I've recently been reading Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, for the first time. I've seen the 1975 flick several times before, but I thought I'd delve into the story deeper because it spawned one of the most iconic antagonists of all time, nurse Ratched (played by Louise Fletcher). At first when I watched Cuckoo's Nest, I totally got it. As a teenager, I really hated her as an authority figure, naturally as most teens do. She's condescending, overbearing, and rigid, like a strict teacher you hated in school. She could easily remind you of anyone that you once hated having to deal with, and I think that's why people loathe the character so deeply. But is it just her strictness that people hate, or is it something more?
Let's take a look at the timeline of when Cuckoo's Nest was released. The year is 1975, a lot of social and political change is happening thanks to the civil rights groups that fought hard to be recognized. Now, the narrative is beyond being merely introduced into the mainstream and is instead being incorporated into our stories, reflecting onto the big screen. More specifically, women were now able to get contraceptives and were pushing for equal pay. Black civil right's groups fought extremely hard against discrimination and were now seeing that change starting to be implemented. The stonewall riots in 1969 allowed members of the LGBT community to be seen and heard for the first time (Rocky Horror Picture Show, would come out the same year as this film.) Disco had a few years before it would become universally hated, if it didn't have detractors already.
Why does all of this matter? Well, why is nurse Ratched hated? Because she's evil, or is it because she's a woman in power?
Let's look at McMurphy for a moment. He's seedy, he's a gambler, and in fact it's mentioned in the beginning that he had been arrested for statutory. McMurphy is not a good guy, but I'm not suggesting the film thinks this exactly; however we are supposed to identify and root for him and his antics. We're not so much rooting for McMurphy as we are supporting what he stands for and symbolizes. Well, more specifically white, straight men can identify with McMurphy, not so much anyone else. Cuckoo's Nest paints an odd reversal of a picture where white men are at the bottom of the totem pole; at the mercy of women and people of color in power over them. That's not to say the mentally ill aren't disadvantaged because they certainly are. In fact, they might be the most disadvantaged group of people, but it's also suggested that McMurphy might not be mentally ill at all. Perhaps a sociopath or some kind of personality disorder, but those terms wouldn't be instated into our cultural zeitgeist for many years later.
I'll tell you the first sign of this is McMurphy's debate in the beginning about whether or not he would sleep with Nurse Ratched. He admits that he couldn't make himself do it, but why? Nurse Ratched is cold and strict, traits that are not synonymous with the feminine, who are expected to be warm and passive. (I'm sorry to tell you Kesey, but there are a lot of men out there who actually like women in authority. That's definitely not impossible.)
Second, the tug of war between Ratched and McMurphy is telling. McMurphy would like things to be done his way, and Ratched done hers. Both of them do so under the claim that they're representing the entire ward. But McMurphy isn't doing these things because he has the interest of the ward in mind, he does them because he personally wants to. He's not some advocate for an unspoken minority or the underdog. He is and always will be, doing everything for himself. He wants to watch the game; he wants to have sex. He wants to do what men are supposed to, and Ratched is the gatekeeper blocking his fun.
His language towards Ratched, such as his usage of the word cunt, also tells us how he feels about women that have power over him. Never once does McMurphy say anything bad about the men who are part of the system. He doesn't fight with them, in fact, he complies during their interviews, despite the fact that the brokenness of the system is created and supported by these same men. What makes them different from Ratched? Why is it we can hold so much hatred for this woman and not the people who create the space that allows figures like Ratched to even act this way?
I'm not saying that just because Ratched is a woman that her actions should be excused. She still takes part in a system that is founded on white supremacy and ableism, and has much privilege. She orders her black employees around and generally treats them with less respect than the white nurses. She's not openly hostile, but merely tolerates their presence. The black characters seem to be delegated to the background, but are also aware of how unfair Ratched and her rules are. They follow her because they have to, doing the job that nobody else wants like many minorities are forced to do. If this were explored more, I might have a little more affection for the narrative, but we're supposed to believe that McMurphy is the victim here. His story and struggle are put at the forefront. The straight white man is the voice going unheard, a world that is just hilarious to think about.
The point is that McMurphy understands that the system is rigged, he's only angry at the wrong people. The truth is, he wants to be in a position of power, and if that were him at the top he wouldn't care about a guy like himself. He'd probably tell himself to shut up and fall in line. He's not some symbol of democracy or change of the status quo, he's far too selfish to be deserving of that title and yet people who like this story grant him that anyway. Throughout his time in the ward he frequently takes the patient's money in gambling, suggesting that he doesn't actually have a problem with rules as long as he personally can subvert them.
Ratched and McMurphy's dynamic is not simply order vs. chaos. Even though they are only characters, they could easily be real people in any situation. We have to think about the implications of presenting Ratched in such a cartoon-like way. If she had a mustache, she'd be twirling it that's how ridiculous they portray her. Maybe if Cuckoo's Nest was more like American Horror Story, where the tone is over the top, maybe I would get it. But this is supposed to be realistic fiction. So why make Ratched's character so exaggerated? I guess I just don't understand what the point is.
Part of me thinks that this is a problem with American cinema. Movies in America can be... less than subtle, and directors will sometimes treat their audiences like idiots. You have to have someone easily identifiable like nurse Ratched in order for them to recognize the villain, which is kind of sad. The result of this is people misidentifying the issue here. Yes, nurse Ratched is the problem, but so are the men leading the ward, and the government for not regulating these things. Nurse Ratched being evil still doesn't give you the right to be a misogynist, no matter how much you try to rationalize it.
Besides, Kesey gives Ratched too much credit anyway. She kind of lives rent free in McMurphy's head, no?
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