The controversial film ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is best known for its scenes depicting graphic violence, rape, murder and human experiments. Whilst these scenes make ‘A Clockwork Orange’ an uncomfortable film to watch at times; the visual aesthetics of the film demand our attention as the unconventional director Stanley Kubrick presents us with a unique and fascinating picture of a near future society. Since its release in 1971, the film has ignited much debate surrounding its effect on its audience and its implications regarding violence after several ‘copycat’ cases were reported. All of this debate eventually led to Kubrick placing a self-imposed ban on ‘A Clockwork Orange’ in the UK where it would not resurface until many years later after Kubrick’s death. The moral questions that are brought to light in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ concerning innate violent human nature and how society controls this are just as significant for today's audience as violence still remains a part of our everyday lives. Integrated throughout mainstream culture, violence can be found in popular films and music lyrics that are all widely available and enjoyed. This highlights the point that although society collectively disapproves violence and tries to control it formally, violence is weaved into society throughout all institutions and this is something that the film expresses.
‘A Clockwork Orange’ is based on the 1962 novel written by Anthony Burgess and there is speculation to suggest that Burgess took inspiration from a violent incident in his past to help him produce the brutal scenes in the novel. Burgess’ first wife Lynne was attacked by drunken GI’s in the years after World War II, this traumatic event lead Burgess to contemplate violence and his own moral complexities which transpires in the novel.
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Kubrick was later asked by Warner Bros. to bring the novel to life on screen. Known for his distinct artistic vision, Kubrick injects his own world view into ‘A Clockwork Orange’ presenting us with a dystopia in which the constant battle between violence and social order is played out. Violence is portrayed as complex, ultimately it becomes too complex for society to ever be able to control in ‘A Clockwork Orange’.
Kubrick craftily blurs the line between reality and fantasy in the film. At first glance everything seems quite ordinary in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ however, Kubrick manipulates our view of reality by using avant-garde filming techniques that at times, require us to watch the events unfold from a distorted viewpoint. Kubrick’s subtle techniques of distortion give the film authenticity and challenge us to look below the surface, this theory can be applied to the society depicted in the film where nothing is as legitimate as it seems.
The film’s opening is set in the milk bar ‘Korova’, a small place where you can purchase a glass of milk with an added narcotic of your choice. The scene is accompanied by dissonant sound which instantly takes us into an uncertain realm. Through a close up we are introduced to our protagonist and narrator Alex, who is dressed up in a top hat, a fake eyelash and staring directly at us with a chilling grin. Using a slow tracking back shot, the rest of the gang known as the Droogs are gradually revealed all wearing the same distinct attire. Our attention is immediately drawn to the blood on their dull colored clothes that stands out against the blackout wall. Alex’s narration is filled with made up hybrid Russian and Cockney slang, this further enhances the Droogs individuality as well as distancing the viewer from fully understanding Alex’s mindset. Their whole identity is now centered around violence, they set out to commit crime and pursue violence for the sheer thrill of it.
Burgess’ original novel was written at a time when there was a moral panic surrounding youth subculture groups like the biker gangs as well as the mods and rockers and the violence that they were causing. The Droogs resemble some characteristics of these groups that were causing fear amongst the general public as they have a very strong sense of identity and focus on carrying out acts of violence. Another gang in the film known as Billy Boy’s gang have their own distinct image and represent the different forms of youth subcultures. Many theories have been put forward in an effort to explain why these subcultures emerged in Britain but the prevailing idea is that the crime carried out by the groups was in response to living in a time of uncertainty and repression. Paris and Ault suggest that much of the attraction of subcultures comes from the possibility they offer for reimagining the social landscape. Far distant from the prevailing norms of society, subcultural practices disrupt its smooth exploitative and demeaning workings. Punks, beats, mods, metalheads, ravers, hippies, and others have found on the margins a space of authentic transformation and sometimes autonomy, offering to the rest of the world a performative critique of its dull and hypocritical patterns. This theory can help us to analyze the Droogs in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ as they represent the opposition to the state and the battle between free will and state repression. They are a result of what can happen when society becomes too controlling.
Perhaps one of the factors that made ‘A Clockwork Orange’ so controversial is that the violent scenes are often exhibited theatrically and almost comically. The theme of performance permeates throughout the film. The horrific singing in the rain scene shows Alex performing a rape as if it were a lighthearted show, even cutting the woman’s dress and taping her head in time with the song. Whilst His performance is over dramatic as he happily sings to the classic song, singing in the rain.
Kubrick plays with our interpretation of sound here and in other scenes in ‘A Clockwork Orange’ by using classical music throughout the film to accompany scenes of savagery and violence. This subverts our typical understanding of classical music as it is more often associated with peace. The earlier scene wherein the Droogs get into a fight with Billy Boy’s gang. The fight between the rival gangs is carefully choreographed in time to the cheerful music that captivates and sets out to be entertainment, distracting us from the fact that they are behaving viciously. The set of the derelict casino adds to exhibitionist atmosphere and gives prominence to the fact that entertainment and violence are often intertwined in society.
