Tcm's Ben Mankiewicz And Lawrence Carter - Long introduce - One flew over the cuckoo's nest

Ben Mankiewicz >> Hi everybody, I'm Ben Mankiewicz. All month long, Tuesday nights, we've been examining how people living with a disability have been represented on film. Back with me once again is Lawrence Carter-Long, Film Consultant for the non-profit organization Inclusion in the Arts. He's also the Public Affairs Specialist for the National Council on Disability. Lawrence, welcome back! Lawrence Carter-Long >> A pleasure to be here, as always! Ben Mankiewicz >> Our next film is from 1975, it was the first movie in more than 40 years to win Oscars for best picture, best actor and best actress, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. Lawrence, it seems clear why you might've chosen a movie like this but I want you to tell me why you thought it was important to include. Lawrence Carter-Long >> I think this film is unique for many reasons, but for our purposes tonight I think it is particularly unique because it asks the question, "Who's crazy?" And why are they crazy? And how does one get ascribed that label? How does one get that label pinned on them? Is it because you step outside what the societal norms are and don't do what the majority think you should do? Is it because you don't follow the rules? And if you don't follow the rules, what happens to you, right? They call you crazy, they put you in the institution, your rights go into mothballs, you don't make your decisions for yourself anymore, somebody else makes those decisions for you. I think the overarching human-ness of the characters within the film -- the trajectory that they go through, certainly Nicholson's character, who ... as you learn at the beginning of the film isn't 'crazy' if you will... Ben Mankiewicz >> Right, by any standard of crazy... Lawrence Carter-Long >> ...and yet, being in the institution changes his character and takes him in an evolution where you start to wonder where we come up with these assumptions. How do we decide who is crazy? How do we decide who is not -- or is it actually the system that’s crazy and the system that’s in need of reform?