SENIORS PURPLE: Cuckoo's Nest Historical/Cultural Summaries
Post before Tuesday's class.
posted by JTF @ 12:37 PM
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Friday, March 21, 2014
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19 Comments:
Oedipus Complex
The Oedipus Complex is a component of classical Freudian psychoanalytic theory. It is the desire of a child to sexually possess the parent of the opposite sex. Freud introduced this concept in his Interpretation of Dreams in 1899. The underlying concept as well as the name of this complex originates from the story of Oedipus Rex, a play by Sophocles. In this story, Oedipus’ birth parents abandon him due to a prophecy that says the king would die at the hand of his child. Oedipus is adopted by the King of Corinth, who raises the child as his own. After hearing a prophecy that he would kill his father, Oedipus runs away and unknowingly kills his real father and marries his birth mother, fulfilling the prophecy. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, one of the staff diagnoses McMurphy as having a negative oedipal. This means that a boy assumes an affectionate, feminine attitude toward the father and develops jealousy or even hostility toward the mother, creating a hatred of women authority figures.
The Christ Figure Archetype-
The Christ Figure archetype is usually the non conformist or an unlikely hero in any piece of literature. This character is usually in agony and is self sacrificing, and has a group of devoted "followers." This character is usually very humble. This character usually shows two or more traits that are associated with Jesus. For example, this character might be known to perform miracles, heal others, or fight for justice. This character is usually a martyr sacrificing himself for the greater good. Examples of this archetype are John Coffee from The Green Mile, Simon from The Lord of the Flies, and Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.
John F Kennedy PT109
On August 1st 1943 there was an attack by 18 Japanese bombers on the Navy. The boats that had fired torpedoes at the Japanese destroyer had missed so they were told to turn away but PT-109 was one of the boats left behind. Lieutenant Kennedy remained in control of his boat along with two others, PT-162 and PT-169. In the early morning, a shape emerged three hundred yards off PT-109's starboard bow. Kennedy and his crew first believed it to be another PT boat but it was actually one of the Japanese destroyer boats. The destroyer, Amagiri, struck PT-109, ripping away the starboard aft side of the boat and tossed the crew around and even some overboard. The men abandoned the remains of PT-109 and went to a tiny deserted island called Plum Pudding Island because all the nearby large islands had Japanese camps on them. Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and they were rescued August 8th without incident.
Thalidomide
Thalidomide is a prescription drug that was created in 1957. It was developed by a German company called Chemie Grünenthal. The drug was claimed to be a sedative or a hypnotic drug. It was used to help with anxiety, insomnia, and gastritis. The drug was sold as an over the counter drug in 1957 and was also used to help with morning sickness in pregnant women. The drug ended up causing diseased children. The symptoms would usually be some kind of deformation of the limbs or eyes. The child could also be born deaf or blind. Over half of the children born did not survive. This drug raised awareness of how to control prescription drugs. Today, an advanced form of this drug is used to help with certain cancers.
The novel 1984, by George Orwell, tells the tale of Big Brother and the power he holds over Oceania. Big Brother is the government looking after all of mankind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Big Brother controls everything the people do, say, and believe. The main character in the book, Winston Smith, has the job of rewriting the history for Big Brother in the way Big Brother wants it to be remembered at that time. Winston questions Big Brother and rebels against the party. Big Brother learns of his rebellion and takes him to the troubling Room 101 in which his greatest fear is used against him. Big Brother and the Party use the fear of the people to stop their rebellion and make them learn to love Big Brother.
Captain Marvel.
Captain Marvel was a comic book superhero created by Fawcett Comics (and later DC comics) in 1939. This hero was also known as Shazam. Shazam is the alter ego of Billy Batson. He is the champion of good.His arch villain was named Doctor Sivana. He was the most popular comic book hero of the 1940s. Fawcett stopped creating and publishing the comic book hero when DC Comics filed a legal suit saying that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman.
Marvel Comics also created superheroes under the name of Captain Marvel. The original captain Mar-Vell was an alien military officer in 1967. This superhero was also a good hero. He protected the Earth form all threats. The emperor of his planet brands him as a traitor and that is why he decides to protect the Earth. This hero developed cancer and died in the graphic novel "The Death of Captain Marvel."
