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Vertigo & One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Vertigo is a blend of a crime film and psychological thriller, with Scottie working as a private investigator but also dealing with his own inner turmoil. This is the typical genre of Hitchcock's work which often branches into mystery and horror as well.
    - - The film maintains some qualities of a conventional drama or prison drama, for example the existence of an internal conflict and the intent to break out of the prison. However, it is largely defined by how it challenges these ideas.
        
        One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is set within a mental institution rather than a prison. McMurphy grows attached to the patients, rebelling in favour of them which ultimately results in multiple botched attempts to escape.
        
        Though he is provided with the opportunity to leave several times, he always seems to stay, perhaps being suggestive of the fact that he may have some problems that he believes could be resolved within rehabilitation, despite the corruption of the higher ups such as Nurse Ratched. Conversely, it could be a commentary on how the majority and incapable of overpowering authority despite having the right tools to.
        
        The audience later finds out that the majority of the patients are there voluntarily rather than being there to substitute prison time like McMurphy.
- - - - It has long been debated whether this is on purpose and whether Scottie repurposed Judy’s appearance as part of his investigation or out of desire for Madeleine - either way, his obsession with appearances and identity pursue him and the other characters throughout the film.
    - - Madeleine’s attire is typically neutral with the occasional colour, such as the black dress with a green scarf, and her pale blonde hair is left in a neat updo. In comparison, Judy wears bright colours, such as green and purple, and has shoulder length brown hair. Their makeup also differs severely, with Madeleine’s being mostly natural and Judy wearing eyeliner, having darker eyebrows and brighter lipstick.
        
        It could be argued that Judy is actively searching for the attention she received from Scottie by wearing more noticeable clothes and makeup - this is something that Scottie later perverts, changing her style back to Madeleine’s simplicity.
    - - Visually, it could be suggested that the dispute between authority and the resistant working class is presented by McMurphy’s blue collared shirt that shows through his ward uniform, perhaps being in reference to the ‘blue collar’ America that was under strain from authority.
        
        Throughout the film, his own clothes gradually become less visible until the night of his attempted escape, where he is shown wearing his own clothes entirely. After this final act of rebellion, he returns to the story in a vegetative state and in the ward’s white gown, having entirely lost all sense of individualism.
      - Scottie's infatuation with redemption is one of the main characteristics that paints him as a morally grey protagonist. His obsession leads to the real death of Madeleine, when in reality he was trying to reverse time and prevent her death.
  - - - Mental illness was portrayed with gritty realism and conviction, having become more prevalent in the public eye because of the post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by a lot of the survivors of World War II. More progressive views towards it were also beginning to shape society as the film was in the process of production.
- - - - Nicholson and Fletcher worked together to add a detail to the characterisation of McMurphy - that he pathologically expected her to be seduced by him and is partly driven by his frustration that she isn't. This fundamentally changed the dynamic between the characters.
  - - - The use of the dolly zoom that became iconic to Hitchcock’s filmography perfectly encapsulates Scottie’s vertigo as it mirrors the feeling that some get when at a high height. Though the main subject remains still, its surroundings move - it is reflective of the feeling when something is affecting you but everything else continues as normal, invoking the mental conflict that punctures Scottie’s morals throughout Vertigo.