Am I only one that thinks this article is badly written?
- The premise of the Cuckoo Nest plot is that a character is convinced that they are in an insane asylum (a Bedlam House is a popular choice), where they are told that the events of the series are actually hallucinations.
'events of the series'? What series? What events? Who tells them that? Does this trope only apply to series? Is it a requirement that some events have first been established as truth, but then in a contained episode are suggested to maybe be hallucinations?
- ..even if the series canon reveals that someone was using phlebotinum to make them think they were crazy, there will be a scene in the "real world" of a psychologist giving up."
But why? Why would there be 'a psychologist giving up' if it's been established that a phlebotinum is making them hallucinate. Is the psychologist unaware? Is the psychologist giving up because the hallucinations defy normal treatment?
- Often, if the character "accepts" the "insane asylum" reality by doing a certain thing (taking a pill, destroying the source of his "fantasy" power, et cetera), they might die, lose their power, or be submerged in the new "non-fantasy" reality forever. Occasionally the character is encouraged to kill themselves in order to wake up.
But those are two different forces, right? In the one it's the representatives of the conceived, non-fantastic explanation ushering the protagonist to let go of the fantasy, the other is rather crediting the fantasy, saying they need to escape from the conceived, non-fantastic world.
I think this article could use a rewrite, for more clarity and precision
Edited by GewoonDaan Hide / Show Replies
A quick mockup:
- A Cuckoo Nest plot centers around a character in a mental ward, that's hallucinating an extensive fantasy life outside of the ward. Or at least that is one explanation. Another explanation is that the life outside of the ward is real life, and the mental ward is actually some kind of mental contraption to thwart the protagonist. The Cuckoo Nest plot focuses on the attempts by the protagonist to separate fact from fiction, to decide whether he is actually mentally ill and needs to take their meds to rid themselves of their harmful hallucinations, or actually the Only Sane Man and they need to escape this mock reality of a mental ward.
..and then a couple of conflicts and resolutions a plot like this may have, the 'ending variant' as described in the current article, and some tropes connected to this trope.
Edited by GewoonDaan
Imperial Court Mage
Where's the evidence of the Takeshi Shudō/Pokemon one? Because I can't it anywhere and honestly it sounds more like an "edgy" rumor
"Life's like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending."-Jim Henson
Due to the twist nature of this trope, should the following warning be added?
!!This is a Spoilered Rotten trope, that means that EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE on this list is a spoiler by default and will be unmarked. This is your final warning, proceed only if you really believe you can handle this list.
Also, should the trope image be changed, due to spoiling the ending of that film? Instead, I recommend the first asylum scene from "In the mouth of madness", which tells us from the beginning where the protagonist ended up.
Question to admins - Do I have permission to proceed to both changes?
unmarked spoilers (and my curiosity) ruined my spoiler-free anime watchings