One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a film directed by Czech Milos Forman in 1975. Using powerful fictional elements - characters, conflicts and symbolism - Forman illustrates the counterculture of the 1960s. This film depicts American society as a madhouse that demands conformity from its citizens. The film begins with a conniving inmate being assigned to the asylum. R.P. McMurphy is sent to the asylum to be evaluated by doctors and to determine whether or not he is mentally ill. Little does he know that he will be supervised by an emasculated woman named Nurse Mildred Ratched who watches the patients' every movement from her nursing station. R.P. McMurphy is a lively, rebellious and rational patient who has recently been escorted to an asylum. Once in the bin, Randle becomes the self-proclaimed champion of the rights of the other patients on the ward, his opponent being Nurse Ratched (New York Times). He surveys the asylum and the patients deciding he needs to lighten the mood. According to Filmsite, Movie Review McMurphy encourages patients to participate in activities that will boost their morale and change their monotonous routine. McMurphy decides to challenge Nurse Ratched when he notices that the patients on the ward are overly organized and controlled through a rigid set of authoritarian rules and regulations which McMurphy questions: “God Almighty, she makes you come and go. What do you think he is, some kind of sample or something?"--- "I bet in a week, I can stick a bug so far up her ass, she won't know whether to f-- or wind her wristwatch" ( OFOTCN). Entertainment Weekly hints that McMurphy is unwilling to surrender to the belittling power of Nurse Ratched and rebels against corr...... middle of paper ......ok places in America all have one thing in common with the movie: they are filled with people who have had enough and had a leader willing to take the lead in making that change happen. McMurphy represents that leader as his sacrifice allowed others to find freedom. Works Cited Canby, Vincent. "nytimes.com." The New York Times. November 20, 1975. The New York Times Company. April 5, 2012.“Filmsite Film Review: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.”. Filmsite.org. American Film Classics Company. 2012. Web March 12, 2012. Movie Reviews: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.” Rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times Media Company. Web April 3, 2012. Nashawaty, Chris. "The Cuckoo's Nest turns 35." Entertainment Weekly 1120/1121 (2010): 128. MAS Ultra School Edition. Network. 5 April 2012 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Director Milos Forman. Warner Brothers, film by 1975.