Downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983

Downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983
STMcC in downtown Los Angeles, circa 1983

Sunday, March 12, 2017

'McCARTHY AT HOLLYWOOD AND VINE' (Episode #124)

.
[FUN FACT: This "review" was originally published at Amazon.com in 2006, when Hillary Clinton was making noise about running for the 2008 Presidential election. In the comment section, a liberal woman named Joan M. Padilla excoriated me for using a masterpiece movie like '...Cuckoo's Nest' as political propaganda. She concluded her angry rant by stating that she hoped Hillary Clinton WOULD get me and all of my "ferret faced fascist friends". I complimented Joan on her comment, because that alliterative expression cracked me up, and it later became the inspiration for the title of my politically incorrect blog 'Ferret-Faced Fascist Friends' found (link:] HERE.]
.
.
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
directed by Milos Forman; starring Jack Nicholson
1975
.
{*Note: spoiler alert*}
.
INTERVIEWER: Hello, and welcome back to McCARTHY AT HOLLYWOOD AND VINE. We’re here today with Stephen T. McCarthy and discussing one of his very favorite films, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Tell us, Stephen, when did you first see this highly acclaimed film?
.
McCARTHY: CUCKOO’S NEST was released in nineteen seventy-five, and I saw it numerous times at The Avco Cinema Center in Los Angeles. I and a group of friends –- some who later went on to become police officers -– sneaked into the theatre repeatedly during its initial run. To this day, it remains entrenched on my all-time Top Ten movie list.
.
INTERVIEWER: Stephen, you little criminal, we never would have thought it of you! I understand that you have a rather original perspective on this classic film. Want to share that with us?
.
McCARTHY: Well, back in seventy-five, I thought I was just viewing a magnificently crafted and masterfully acted film centered on the important theme of individualism and finding and being true to one’s own "voice". I had no way of knowing that the movie was actually remarkably prescient with regards to the American political situation that would manifest over thirty years later.
.
INTERVIEWER: Would you care to elaborate?
.
McCARTHY: To the viewer in nineteen seventy-five, this movie, which won five Academy Awards, appeared to tell the story of a man who feigns mental illness in order to avoid his prison work detail. While he is undergoing psychiatric evaluation, his rebellious, individualistic spirit “infects” the real “nut cases” who begin to assert themselves much to the resentment of the domineering head nurse at the mental institution. But here in Aught Six, we can see that the movie was actually foretelling the political situation that this country now finds itself in.
.
INTERVIEWER: To you, the characters in this movie represent something completely different, don’t they?
.
McCARTHY: Yes. Actually, CUCKOO’S NEST is about the 2008 Presidential Election. The mental institution itself symbolizes the United States -– a loony bin if there ever was one. The domineering, manipulative, and vindictive head nurse, Mildred Ratched, represents Hillary Clinton –- a power-hungry woman driven by her insatiable quest for control. It should be pointed out that Louise Fletcher won an Oscar for her remarkable portrayal of Mrs. Clinton. Capturing every aspect of the senator’s traits, she paints us as good a portrait of Clinton as Clinton herself could have done.
.
INTERVIEWER: But the senator’s road to The White House is not without obstacles, is it?
.
McCARTHY: No. Standing in her way is the rebellious underdog, Randle Patrick McMurphy, a man who seeks to bring the nuts around him back to their senses. McMurphy personifies the true American spirit opposed to the Socialism of Nurse Ratched.
.
There is one scene in particular that forcefully illustrates this friction: McMurphy petitions to have the television in the community room turned on so that he and his fellow Americans –- or “the mental defective league”, as he accurately refers to them -- can watch the second game of the 1963 World Series. Baseball, being “America’s Pastime”, is naturally repugnant to the Leftist Nurse, and so she resorts to her unique brand of sophism in order to prevent genuinely American traditions from being broadcasted into the community (room).
.
INTERVIEWER: And Nurse Ratched is aided and abetted by--
.
McCARTHY: She is voted into power and protected by women and minorities. This is conveyed by her ever-present subordinate female nurse and by the mental institution’s watchful and protective Black orderlies. Ratched’s eventual success in quashing all sense of individualism and driving the country deeper into the pit of Socialism is “shockingly” revealed in the eventual castration of America’s spirit, that being R.P. McMurphy. The symbolic castration, however, is thinly veiled by the fact that the scalpel is actually wielded against his “Northern” hemisphere.
.
INTERVIEWER: Is there no happy ending here?
.
McCARTHY: No, I’m afraid not. With the true American spirit now impotent, Mrs. Clinton occupies the ultimate position of power that she coveted, and the principles of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and George Mason -– those formerly enduring ideals NATIVE to America –- “fly the coop”, or leave the cuckoo’s nest. This is represented by the “Native American”, Chief Bromden, who heads for the hills.
.
INTERVIEWER: And isn’t it true that--  Hey, wait, Stephen, where are you going?!
.
McCARTHY: To pack my bags! I’m afraid that Nurse Ratched really is going to win the 2008 election, and I also need to be ready to escape this insane country and “head for the hills.”
.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
.

