I remember laughing and cheering whenever I saw Tom & Jerry. It was always fun to watch Jerry win over Tom. Now a high school student, though, I am beginning to see things differently. Now I pity Tom who is always weak and suffering, rather than childishly enjoying simply what is shown. I think this is how one grows up - being able to see things differently.
While watching the movie, I suddenly found myself childishly laughing along with McMurphy and his mentally disordered fellows. The recognition allowed me to try to think in a different perspective. The author may have tried to write the novel in favor of the inmates in order to criticize how a society institutionalizes people, just like the writer of Tom & Jerry tried to stand in favor of Jerry, who represented the working class. However, a ward is a ward, and the mentally disordered are the mentally disordered. The patients there were definitely locked up for a reason.
Therefore, my initial delight of seeing how McMurphy challenges authority and brings joy to the ward now seems like a sign that I still haven't grown up completely. The mentally disordered people in the ward resembles the students in KMLA, who are not mentally mature in a similar way, and who are therefore limited freedom and instructed by others.
I have received lots of penalty points in this school. And I still think that most of them were too harsh for what I have actually done. Sometimes I even thought I don't deserve the points at all. Why do I have to be punished for not cleaning my own room? Why do I have to be punished for eating what I want to eat? Maybe this is why I was so delighted at McMurphy's action of punching the black men or stealing the key. But eventually, things have actually gone worse when he violated the rules that might feel a little "unreasonable".
The film gives us a notion that nobody would ever get out even after they get better, as the institution is too authoritative and restrictive. But to me, no one seems to deserve getting out. They really need to learn how to control themselves for the sake of others. I could confidently say this because I did learn from the rules and restrictions that at first seemed unreasonable. Breaking one or two minor rules seemed convenient at first, but I recognized that freedom cannot be handled so easily - it was I myself who eventually was harmed by those actions. This is the lesson I learned from the film. Having learned how to control myself, now I feel I'm ready to leave the school and handle my freedom. You could be free only when you deserve it - this is the biggest lesson I learned out of the film.