"Little Boxes"-
“Little Boxes” is a song that was written in 1962 by a woman named Malvina Reynolds that later became a hit for Pete Seeger in 1963. The song talks about suburban middle-class homes and how although each house may be a different color they still are all the same. This song goes deeper then just houses though. It also talks about how all the people who live in these “ticky-tacky” houses are the same as well. They all grow up in these “little boxes”, go to the same university in “little boxes”, and then history repeatss itself with their children.
In Mark 5:25-29, a woman had a hemorrhage for twelve years was visiting many doctors. None of them seemed to be able to cure or help her and took all of the money. She grew worse as time went on. She heard about Jesus and thought that if he touched His cloak, she would be cured. After going to see him, she went behind I'm in a big crowd and touched him and was instantly cured. She felt like a new person and could truly feel the miracle.
INDIAN TREE BURIAL
When someone dies, in order to honor the deceased, a burial ceremony in held. "Some types of burial places represent events, customs, or beliefs common to many cultures, locations, or time periods" (National Park Service, Par. 2). In the modern world, most of the dead are buried in the ground in a casket or cremated. However, this was not the custom of the Plains Indians and Indians of the Pacific North West. Being a nature-loving group, the customs of the Indians were revolved around natural causes. Therefore, the resting place of the deceased India s were above ground. The grave itself was made out of trees and branches, built into a box or crate and hoisted into the air by stilts. By doing this, the body and the crates would decay over time naturally (Natural Park Service, Par. 3). This custom gave the Indians the opportunity to honor their loved ones while practicing their background and beliefs at the same time.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64342/
http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/7/5/365.full
Topic: Therapeutic Community
Summary:
A therapeutic community is where members with similar psychological issues live together in a community. Members typically stay in these communities anywhere from 6 to 24 months. The most common issues that therapeutic communities aim to treat are for patients with troubles with substance abuse and patients with severe mental illnesses. The goal of therapeutic community is to provide a safe environment for members to live and help each other cope with their treatments. The therapeutic community model aims to have peers work together and help each other make right life choices until eventually members can do that on their own. The social dynamic is supposed to greatly boost the members' progress with their treatments. In the past, there have been issues with therapeutic communities that made the experience very similar to a prison or a mad house. However, modifications are continuing to be made to allow members to have the freedom to run the unit but to have the right guidance from staff to allow them to grow and feel safe.
Topic: The Red Scare and Blacklisting in the 1950s
The Red Scare and blacklisting in the 1950s took the nation by storm and in hindsight it was over done. The Red Scare was the rise of fear regarding communism that influenced society and government. Blacklisting meant that if you were suspected of being a communist in the 1950s you were put on the “Black List” which restricted you from getting a job and other basic privileges by the government. The first Red Scare and Blacklisting occurred after World War I in the United States and was a paranoia that was unnecessary and blown out of proportion. The second Red Scare focused more on foreign communists and the potential scare of spies on the United States. The second Red Scare was referred to as “McCarthyism” because it had come about from former Senator Joseph McCarthy. Since the Red Scare, America has removed itself from communism to try and better the society and government as a whole.
The Merry Pranksters and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a nonfiction book written by Tom Wolfe to describe the growing of the Beat Generation and its drug use. The book was written through the perspective of one of the Merry Pranksters, a group led by Ken Kesey that travelled cross-country in a colorful school bus they called Furthur. Some believe it was this group that really created the psychedelic 60s. The Merry Pranksters were famous for their use of psychedelic drugs, namely LSD, to achieve intersubjectivity, which emphasizes our social souls. Often they would lace Kool Aid with LSD to achieve a communal trip; this method of drug use became known as an "acid test." The book documents their use of these drugs as well as their encounters with famous authors, Hells Angels, and The Grateful Dead. Kesey is presented as a Christ figure starting a new religion and the book follows his exile to Mexico.
Trickster Archetype:
The trickster archetype is found throughout many forms of literature. This character is not only a fool who likes to play tricks. Instead, the trickster is a rebel who refuses to conform to society and rejects conventional behavior. They openly challenge and mock authority, as well as promoting chaos wherever they go. They can be both cunning and manipulative and have the ability to devise masterful plans and schemes. Although they seem foolish at the surface, they often contain great knowledge and wisdom. The trickster’s antics are often the cause of other characters’ problems.
