Does the film ';One flew over the cuckoo's nest'; support the belief that we are free to control our destinies?

There exists in America a cherished belief that it is distinguishable from other societies because its citizens are free to assume control of their own destinies. To what extent does the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest support or challenge this belief?Does the film ';One flew over the cuckoo's nest'; support the belief that we are free to control our destinies?
The film (and the book) is an archetypal late 60s/early 70s rage against the machine. I interpreted it as saying that - even in American society - there are orthodoxies that grind people down. McMurphy steps outside of these orthodoxies, initially with underage sex, and then proceeds to take on every element of authority. The control of the rules, the control of the staff and even the control of the chemicals with the pills that he spits out.





In this, it perhaps harks back to earlier films such as Rebel Without A Cause.





Eventually they have to fry his brain to extinguish his spirit, but by this time he's motivated the others - Babbit, Chief Bromden - to take control of their own destinies.





If anything, it doesn't suggest that American society is by its nature any freer than anywhere else. There is an implicit suggestion underlying the movie that officialdom and authority (in any country) will gain increasing mass and control over time.





Remember that the book in particular originated in the 60s, as a reaction to the incredibly conformist and reactionary America of the 50s - a time during which Kesey, Forman and Nicholson were growing up.





That's the context I'd put it in. A call to arms for a freer spirit but also a product of its age. And despite what happens to McMurphy, in the final analysis it's an optimistic movie. The baton is passed on and - to answer your question - yes, people are made aware that they control their own destinies. It also makes the point (via those who voluntarily sign themselves in and out of the hospital) that freedoms are surrendered too easily (shades of the Patriot Act?).





You can only take the freedoms back once you've been made aware that you have given them up in the first place.Does the film ';One flew over the cuckoo's nest'; support the belief that we are free to control our destinies?
Are you doing film studies by any chance...?





Edit:





I get what you're saying about the appendices and such but it does seem as though you're going to be given a usable answer for very little effort.





But really, watch the film and read the book too. They are really awesome works, you will enjoy the time you spent. One of my favourite books (and films) of all time. It'll touch you.
If you or any-one else believes that you have complete freedom of choice and controll over your own life and destiny, then you gotta be mad and you will have to be cured...or die in the process of treatment. The film supports my views and kills the myth of ';Freedom';
Are we doing your homework? Watch the movie and you would understand. It's a good movie as well. The movie does support that we can control our destinies if we really want to. In a way it could support both arguments, but the main character supports that we can.
No
I does, but it is also a reminder that sometimes controlling influences prohibit us from fulfilling our destiny by going against our will. As evident by the lobotomising of McMurphy at the end.





Each character explores this notion in different ways. The Chief, largely sedate and and passive, grows stronger and stronger because of Randall McMurphy's influence, until he becomes the master of his own destiny and escapes.





Randall McMurphy encourages all the other characters, to some extent, to think for themselves and here is therefore a great influence on other people, thereby helping them realise they can control the direction of their own lives. He himself appears to be in control, until the very end - and that is why the ending is a shock.





Billy Bibbit even shows he is in control of his own destiny - overcoming his stutter and inhibitions to sleep with the woman at the end, and taking his own life when Nurse Rached threatens to tell his mother. At that point, he has rendered the nurse powerless by his own actions, even though it has cost him his life.





Good question!