Girl, Interrupted: A Cuckoo's Nest of Our Time

GIRL, INTERRUPTED: a Cuckoo's Nest of Our Time

Published on: July 20, 2001

It is important to note, I think, that this is an essay comparing two very different perspectives of one situation. It is by no stretch of the imagination complete enough to be called a review of either GIRL, INTERRUPTED or ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST. It is rather a somewhat formal collection of my thoughts and opinions.

GIRL, INTERRUPTED and ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST are films set in mental institutions during the 1960’s. CUCKOO’S NEST was written by Ken Kesey and translated to film in 1975 by director Milos Forman (THE MAN ON THE MOON, THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT). Jack Nicholson deftly portrays McMurphy (AS GOOD AS IT GETS), CUCKOO'S NEST main character. 1999’s GIRL, INTERRUPTED stars Winona Ryder (LOST SOULS, THE AGE OF INNOCENCE) as author Susanna Kaysen, and Angelina Jolie (who received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this role) as her antagonist, Lisa. It stemmed from the collaborative efforts of director James Mangold (COPLAND) and an eyewitness account given by the author of her experience in a mental institution. This account, ironically, took the form of a self-help book. You don’t think it’s ironic? Read on. Both films tell a tale of the struggle between an individual and society at large. Both films also evaluate the purpose of these institutions by describing the experiences of one person. But GIRL, INTERRUPTED is a movie for the nineties. It just glistens with life-affirming polish.

Much can be determined about a society by observing its media. By taking a look at the differences between these movies we can determine how our society has changed over the last 25 years. All right, so we can’t learn everything there is to know about how a group of 250 million people think and feel by spending four hours in front of the TV. The institution in CUCKOO’S NEST is an intentional metaphor for the established society of the time, and while GIRL, INTERRUPTED may not be trying to tell us anything specific about our society; the way the story is told speaks for itself.

“Am I crazy? Maybe life is crazy.” It is with this highly evolved nineties perspective that GIRL, INTERRUPTED describes the atmosphere of 60’s institutions. This is the same mode of thought that led to "Raising Children for Dummies" and a 12-step program for any occasion. I don’t remember the 60’s looking anything like the nineties, yet in GIRL, INTERRUPTED everything is carefully ninetized and Politically Correct-ified. Although the clothes are appropriate, everything else in the movie that might paint the awful picture that CUCKOO’S NEST paints has been carefully tucked away. One of the women is put in the institution merely because she’s gay. Well, we don’t want this movie to be a downer. Give her two lines and no character development; the audience won’t notice anyway. The antagonist undergoes