Hello I m Darren Magee and today s topic is going to be looking closer at Nurse Ratched
from the story one flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Now I know there's currently a prequel
series being shown on Netflix, I'm just going to be referring to the movie as opposed to
the book as well. Just going to be talked about the 1975 movie Nurse Ratched, as portrayed
by Louise Fletcher. Now if you like this video, if you find it helpful, please consider subscribing
to my channel for future updates on mental health related topics. But just as a reminder,
this video are just my thoughts, my opinions on a fictional character. I'm not here to
diagnose anyone, I m not in the position able to diagnose anyone. Besides she isn t real.
This video does contain spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie already, I would suggest
you do so. It is a pretty good move. You might enjoy it. So who's nurse Ratchet? Well, she
is the head nurse in a hospital for people with mental illnesses. Now she likes order.
Everything has its proper place and she has all the power, she has control. She, if you
will is the antagonist in the story. She carries herself as someone who is professional, calm,
efficient and effective. She enforces the rules in order to ensure fairness and better
care for all the patients. At least as she understands fairness and better care anyway.
We someone who likes order, everything has its proper place. We see a discomfort in her
whenever the Jack Nicholson character McMurphy is introduced. He seems to bring almost like
a chaotic element to the ward, but she isn't long trying to re-establish control. For instance,
whenever he refuses to accept medication orally, she gently reminds him there are other ways
it can be administered. She even gives, gives a condescending good boy when he takes the
medication. But we also see a manipulative side to her when, for example, when McMurphy
is trying to get the television station changed over to be able to watch a sports game, she
manipulates the conversation to make it sound as if he's being selfish. She invites McMurphy
to play what is pretty much a rigged game. You know, she uses the rules to give the impression
she's being fair by asking them all to vote. But she also uses the rules to frustrate,
constantly changes the goal posts, as it were. But we also see, is like an insincerity in
are making it look as if she's being fair about manipulating the system in order to
get things her way to disempower and to frustrated others in order to dominate. Another example
of the manipulation is when she gets the patients to talk about their fears and their shameful
secrets in a group setting. Pecks away at their weak spots if you will, to embarrassments
but does it in a very gentle way, and the men in the group feel a lot of shame even
though they haven't actually done anything wrong, but there s also a shame there because
the man in the group don't seem to be able to please her. One point she even encourages
the man to write reports in a notebook about each other, to snitch on each other if you
will, and she actually calls it therapeutic. And what she's actually doing is shaming the
patients into submission, and she's doing it by posing as an Angel of mercy. It's, also
what she's doing is a common tactic of narcissists to divide and conquer groups that they are
involved with. Personally, I think she is the worst kind of workplace bully. Even though
I d be pretty sure she would be the same a lot of her different social settings. She
bullies, shames, disempowers and manipulates in a very kind and matter of fact manner.
She's always professional. She's always polite, never raises her voice, and she's able to
communicate with a very feigned concern and compassion. But we don't necessarily see with
her is a lack of empathy, there is empathy there. But what I think we see is what s known
as cognitive empathy and sometimes referred to as dark empathy. In other words, she is
aware of the feelings of others and she's aware of the impact that she has on them.
But she uses that to control and dominate and she doesn't the way that makes her untouchable,
she don't seem quite adept at feeling ignorance. And if anyone were to complain about her,
to say something about something she's done or said, well, she hasn't actually done anything
wrong. In fact in the movie, senior members of the hospital seemed to think quite highly
of her. Now towards the end of the movie we see there's a party on the ward where one
of the patients, a young man being Billy, he has a prostitute in his room. Now as Ratched
turns up and tries to regain control we see Billy stand up for himself. We see him assert
himself but she isn't long using the dark empathy to shame and emotionally blackmail
him. What she says is, What worries me Billy is how your poor mother is going to take this
. She knew exactly what to say. She knew exactly how to put Billy back in his box. She knew
exactly how to emasculate him. The impact of what she says to Billy has Billy commit
suicide. Now her lack of insight really shines through here whenever that happens, she just
defaults back to the only thing she knows order and stability in spite of what just
happened. In spite of every bodies shock and terror, she says, you know, everything back
to normal, gonna go, go back to doing what we do every single day. McMurphy attacks her
and he ends up being lobotomised. She, however, regains and remains in control. That s when
we last see her back in control, back taking the patients and their support group, but
wearing a neck brace. Though she isn't necessarily drawing attention to it yet she does seem
to be, if you will, wearing it like a badge of honour, it's almost like, Look I was hurt
as well . So what is it going on with Nurse Ratched? Well, I don't think she's a sociopath
because what we see is someone here who yes schemes and so on, but she does it using the
rules and regulations. Sociopaths tend to kick against the system, go against the rules
and she isn't necessarily impulsive either. Now there is a callousness there and a lack
of remorse which might suggest Psychopathy. And we also see someone who is quite calculating
and manipulative. But remember what I said earlier about the cognitive or the dark empathy?
I think in Nurse Ratched, what we see is somebody is on what's known as the dark triad. Now
I've made a video previously on the dark triad if you want to check that out, but that's
when someone can have very strong traits of say, narcissism, now like that would be the
sense of self importance, the entitlement, believing themselves to be untouchable and
special. There are also very strong traits of psychopathy as I ve previously mentioned,
but not enough traits in these things for clinical diagnosis. There is also what's known
as Machiavellianism. This is where we see the scheming and the manipulation, using the
dark empathy to shame, divide, conquer and emasculate the men in her care. And if she's
on that dark triad what we see here, I think anyway, certainly personified in Nurse Ratched,
is the worst kind of workplace narcissist, the worst kind of workplace bully. The one
who acts with impunity by actually doing nothing wrong. Uses rules, regulations, codes of conduct
to bully, harass and disempower everyone around her while they all try to keep on the good
side of her. Which you never really can with people like. Not unless you surrender your
all your autonomy at yourself respect. She implies rather than threats, she coerces from
a position of virtue and righteousness. She can intimidate without actually raising her
voice or swearing. She uses her authority to bring structure and then takes advantage
of advantage of it. She is, if you will, she is in a position of responsibility, but she
abuses her power to abuse those she is charged with caring for. She is the devil disguised
as an angel of light. Now Louise Fletcher summed her up by saying, She believes she's
right , and I think she's right. But then don't all narcissists believe there right?
Now regardless of how bad things are in her charge she would be the first to point what
everyone else has done to cause the chaos. So they re my thoughts onl Nurse Ratched.
Now if you have any comments please use the comment box below, perhaps you disagree or
perhaps there s something I missed when I was watching the movie. If you like this video
please consider subscribing to my channel for future updates on mental health related
topics and until next time. Thanks for watching.[DFM1] [DFM1]Please use the comment box below. Perhaps
she disagree, or perhaps there's something I've missed when I was watching the movie.
If you like this video, if you find it helpful, please consider subscribing to my channel.