What Is The Mood Of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

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Often, movies are said to be not as good as novels. Various elements included in the novel may not be implemented well into a movie. However, some movies do incorporate those elements accurately, resulting in positive notions. Mood, which is the atmosphere portrayed in a story, is one element of the novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, written by Ken Kesey. For that particular novel, the mood was dark and oppressive in the beginning and changes into a lighter one later on. The element’s importance is to help readers accurately understand the changes in the ward due to McMurphy’s arrival and rebellious nature. Milos Forman, director of the novel’s movie version, had attempted to portray the mood throughout the movie through soundtracks, people’s facial expressions, and actions. He successfully did this, assisting in the viewers …show more content…

The beginning of the movie showed the patients chained up on their bed, sitting there waiting for the black aides to release them for their scheduled day. They were sitting there quietly and being still with a passive face, showing no emotions. The acting and facial expressions show that the patients were cooperating with the staff in the ward by being submissive to what they are controlled to do. This assisted in showing the dark atmosphere within the ward, which overall assisted the viewers in their understanding of why the patients did not resist getting chained up while sleeping. After the patients were awake and unchained, they were all lined up in an orderly way during medication time. The Nurse only had to speak in the microphone for this to occur, she did not have to raise her voice or force anyone to do anything. In addition, low, whistling sounds played in the background had a somber tone. All that showed the oppression that the patients face. They had a schedule and were to follow it without question. This mood portrayed in the movie allowed viewers to realize the control the Nurse

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