Feb 17, 2020 3:45:51 GMT -5
You forget McMurphy is also mentally disabled and destroys the survival tactics of the rest of the group. The only "hero" is Chief who rediscovers himself by merging the two worlds to be a balanced normal.
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Post by baza on Feb 17, 2020 5:14:08 GMT -5
You forget McMurphy is also mentally disabled and destroys the survival tactics of the rest of the group. The only "hero" is Chief who rediscovers himself by merging the two worlds to be a balanced normal. In the reviews of the movie I've seen, McMurphy is described as "not actually mentally ill" In the review I've seen of the novel, McMurphy is said to have "faked insanity to avoid doing his time in jail"
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Post by worksforme2 on Feb 17, 2020 5:45:12 GMT -5
It's been a loooooong time since I saw the movie. I didn't read the book or any reviews. But my take on McMurphy is that he was not insane at all, but was rather a classic manipulator who sought to avoid jail time by gaming the system. I don't think he intended to end up long term in a psych ward, but once there and having a distinct dislike for nurse Rachid decided to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately for him the laws of unintended consequences came into play in the form of nurse Rachid.
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Post by carl on Feb 17, 2020 6:03:01 GMT -5
I get the analogy about people becoming institutionalised and loosing autonomy when all their decisions are made for them and they are over powered for a long period of time they submit. I guess that psychiatric patients on voluntary admission may be relatively well compared to those who aren’t but still unable to cope with the outside world due to their mental health. I think the difference is though that those in a sexless marriage have quite good insight into why they stay and have many ideas as to what they would do if they left. So I get the institutionalisation part but not , and I am sure that is partly what you are insinuating, the comparison the insane. Good film though.
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Post by carl on Feb 17, 2020 6:05:54 GMT -5
It's been a loooooong time since I saw the movie. I didn't read the book or any reviews. But my take on McMurphy is that he was not insane at all, but was rather a classic manipulator who sought to avoid jail time by gaming the system. I don't think he intended to end up long term in a psych ward, but once there and having a distinct dislike for nurse Rachid decided to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately for him the laws of unintended consequences came into play in the form of nurse Rachid. But faking mental illness is a mental illness in itself. Whatever your motives. - Hey he’s played by Jack Nicholson come on.
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Post by worksforme2 on Feb 17, 2020 10:42:43 GMT -5
It's been a loooooong time since I saw the movie. I didn't read the book or any reviews. But my take on McMurphy is that he was not insane at all, but was rather a classic manipulator who sought to avoid jail time by gaming the system. I don't think he intended to end up long term in a psych ward, but once there and having a distinct dislike for nurse Rachid decided to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately for him the laws of unintended consequences came into play in the form of nurse Rachid. But faking mental illness is a mental illness in itself. Whatever your motives. - Hey he’s played by Jack Nicholson come on. Are you just talking about the movie?.. I can think of instances in real life where attempts have been made to fake a mental condition to avoid possible time in the slammer.
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