Misunderstanding The Cuckoos Nest

[andrewducker]

There's going to be a TV series about Nurse Ratched (from One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest).

Before I start, I should say that I have no problem with reimaginings, recreations, reboots, etc. I _loathe_ the phrase "We didn't need this" when applied to any media. I am all in favour of people trying new approaches to things, and I am really looking forward to Batman, Superman, and others falling into the public domain in a decade or so, and seeing what people do with the characters without DC's supervision.

But this one annoys me, because it's giving an "Evil Supervillian" type of backstory to a character who should be an archetype of the banality of evil.

Nurse Ratched is not an exceptional evil, some kind of psychopath out to cause death and destruction for her own entertainment. She's every teacher, health professional, or other supervisor who can't cope with any kind of challenge to their authority. The terrifying thing about her is how normal she is. The awful thing about her is how many of us have had teachers like her, or doctors like her, or bosses like her. Who have had to deal with people with some kind of power over us who want everything to be *their way*. Who don't see themselves as evil, or out for revenge - they just need things to run smoothly, and everyone to be in their place so that the world can be the way it's "supposed" to be*.

And while this TV show looks gorgeous (the trailer looks great, and I can see it being very enjoyable if you like that kind of thing), I do feel that turning an archetype of this kind into a Hannibal Lecter type is a loss.


*Which is why Dolores Umbridge terrifies me more than Voldemort does, on a visceral level.

Comments

[ninetydegrees]

Seems it's an origin, prequel thingie. So maybe they're gonna try and focus on why and how she became the way she was in Cuckoo's Nest. Trauma blah blah blah. Which, tbh, doesn't sound that much more interesting to me. Seems like an excuse to make your usual conflict/intrigue series where the setting doesn't really matter. Like you said. Kind of a banal character.

[jack]

Yeah :( The scary thing is how LOTS of people are like this all the time.

[nickbarlow]

"I am really looking forward to Batman, Superman, and others falling into the public domain in a decade or so"
Why do I get the feeling that the more likely outcome here is copyright terms being extended to stop that happening? (Though I do hope that when the government comes looking for the BBC's intellectual property to sell it off, they respond by putting it all into the public domain)

On the topic, I'd be interested in knowing how many people actually know who the character of Nurse Ratched is, or have any real knowledge of OFOTCK. Though maybe that might be a blessing that gives them a chance to explore something other than "this is how she became bad".

[andrewducker]

I'm curious, but apparently there was a big enough push back last time that it's considered unlikely to extend them again. We'll see!

[momentsmusicaux]

Yeah, I despise Umbridge.

[i_kender]

Just to say I totally agree. Nurse Ratched represents the banality of evil.

I also found it a bit odd in Season 2 of Castle Rock, when they did a whole season on the origins of the stalker fan character from Misery... as in, why? but that turned out to be a really compelling watch, as they made a really good story out of it.