One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest And 1984 Critical Analysis

The two texts studied, 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, both teach the viewer essential lessons about the importance of freedom and the dangers of despotism. They do this by showing the viewer how awful life is in the absence of freedom, the constant abuse of power by authoritarian forces, and the elimination of love. The film 1984, directed by Michael Radford, is based on the highly acclaimed novel, 1984, written by George Orwell. The film follows the life of a man called Winston living in a dystopian society. Throughout the film, the viewer sees the cruel consequences Winston faces due to disobeying the oppressive governmental forces, as a result teaching the audience of the importance of freedom and the dangers of despotism.†¦show more content†¦The lack of freedom is shown in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest when Nurse Ratched prohibits Randle and the others from watching the World Series. In order for Randle to be able to watch the World Series, he must obtain a c ertain amount of votes. At first, he does not, leaving Nurse Ratched once again feeling successful. The second time Randle asks to watch the game, he does obtain the required amount of votes, yet Nurse Ratched claims it does not count, as the requirement was not met while the group meeting was still running. Small instances like this leave people such as Randle left feeling helpless and as if they are not entitled to basic forms of enjoyment. The lesson that each of the texts attempt to show the reader is that freedom is an important aspect of life, even having the freedom to do what we view as minuscule activities, such as to choose what to watch on television. Love is believed to be having a deep affection for someone, whether that be a spouse, parent, or child. Throughout both 1984 and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest the idea of love is diminished as much as possible. In 1984, love for anything but The Party is prohibited and sex is solely for procreational purposes. Before Winston meets Julia, he follows the Governments commands and abstains from love. However, soon after meeting her he falls in love and is quick to disobey. Eventually they areShow MoreRelatedThe Sociology Of Health And Mental Illness3181 Words   |  13 Pagesmental illness. Word count: 3,132 John Goulder! 1 ï ¿ ¼Introduction: Mental Health as Disparate Social Object Antipsychiatry was as much a cultural phenomenon as an academic or institutional one. Whilst the work of Laing (1960) and Szasz (1960) can be rooted in the Fruedo-Marxist ‘methodological individualism’ of critical theory (Rogers Pilgrim, 2010: 14), or even a broader constructionist critique of medical truth, it just as easily lends itself to a more limited historicist Libertarian reading: mental