10 comments:

  1. Nurse Ratched lost twice and the country is still insane.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Indeed. As long as we allow anti-American, communist traitors to live among us, the insanity will continue and worsen.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  2. Great comment from Arlee! ☺ You and my father would have gotten along great, Stephen. He started out as a Canadian conservative (slightly right of centre), then after moving to San Diego, eventually evolved into a card-carrying member of the Tea Party. He hated Hillary with a passion and finally obtained his U.S. citizenship in 2007 (he was a legal resident alien until then), stating the main reason was so he could vote against her. Cuckoo's Nest was worthy of the awards it won. I've never considered it from a political perspective, until now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DEBBIE ~
      Yeah, sounds like your dad was my kind of guy. At least politically, anyway.

      The only political label I attach to myself is "Constitutionalist", and unlike 98.8% of Americans, I have actually studied and know the Constitution. (This topic will reappear on this blog in future reviews.)

      And the real "father of the Tea Party" was Ron Paul -- a true Constitutionalist who was ALWAYS my #1 choice for president.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
    2. I remember Ron Paul. My father liked him too.

      Delete
    3. That makes sense.

      The Powers That Be did all they could to prevent Ron Paul from becoming POTUS. He was a true danger to Uncle Scam.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'Loyal American Underground'

      Delete
  3. Howdy Reno,
    I'm probably the only person alive that didn't see the film as political; having uncomfortably close experience with mental illness as I did. However, I must say you expertly described a flipside - with fangs.
    "bring the nuts around him back to their senses" When pigs fly, perhaps ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, dIEDRE. For years prior to writing this review, I had been calling Hillary Clinton "Nurse Ratched". FUN FACT: As far as I knew, I was the first person to connect the two of them; I'd never seen it done before. Today, if you Google those two names together you'll get lots of matches. Looks like I've been ripped off again!

      I wanted to write a review of 'CUCKOO'S NEST', however, everything that one could say about it had already been said.

      But then remembering my Hillary Clinton / Nurse Ratched connection, I started thinking about the movie's plot, its characters, and certain scenes, and began looking for ways to put them together to invent a story about America and Liberal Politics. And that's how this review was created.

      After I got done, I thought that everything matched up so eerily well in my imaginary scenario that I wondered if perhaps I hadn't IMAGINED the REAL hidden meaning of the film. HA!

      ~ D-FensDogG
      Check out my new blog @
      (Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...

      Delete
  4. Stephen,

    I haven't seen this movie but I know it's a classic. It's interesting how you drew a comparison with the '08 election process with this movie and I love your review. You really out did yourself in this one. I try to not understand why the left gets in total offense every time a conservative voices his/her opinion but their views are constantly shoved in our faces and down our throats. Now, you got me wanting to see this movie just because of this awesome review! :) I have a special favor to ask, can you please keep my son in prayer. We have a situation (really it's a huge mess) that we're dealing with and one I can't even talk about, but God knows all the details and it's in Him I put my trust. Thank you, dear friend and God bless!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CATHY ~
      First, thanks for taking care of that issue for me at John Holton's blog.

      And thanks for the very kind compliments about this review! I can tell you that the movie is a bit crude at times, but nowhere near as raw as most movies made today. (Not a lot of nudity and over-the-top gratuitous violence.) And it is definitely a "must-see". At times it will emotionally rip into you, but it should also have you howling with laughter much of the time. It's probably the most laugh-out-loud very serious drama ever!

      And the ending is amazing. You won't know whether to cry or cheer.

      About your Son: Will I pray for him? You can absolutely count on it! In fact, I usually pray for someone just before I go into my daily meditation session. And as soon as I hit "Publish" on this comment, that's exactly what I'm going to do. And for sure it is your Son whom I will pray for!

      Please let me know how things go. Expect to see God's Hand in this.

      Check out my new blog @
      (Link:] Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...

      Delete

---> NOTE: COMMENT MODERATION IS ACTIVATED. <---
All submitted comments that do not transgress "Ye Olde Comment Policy" will be posted and responded to as soon as possible. Thanks for taking the time to comment.