By: Katrina Thomas
As with various trends and stories, old things get recycled again and again. Old trends become new and old words gain new meanings. Like how Skunk strips are making their way back in as a trend. The same applies in media. There are half a million different versions of Superman and Batman movies, comics, and shows, so it not a surprise that an old movie created in the 70s would make its way back to modern day media.
Sarah Paulson is starring in a “new” series called Ratched. The series has a similar eerie tone and mood as American Horror Story. The similarity may be a result from Ryan Murphy, the director, being the creator of the two shows and from one of the stars, Sarah Paulson, taking a leading role in both series. In a similar manner to American Horror Story, strange and unexpected things continually unfold throughout the series. With each episode comes another new and wild plot point or twist within the series, such as unexpected deaths and unexpected connections between the characters. All the characters are fascinating and what at first seems like very predictable characters turns out to be the exact opposite.
Ratched is a spin-off focusing on Mildred Ratched from the book and movie One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Mildred and the mental institution she works at, is re-envisioned within this series. Mildred and the residence are given new life. Instead of focusing on a jail bird who tries to play at insanity, the series focuses more on the backstory of the “evil” nurse. The series makes Nurse Ratched more likable and gives her a sort of redemption story that she does not get in the movie. As the series continues it becomes clear that Nurse Ratched is the way she is through her traumatic childhood life. She becomes controlling and sets up barriers around herself as a coping mechanism. Just like anyone else Mildred has a lot of problems, but through this series another question arises. A multitude of staff members at the institution have various problems, but at times they give an impression that they should be the ones admitted into the asylum and a lot of the patients have no reason to actually be there. The complexity of the characters and story makes you wonder who really is insane and who is not.
What is so alluring about the series is the setting and the way the director plays with color. The previews, that can be watched on Youtube, are full of popping 50s themed colors. The production staff succeeds at producing an anglerfish effect, through the show, by placing these 50s themed aesthetically pleasing colors next to the crashing waves alongside the ever-reaching cliff. You just never notice the trap you become hooked on until it is too late and you are already finished with more than half of the first series.
It is noticeable how the color of the lighting changes based on the mood of the characters. In one scene when Mildred is alone and scheming the lights change to an emerald green, highlighting the greed. Then, following the director a similar technique is used. Dr. Richard Hanover has many problems, but he sometimes is poor at dealing with his problems. When he feels as if his world is going out of control his anger begins to rise. Whenever Dr. Hanover is alone, he becomes intensely angry, or even has a flashback of a horrific event, the lights change to a blood curdling red, indicating the intensity of his feelings or flashback. The lights changing could very well represent a sin that the characters are deeply involved in. The color of the light chosen for each character indicates the characters flawed personality traits. Mildred Ratched can be controlling, manipulative, and intently greedy, to a point where it can lead her to her downfall. The same concept applies to Dr. Hanover. His pride leads him to make horrible choices and feeds into him becoming an immensely angry person. His hubris is one of the reasons why his life is so problematic for him.
Besides the aesthetics the series resembles American Horror Story in the way that it does not shy away from serious topics. Within the series the horrors depicted range from conversion therapy, lobotomy, and the individual tales of some of the patients and how they end up there. They demonstrate how institutions back then were easily misguided and used many patients as guinea pigs for experimenting on how to cure lesbianism or ADHD.
If people are expecting a series where it would be similar in mood and tone to their movie counterpart then they are looking in the wrong place. Even though the series is drastically different from its mother film it still has its own unique characteristics that still make it exciting and engaging. The series is more similar to American Horror Story, so in reality the new series is like a cross of the story One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and American Horror Story.