A Theft of Personal Identity

Based on Ken Kesey’s 1962 novel of the same name, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) explores themes of power, conformity and mental instability while reflecting many societal tendencies of the time period.  The film’s protagonist, Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year old, serves his sentence in a bleak mental institution governed by the iron fist of Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).  Immediately, the anti-authoritarian nature of the film is revealed as the audience is aligned with an eclectic mix of unstable ward patients, dehumanized by the repression of the institution.  The insertion of McMurphy’s free-spirited will into Nurse Ratched’s dictatorial regime provides the primary conflict for the film, as McMurphy tries to help his newfound friends indulge in “real-world” activities such as fishing, gambling and baseball.  Unlike Nurse Ratched, who subjects her patients to subtle humiliation and constant medicine to make them “better,” McMurphy believes that discovering one’s identity and having fun is the best way to cure a mental handicap.  Though it was released in 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest embodies many of the counter-culture beliefs of the 1960s, using the mental institution as an extended metaphor for a societal “trap.”

            The film spends a great deal of time questioning the meanings of insanity and identity.  During McMurphy’s first meeting with the psychiatric doctor, he muses over why he has been committed, believing that he has been deemed “crazy for not sitting there like a goddamn vegetable.”  McMurphy goes on to admit that there is not a thing wrong with his mind.  With his help, the other patients slowly begin to realize that they are not as helpless as Nurse Ratched believes them to be.  As the film progresses, the unlikely heroes learn to rebel against Nurse Ratched’s mind-numbing routine and take control of their own lives.  However, the end of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest takes a slightly unexpected turn, adding a new dimension to its philosophical statement.  After a central character commits suicide, Nurse Ratched realizes that the ward has fallen completely out of her hands due to McMurphy’s rebellious ways, so she has him lobotomized.  Another patient in the ward, “Chief” Bromden (Will Sampson), smothers McMurphy to death with a pillow, believing that McMurphy would rather die than be reduced to a vegetable.  McMurphy acts as a martyr for the rest of the patients, in that his personal identity is taken away by the oppression of the mental institution.  John Locke explores similar values in his discussions of personal identity and consciousness in Of Identity and Diversity. 

The question is raised as to whether McMurphy is the same person he was before the lobotomy.  He is obviously still in the same body, and he has the ability to retain literal consciousness (so to speak) and passively observe situations.  However, all his desires and inhibitions have been taken away, so can he still lay claim over his own identity?  Locke begins to define personal identity by considering what a “person” is, concluding that a “person” is “a thinking intelligent Being, that has reason and reflection, and can consider it self as it self” (195), similar to Descartes’ conclusions in his Second Meditation.  However, Locke takes this argument to another level, making the assertion that substance, whether physical or mental, has nothing to do with the personal identity of one’s self.  Locke states that, “Nothing but consciousness can unite remote Existences into the same Person, the Identity of Substance will never do it.” (200).  As mentioned earlier, the lobotomized McMurphy is able to stay awake, but this definition of consciousness refers to the ability to feel, experience, and maintain control over the mind.  By the end of One Flew Over Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy’s forced conformity is taken to a more extreme level than the rest of the patients, and Locke would most definitely argue that Nurse Ratched succeeds in crushing his personal identity. 

Personally, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is one of my favorite films ever because it mixes the perfect amount of entertainment value and social commentary, so I would obviously recommend it to anyone.  In a realist film that relies on stellar acting instead of intriguing settings and special effects, the tension in the scenes with McMurphy and Nurse Ratched is remarkable to watch.  The film also features now-famous actors such as Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd in more minor roles, and I would argue that Nicholson gives one of the best performances of his career as McMurphy.