Bryan Flores
Ms. Gambino
Jesus In Film
11/17/06
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring such prestigious actors as Jack
Nicholson and Danny DeVito, portrays the horrific and cruel life of mental patients and a
mental institution headed by the unjust Nurse Ratched. However, a power struggle
ensues between her and R.P. McMurphy, a new patient sent from prison. McMurphy,
who is called “Mac” by the other patients, introduces a new life to them, more rebellious
yet meaningful. He shows them that their lives are not meaningless and they are not
lower than people outside of the institution who are “sane.” Instead, he held them in
higher regard and treats them with proper respect. He shows them life outside the grim
walls of the institution and lets them experience the world. He brings them fishing, he
throws them a party, and commentates and narrates the World Series to them, without the
actual game. The patients in the hospital loved Mac, just as the disciples of Jesus loved
him dearly, especially Billy Bibbit, an insecure man with a speech impediment.
However, when Billy Bibbit inquires as to who forced him to sleep with a strange
woman, he betrays Mac and tells Nurse Ratched that McMurphy forced him. This
betrayal is similar to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas as described in Matthew 26:14-25,
“Then on of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests…..Jesus
said, ‘Truly I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
An influential and surprising character in the movie is Chief, first believed to be
deaf until he speaks to McMurphy. Throughout most of the movie, Chief is supposed to
be deaf and dumb; however, he chooses to speak to McMurphy because he believes in
him and feels he can confide in him. He is McMurphy’s best friend in that institution,
just as Peter was Jesus’s most beloved disciple. In the end, after Nurse Ratched ordered a
lobotomy be performed on McMurphy, Chief continues Mac’s work in raising the sink to
smash the window open and escape, as Jesus tells Peter in John 21:23, “…Follow me.”
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was an enriching movie with outstanding
performances. The biblical similarities were clear and the message of the movie was
understood. It is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and everyone should have
watched this movie at least one time in their lives.