The definition of insanity is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. However, can one really define madness in another being. How does one know how to diagnose someone as socially unacceptable for themselves or others. There is such a fine line between the two spectrums of sane and insane that they can appear to be almost exactly alike. Take the classic movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” starring Jack Nicholson, where Jack acts as a madman in order to evade a short prison sentence, and “The Shining”, another classic also starring Jack Nicholson, who, in this movie, is actually crazy. Both characters share similar characteristics despite the difference in plots.
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest” opens to Nicholson, playing as Randle Patrick McMurphy, arriving at the asylum in handcuffs, following an interview in which it is revealed that they suspect him of faking his mental state. Over the course of his stay he befriends his fellow patients and attempts to make a nice living out of his current situation, as well as discover the extent of their insanity. At first it appears each member of the mental hospital has a serious mental illness and is required to stay in order to be treated through social and medicinal techniques. Randle attempts to interact in a “normal” fashion with each patient with much frustration. Slowly, his peers open up more, and take a liking to Randle; they even take a mutinous and comical fishing trip with Randle and his girlfriend. It is later revealed that the majority of the cast has volunteered to be put into crisis stabilization. Randle, on the other hand has a required commitment as assigned by a judge. Even Randle's strangest and closest friend in the asylum, “Chief” Bromden has been faking his “deaf & dumb” charade the entire time he has spent there. This brings the question of the effectiveness and usefulness of the asylums themselves. Many asylums used unethical techniques and ineffective treatments to cure their patients such as: eugenic compulsory sterilization, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), insulin shock therapy, and the deadly frontal lobotomy. The movie portrays electroconvulsive therapy as Randle's punishment for his first offense when Randle and two others are contained for fighting. ECT was used on many patients who may have been in perfect mental health, and few ECT treatments had any positive effect. At the end of the film, Randle is punished once more for rebelling against the asylum by assaulting the head nurse, Nurse Ratched, through the use of a lobotomy operation which leaves him in a vegetated state. In the end, the sympathetic Chief smothers his friend so as not to leave him unhappy, followed by his escape to Canada.
“The Shining”, originally written by Stephen King, holds similar properties as “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest”; Not only in the actor, Jack Nicholson, but in the general content of the film itself. Nicholson plays a hotel keeper, Jack Torrance, over the harsh winter with his family. In an earlier interview with the manager with the hotel it is told that the previous keeper of The Overlook Hotel had killed his entire family due to the insanity brought on by the isolation. This bit of foreshadowing provides the plot to the movie. As the movie progresses Jack finds himself seeing more strange occurrences within the hotel and starts to hallucinate about a previous lifetime, which marks the true presence of his madness. Eventually his wife peers at what he had spent most of his free time doing, writing, and is horrified to see that the only thing he has written is “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” several times in different fashions. When Jack finds his beloved in awe at his creation, he completely snaps, unleashing his insanity on his family. However, the quick and clever thoughts of his son and wife allow them to escape his violent and killing intentions while he is left to freeze to death.
One actor, two movies, one topic: mental stability. Jack Nicholson was chosen to play two similar roles that are meant to be completely different. Randle was made to be the one faking his mental illness, while Jack was intentionally made to be insane. Nicholson expresses several similar characteristics between the two characters. For example, both Randle and Jack have an aggressive and sarcastic personality. Both characters carry a twisted appeal along with varying bipolar attitudes; one minute he will appear calm and cool, and the next he could be shouting and cursing down someone's throat. That being said, how can one determine if this behavior is intentional or not? Insanity is often used as a scapegoat in certain situations. The most prevalent use is pleading insanity in order to evade court sentence, much like Nicholson's character Randle. The fact that Nicholson himself is able to imitate an insane being with exceptional believability is also a contributing factor to the questionability of true madness. Then, there is the prescribed mentally ill “unfortunates” that could potentially have a problem, like Jack in “The Shining”. There is no question that there are those in the world that have mental disabilities. The true question lies in the authenticity of ones predicament. Jack had a previous drinking problem which resulted in the loss of his previous job as a teacher, and may have already been on the cusp of delusion. The spirits present within the hotel only unleashed his dormant in his subconscious. This is where the sci-fi portion of the film takes hold, but the concept of true insanity is still predominant. Yet, where is the line that exhibits real from fake? There in lies the compelling problem to a seemingly unsolvable solution.
Though both stories ended in Jack Nicholson's character's tragic death in both films, they still conclude the story on a positive note. Unfortunately, in reality, many people did suffer the same fate as Randle and Jack, insane or not. Through the use of cinematography, psychosis has been exposed to the world in two distinct lights; a horrific misfortune in “The Shining” and an ingenious cover that backfires in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest”. How does one determine one just mind over another? Will there ever be an accurate determining factor and an effective treatment? We are all insane in our own little way. Who are we to judge one from another?
Works Cited
“One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." IMDB: The Internet Movie Database.
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"(Several Words)." Thesaurus.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
"The Shining." IMDB: The Internet Movie Database. Amazon.com, n.d. Web. 2 Nov.
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Yanni, Carla. The Architecture of Madness. N. pag. Center for American Places.
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies, Mar. 2003. Web. 2 Nov. 2009.
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