Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest: A Diagnostic Analysis
505 Words3 Pages
In the film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” we are introduced the character Randle "Mac" McMurphy, who meets the criteria for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition (DSM-V), antisocial personality disorder (APD) is characterized as “a failure to conform to lawful and ethical behavior, and an egocentric, callous lack of concern for others, accompanied by deceitfulness, irresponsibility, manipulativeness, and/or risk taking.” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) (It should be noted the the DSM-V will be used to the purposes of this paper as it is the current version as of October 1, 2015, although the DSM-II was the DSM revision that would have been used in 1975 when the film was produced.) (***DSM-II CITATION***, ***IMBD CITATION***) The current hypothesis of the cause of APD is the person lacks a conscience and does not have…show more content… If this behavior is confronted, they will often rationalize their behavior and blame others for their own actions. (***CITE HOCKENBURY***)
Mac is almost a literal “textbook” case of antisocial personality disorder. He has repeatedly committed numerous serious crimes that harmed others, including assault and statutory rape, repeatedly flaunts the hospital's rules, and is extremely manipulative with other people he has contact with. Within the first few minutes of the film he already begins to display NPD traits by showing