One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Sociological Analysis

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The movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is based on the experience of a criminal by his own free will chooses to move to a mental institution to avoid serving his time at a prison work camp. The criminal, Randall P. McMurphy, was under the assumption that his sentence would be converted to the amount of time he would need to spend in the mental hospital. Unfortunately, what he did not realize was that once he was admitted into the institution, he would not be released until the medical staff thought he would be safe to return to society. McMurphy goes about living in the institution, and creates a bond among several of the patients. This bond creates a large impact on the structure of the mental hospital. McMurphy’s relationships with other patients in the ward develop into their own little society, where thoughts and opinions grow and interfere with the flow of the institution's rules and regulations. As a result, this causes friction between the authorities and the patients which …show more content…

“Also looking at deviance from the interactionist perspective, noted that this movement into deviant subcultures occurs through a process of "drift," as people gradually leave their old crowd and become enmeshed in a circle of deviant associates” (Moloney, Lecture 1). This is exactly what happened when McMurphy entered the mental hospital. At first the other patients were quite indifferent to the behavior of McMurphy's, however as time progresses they begin to join him. The World Series games are prime examples of this perspective. Originally, no one voted to watch the games, but later on as they being to be enjoy time together with McMurphy they change their minds. In addition, when McMurphy stated to react with hostility and rage towards the hospital staff the other patients soon followed in the same manner. This perspective is not the only thing that allied the

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