One Flew Over The Cuckoo´s Nest And Andrew Niccol's 'Gattaca'

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Good evening and welcome to tonight’s episode of Learning Literature. Tonight we will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of Gattaca by analysing the techniques text producers employ to construct representations of social issues relating to marginalised groups. We will focus on two classic pieces of literature, Ken Kessey’s, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, as well as Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca. Through a range of techniques, the text producers have included representations of freedom and independence, power, as well as discrimination in each of their respective texts.

One of the more apparent themes seen in both texts is that of discrimination against marginalised groups. Both texts send a clear message, that regardless of the circumstances, …show more content…

In Cuckoo’s Nest, those who are considered sane, are simply part of “The Combine”, unable to think for themselves, and are only there to do their part to keep the machine running smoothly. The machinery analogies used throughout the novel are metaphorical of how ridged society is in terms of what is normal. In a society where everyone is expected to act and think the same way, is there really any room for independence? This shows that it is only those who don’t conform to societal norms and expectations, the ’mentally ill’, who are truly independent. The same thing can be seen in Gattaca in terms of the genetically superior. The text producers are clearly saying that once you start removing the quirks and flaws that every human has, you start removing what makes them them. Whilst they are a better fit in the machinery of society, they have no independence, everyone becomes identical to each other. This is seen early on in the film at Vincent’s work. Everyone blends together. Their costuming is uniform, they make no mistakes, and even their cubicles are indistinguishable. It is only those with flaws, such as Vincent, with his imperfect genome, as well as Eugene, with his paralysed legs and substance abuse, that have any kind of independence or …show more content…

The marginalised groups in both texts, the ‘mentally ill’ as well as the genetically inferior are constantly seen trying to gain control of power. For example, in Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy, the novel’s protagonist, is seen to have the primary goal of trying to change the power dynamics at the mental ward in favour of the patients. McMurphy is often seen pushing the boundaries of the ward rules in order to show that Nurse Ratched’s power is nothing more than an illusion. Kessey showed this through the motif of glass. Glass is commonly referred to in the novel, and Is symbolic of the divide between those with, and those without power. When McMurphy smashed through the nurse’s window to get a pack of cigarettes, it was representative of McMurphy breaking through the invisible divide and shattering the illusion of power the Nurse held over the ward. Similarly, in Gattaca, a shift in the power dynamic can be seen when Vincent fakes his identity to progress from the underclass of society to become one of the elites. These shifts in power are representative of the struggle and hardship that marginalised groups in society have had to overcome. This is also seen through the symbolic nature of the scene when Eugene drags himself up the staircase in Gattaca. The staircase itself is in the shape of a double helix, the shape of DNA. This climb symbolises him overcoming the limitations society has placed on him due to his

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