One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Best Classis Movie

The film One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest is one of the earliest films to show a sense of hope related to individuals with mental illness and to suggest that perhaps the environment in which they are treated plays a role in their recovery. The film is based on a book written in 1962 by Ken Kesey and probably influenced more by the politics of the day than by a desire to make a change in the treatment of those with mental illness. Author, Ken Kesey is said to have been inspired to write the book following his experiences at a VA hospital as both a staff person and a subject in an experiment involving psychoactive drugs. In an interview on his inspiration for Cuckoos next, Kesey said "if you're really trying to empathize and deal with somebody who's gone crazy on a drug, pretty soon you go crazy on the drug." He went on to explain his thoughts on how people can be easily influenced to behave as they think they are supposed to behave. While much of Kesey's life and quotes are difficult to follow and seem to frequently come back to drugs and counterculture references, some of his thoughts on societal influences were profound.

Cuckoo's Nest became a must watch to people in the field of organizational theory and psychology, and analyzing Cuckoo's Nest is a frequent class assignment for students .Cuckoo's Nest offered a snapshot of the world at a time when society was still reeling from issues such as the Vietnam War and Watergate. McMurphy is to some extent, the voice of reason in a world bending too much in the wrong direction. He is the voice for individuality and hope and understanding. He becomes the voice of his world, the world of patients in mental hospitals. The film brought some attention to the world of those suffering with mental illness. The film also brought attention to organizational operations and the danger in operating in an overly regimented and militaristic way.

Jack Nicholson won an Academy Award in 1975 for his lead role in Cuckoo's Nest as R.P. McMurphy. The film also won Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Actress (Louise Fletcher) and Best Director (Milos Forman) that same year. The film won a host of other wards and has remained a favorite and a staple since its release in 1975, Jack Nicholson delivers an amazing McMurphy and Louise Fletcher is his perfect match as Nurse Ratched. The film is one of the most interesting studies of human nature and audiences are surprised to find themselves rooting for a man with such an apparently awful criminal history. The film is set at The Oregon State Psychiatric Hospital, interestingly, a facility struggling to upgrade standards and treatments protocols in response to a report issued by the US Department of Justice in 2008.