The Cold War was a military battle between the Eastern and Western Blocs. The Eastern Bloc consisted of the Soviet Union and its allies in the Warsaw Pact, while the Eastern Bloc was made up of the United States and NATO. There was no direct large scale battles during the Cold War, which was from the year 1947 to 1991. The Cuban missile crisis was the closest ever the Cold War got to involving nuclear force in battle. The United States and Soviet Union both placed nuclear missiles on their allies territories as a defense against one another. The main reason World War III was never started is because each Bloc had a nuclear deterrent against one another. If one enemy was to attack with nuclear weapons, then they would have been fired upon as well by the other.
"The Feminine Mystique" by Betty Friedan- The idea behind this book was simply that women did not lead a fulfilling life by having a children and a home; they were meant to do more. This book, written in 1963, is thought to have started the feminist movement, granting more rights to women. Friedan got her research by interviewing suburban housewives and studying psychology and media. One of the biggest points in her book is that in the society around 1960, women were not pushed to go to school or start a career. Women were put under the impression that having a family and being a housewife would fulfill all the needs, while their husband made a living. This idea of a housewife and breadwinner arose from World War II and the Cold War, or so she states in her book. The country needed a picture perfect family, so they made the spots to fill. This book focuses on how women were shuffled in to this lifestyle without really a say in whether they wanted to or not, but Friedan knew that there was more to life than being a housewife.
Government Sponsored LSD Testing
In the early 1950's, the CIA launched a government sponsored program by the name of MKUltra. During this experimental program, subject groups mostly consisting of Harvard graduates were injected with LSD in high doses to test the 'mind controlling' properties of the drug. The program officially lasted twenty years, and although LSD testing was the main component of the experimentation, the test subjects were also exposed to other chemicals, hypnosis, sensory deprivation, isolation, verbal as well as sexual abuse, and many other varieties of torture. Many deaths that occurred during the experimentation where supposedly hidden, and records of the subjects' participation were destroyed. However, several of the subjects are widely known today- notably the Unabomber was in project MKUltra, the prominent Boston mobster James Bulger volunteered for tests while during his imprisonment, and Ken Kesey himself was an early volunteer for the tests, and promoted the drug heavily after he left the program.
The Death of Emmett Till
Emmett Till, an African American from Chicago, Illinois, was murdered at the young age of fourteen in August of 1955. While visiting family in Money, Mississippi, it was reported that he was flirting with a twenty-one-year-old white woman at the local grocery store. Before entering the store, Till bragged to his cousins and friends that his girlfriend at home was white and they did not believe him so they dared him to ask the white woman in the store on a date, and Till did just that. The husband and brother of the white woman heard word of this incident and murdered Till four days later. They ordered him to carry a 75 pound cotton-gin fan to the bank of the Tallahatchie River and take his clothes off. At the river bank, the men beat him nearly to death, gouged out his eye, shot him in the head, and finally threw his body which was tied to the cotton-gin fan with barbed wire, in the river. This crime is so widely known that Bob Dylan had written a song about it in 1962. The kidnapping and lynching of Emmett Till still stands as one of the most racist crimes in American history.
The song “Does Your Chewing Gum Lose its Flavour(On the Bedpost Overnight?) is an old song written by Lonnie Donegan in the late 1950s. In 1959 in reached number three in the UK Singles Chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The sone by Lonnie Donegan is actually a cover of a song written first released in 1924. The song it is a cover of is called “Does The Spearmint lose its Flavour on the Bedpost Overnight”. The word spearmint was trade marked causing the word to be changed to chewing gum. It is a fun and descriptive song with words hinting and leading up to the question posed in the title. The song have been referenced and used in numerous shows and films throughout the years.
Eisenhower warned people about the military-industrial complex', which is the relationship between the military and defense contractors, in his last speech upon leaving office. At the time, the military-industrial complex was very large due to the Cold War. He was warning that while it was necessary for defense and national security, it was a new thing for America and left to it's own devices, could be very destructive and controlling. He was worried about it coming into control of Congress and/or the presidency, and thus eliminate the democracy it was was supposed to protect.
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