‘A Clockwork Orange’ instills the message that institutional means of controlling violence do not work. This is represented through the scenes of institutional violence in the film that show how violence creates more violence, a circle that never seems to end in ‘A Clockwork Orange’. A quote said to Alex by a doctor, “Shut your filthy hole you scum, you are to be reformed”, is a clear example of how institutions fight fire with fire. This also creates irony as the doctor is talking about reformation into a good citizen whilst delivering this through an aggressive tone. An earlier scene in the film also shows police violence when Alex finds himself in trouble after receiving his treatment. In a twist of fate, the two policemen happen to be Dim and Georgie, two members of the Droogs who Alex severely mistreated. In an act of revenge, they relentlessly beat Alex and hold his head in a tank of water to drown him.
The theme of revenge is important to ‘A Clockwork Orange’ as it makes the concept of violence even more complicated. It is in our nature to desire revenge when bad things happen to us however when we seek revenge the violence carries on like a domino effect. The old homeless man in the film also shows how an individual can be led to violence when they experience it first-hand. At the start of the film, the man says that he doesn't want to live anymore because there is no law and order. This suggests that the man desires law and order and therefore not a violent person, however, in the end he inevitably becomes violent himself desiring to seek revenge as a result of violent acts carried out on him by the Droogs.
‘A Clockwork Orange’ also warns us of the dangers of using scientific methods to change our human nature and therefore eradicating the need to control violence at all. Alex must undergo an extreme type of therapy called the Ludovico treatment which works to make him associate any form of violence with feelings of nausea and terror. This scene opens with an extreme close up of Alex, constrained with his eyes clamped open showing how he has lost any control he had left. Alex has not only lost his control in a physical sense, but once his treatment is complete, Alex no longer has free will. He screams as the treatment takes places conveying his suffering to the audience and making it unbearable to watch. This scene causes us to question our own morality when watching it, at times we want to empathize with Alex because of the suffering he is clearly going through but then we can reflect upon the murderous and violent choices he has made himself which has led to his current position.
Once his treatment is complete, Alex has to prove he's not violent anymore. Much like the other violent scenes in the film, this particular event is also showcased as if it were a comical performance. Alex is lying down on the stage with a boot hanging over his face. The man repeats “lick it” to which Alex has to comply with. Kubrick cuts to a reaction shot of the Chief Guard enjoying the fiasco and laughing to himself happily. Another reaction shot shows two witnesses enjoying this vile treatment and smiling knowingly at each other and then the scene ends with the audience applauding. By adding these reaction shots, Kubrick highlights how even the ones in the top classes of society and ironically those who are in control of managing violence, are here finding it very entertaining. This also draws our attention to our own morality as this scene shows us how just because a violent act is being carried out in a legitimate environment, it is still a violent act and no less brutal. In reality, the man who makes Alex lick his shoe has violent tendencies just like Alex does. The priest expresses his disagreement with Alex’s treatment too little too late when witnessing this awful scene and says that “he ceases to be a wrongdoer, he ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice”. The priest is a contradictory character as he disregards his own moral values when it affects his position, he strongly disagrees with the Ludovico treatment yet does not speak up, violence can also be found in the Bible, which Alex uses as a source for his own violent fantasies in the film. When Alex reads it, he envisions himself acting out the violence. “I could viddy myself helping in and even taking charge of the tolchocking and the nailing in, being dressed in the height of Roman fashion”.
Although religion is portrayed as problematic in ‘A Clockwork Orange’, the priest does however remind us of the importance of choice and takes the focus from violence away every so often in the film. He acknowledges that evil exists and that its necessary at times. During one scene the Priest presents Alex with the rhetorical questions: “What does God want? Does God want goodness or the choice of goodness? Is a man who chooses the bad perhaps in some ways better than a man who has the good imposed upon him?”. Alex isn't now ‘cured’ or a ‘good man’, he just simply doesn't have the ability to make a good moral choice anymore. Yes, it is true that Alex can’t commit violent crimes anymore, but he also can't defend himself either. ‘A Clockwork Orange’ provides us with two opposing extremes of reality. One version warns us of what can happen when violence takes over and the other shows us what can happen when violence is taken away completely.
In conclusion, using violence to control violence is presented as a method that is doomed to fail in ‘A Clockwork Orange’. A sequence of violent events plays out before us, all interconnected in the film. The Bible teaches us that it should be an ‘eye for an eye’ meaning that we must pay for any harm caused in equal measures however, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ shows us how reacting to violent events only results in more violent events and eventually this spirals out of control. The film never really provides a solution but rather leaves us pondering our own nature and whether violence lies deep within us or whether it’s a direct result of our society and the way in which we are conditioned. The prevailing message is that clearly the institutional means of controlling violence in society are not effective as they are inherently violent and corrupt themselves. At the end of the film Alex can now enjoy violent fantasies once again and says that he is cured. By cured, he means back to his old violent self and therefore not healthy at all. Kubrick says: “I’m interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure”. Kubrick’s view of man is expressed in ‘A Clockwork Orange’, when even the doctors are having sex in the room that Alex regains consciousness in, highlighting to us once again that everyone acts upon, or at least has the desire to act upon their violent desires.
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