Mental illness is a social taboo. Yea, we all joke around like when we say someone is "crazy" but do we really know what that means? In my life, I have never met anyone with a mental condition or illness and I'm glad the movie One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest brought this to my attention. As a growing enthusiast, I realized how important this experience is to my life. Directed by Milos Forman and based on the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey, the movie exposes the life of a man named Randle Patrick McMurphy and his experience at a mental hospital. Randle is a middle aged man who sees life from a different perspective than what other believe is "normal". Running away from trouble and jail, Randle sometimes faked having a mental illness and usually this was his way of confronting the consequences of his actions until he got reffered to a hospital. There he met many patients, all voluntary, and Randel's positively outgoing, yet raffish, acts brought a lot of confidence to them, notably in the character named Chief. I was really touched by the different point of view. Who would ever think to make a movie about what happens in a mental hospital? The main belief I had of them was the one portrayed by modern horror and suspense movie, the one that causes fear but that notion is completely shattered now. My fear was ignorance and after watching this movie I am no longer ignoring the fact that mental patients are not different from the rest of us. They, too, crave freedom, love, affection, tranquility and self actualization! My favorite part? The way Kesey chose to transmit this story. Very impressive and truly life changing. McMurphy will now stay in mind and will take me one step closer to becoming a human with a broad level of understanding and tolerance. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest is a legend and like all legends, they are never normal and always defy society.
Jose.
Jose.
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