The definition of Popular Discrimination, a term coined by John Fiske, is “interconnection between a text and the immediate social situations of its readers. It must be “socially and historically specific and will change as [it] moves through the social structure or through history.”
The Frankfurt Group was interested in viewing pop culture as an opiate for the working class with no other purpose than to numb its constituents with easily digestible spectacle. I understand the point and here is what I had to say about that. The Burmingham group, on the other hand, viewed pop culture as a possible vehicle for social reform. Stuart Hall stated, “cultural industries have the power to constantly rework and reshape what they represent." I can think of no other cultural text that deals so powerfully with social reform as the 1975 movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" based on Ken Kesey's novel by the same title.
1962: Between the years of 1940 and 1950, approximately 40,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States. It was a quick and easy surgery that could be performed with no particular skill and was pushed on patients to treat any number of mental illnesses. Though dangerous, highly invasive, and life altering, it was casually praised as a treatment for depression, schizophrenia, homosexuality, feminine hysteria, and any number of other mental conditions. In short, it was a guaranteed life changer and a quick money maker. There is no doubt that this practice to treat mental illness, as well as many others at the time, fueled the ideas behind Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Upon its initial release, critics praised Kesey's prose and the public received the book well. Kesey wrote, the public read, the public responded. They read of Nurse Ratched's callousness treatment toward the patients. They read about her punitive use of Electroconvulsive therapy and lobotomy. Because of the impact of this book alone, people began to question the common use of invasive “therapies” and the overabundance of lobotomy in the mental health field.
1975: The movie version of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was released to enthusiastic critics and fans. Though the use of ECT and lobotomy had largely fallen out of fashion by that time, the message criticizing mental healthcare institutions reached the public in an even more accessible format than before and, the main character, McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson in an Oscar Winning performance) became a subversive, defiant hero. Crowds cheered as he helped his fellow patience escape and then take a boat out for a joyride. He is the exact definition of “valorizing” resistance (Williams.) Likewise, they booed as Nurse Ratched (played by Louise Fletcher) openly shamed an inmate for breaking mental ward rules.
[A text] must be “socially and historically specific and will change as [it] moves through the social structure or through history.” (Fiske)
Modern Day: Though a pivotal artifact and a catalyst for social change, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has, in some instances, become the bain of health care institutions. Research shows that “young adults who watched the film developed a negative attitude toward people with mental health issues and the institutions. . .meant to help them.” (NAMI) ECT, as shown below, can still be instrumental in treating patients with severe depression, but this depiction might make one think twice before agreeing to this therapy.
Question: Do you think “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has created a positive or negative social impact? What other popular texts have helped catalyze social reform?
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