One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is an American film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the novel of the same title by Ken Kesey. Released ten years after the novel in 1975, the film's character was considered experimental and controversial because its subject, mental illness, was still somewhat tendentious. It also involved the corruption of power and institutions at a time when public trust in the federal government was divided. The film would later become known as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, being preserved in the National Film Registry. More importantly, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was essential because it spoke to a generation marked by societal tensions. Released in the wake of the Vietnam War, government scandal and social movement, the film represented an ambiguous parallel with the society of the time. The symbolism embedded in the film addresses the human condition, the clashes between rebellion, authority and systematic oppression. “The therapeutic community became a trick of coercion that claimed to help people through and for the democratic common good, but only served the tyranny of the mediocre majority and the management of institutions that supported the practice for its own ends. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Kesey made the psychiatric ward a symbol of the strings of control that reign in post-war American society. (Schwaberger XVII)The representation of social classes appears immediately in the film. Confined and separated by cells, psychiatric patients in the psychiatric ward. All are white men in standard uniforms. The exception is the leader, who could arguably be considered the sanest of the group in that he appears to be...... middle of paper...... and abandonment, but as patients find their individuality, hints of color become integrated into the film. In their final battle against Nurse Ratched, McMurphy throws a colorful party in the hall. This shows patients the pure exuberance that life has to offer. A transfer of power is symbolized by the fact that his white cap circulates and gets dirty. In their final battle for control, Nurse Ratched takes her final revenge on McMurphy. By performing a lobotomy, Nurse Ratched separates McMurphy from his mechanism of choice, free will and control. Although the mind and body are intact, without spirit and will, man is nothing. Ultimately, McMurphy sacrifices himself for the sake of others. The Chief frees McMurphy and himself by smothering McMurphy's vegetative body and escaping the institution with his memory. Patients continue to live inspired by the spirit of his rebellion.