How is Beethovens 9th Symphony Used to Drive the Narrative in Kubricks A Clockwork Orange - Research Paper Example

How is Beethoven’s 9th symphony used to drive the narrative in Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’ Introduction A clock orange is a film that was written in 1971. It was produced and directed by directed Stanley Kubrick. This film features violent and disturbing images that ease its social commentary on youth gangs, psychiatry and other political, social and economic disciplines in a dystopian. Symphony is one of the best western classical works and has been regarded as the best music ever written in the history. It was the first example of a big composition of symphony voices therefore, making it to be a choral symphony ( Kubrick 2004). Words were sung at the last movement comprising of four soloists and later followed by a chorus. The choruses were taken from a poem ‘Ode to Joy” which was written in 1785 by Friedrich Schiller. It has remained as one of the best played symphonies in the world up to today (Levy 2003). Clockwork orange is a dystopian novella that was published in 1962 and was written by Anthony Burgess. The film tries to explore the cruel nature of human mankind and the will to choose freely between the good and evil and the free will as a choice to do evil (Levy 2003). The film has the setting of a society in the future with a culture that contains a rebellious youth that was common in the western countries (Vogel 2007). Clockwork orange appeared in Time magazine as one of the top ten leading novels ever written since 1923. Research questions 1) What is the importance of Beethoven’s 9th symphony in the film industry? 2) Why is Beethoven's 9th symphony an extremely beneficial musical work during the romantic period? This chapter constitutes the tools and methods the researcher employs in data collection and analysis. It demonstrates the research design that was applied by the researcher, collection tools and data sources, analysis, processing, and the obstacles faced by researchers. Study Population The study population constituted the management of one of the studios in UK especially those associated with employees and human resource management themselves. The study population involved the 131 employees. Sampling methods and techniques The study used both simple random sampling techniques and stratified random sampling of employees. In the case of Stratified random sampling, the process of splitting a population into smaller groups helped to highlight the strata and connect members who share attributes. This was through grouping of employees based on their management levels. On the other hand, simple random sampling involved the process of the group of subjects’ selection (a sample) for study from a greater group (population). This was purposed to sieve respondents where each stratum was taken to entail employees with similar knowledge on the topical issue. Sample design Purposive sampling and stratified random sampling techniques were used. Random sampling technique ensured selection of a sample that permits all group or population to hold equal and independent likelihood of getting selected to the sample. Random sampling technique was used when choosing the employees at film operational level. Purposive sampling technique constituted a process where the study selected a sample depending on group knowledge experience sampled. Purposive method was used when identifying management staffs since there was a demand to obtain information from staff members involved in film administration. Sources of data The researcher employed both secondary (books and articles) and primary data (observation) sourcing. Primary data source enabled raw facts collection or generation in this research for the first time. This data was adopted from the sample population through the application of the questionnaires. Meanwhile, Secondary data sources involved methods of sourcing for processed information. Data reviewed through journals, relevant text books, news papers, records of film records. There were other published materials used. Data collection methods and instruments The researcher employed questionnaire as a data collection instrument. The questionnaire used listed questions in a draft format where the spaces were filled by the respondent. This basic tool enabled the study to leverage on data collection. The questionnaire constituted open ended and close ended structured questions where the variables measured therein used Likert scaling technique to minimized bias. Research Procedure Several contacts were made to different respondents who understood their time tables. Thereafter preparations of the meeting were made to deliver the questionnaires at their convenient places. The questionnaires were personally delivered to the respondents to guarantee maximum response and monitoring. Data analysis, processing and presentation Upon receipt of questionnaire, data obtained was processed by computing, editing, and processing through statistical software SPSS. Descriptive statistics involved the use of tables. Additional inferential statistics used were Pearson’s correlation coefficient which determined the relationship between the variables which were film writing and customer (viewer) satisfaction. Data editing was an activity aimed at correcting and detecting errors arising from logical inconsistencies. Data coding; which involves letters, numbers, symbol, characters, or any combination thereof represented several data items. This was through identification thematic areas on the film contained in the specific passages or texts. Limitations of the study The researcher experienced limited scope with respect to this study in relation to schedule of film work and variety of respondents to be included. Costs limitation included timely delivery of film and work variances that could not be merged into one set. Time constraints in data collection slowed data analysis and the final presentation of the report. However, the study overcame this challenge by ensuring increasing research officers and the time consideration to essential areas of data collection like making appointments and agreeing with respondents. In the case where no responses were found, the study also leveled non response from research officers who administered questionnaires. However, the study enabled the respondents to access any information supplied and seek to have their sessions held with confidentiality and candidness. Research Findings From the findings, the researcher offers a breakdown of the events of A clockwork Orange which brings the comparison of the narrative i.e. the intended adaptation of the book to the hidden subliminally narrative of Kubrick. In the summary of the story, Korova bar is opened, and there is a lot of fighting and beatings in the room. One of the leaders in a future society takes drugs with the rest of the gangs and goes to streets to look for ways of fighting people. In the hidden narrative, the film is centered at the time during which it was made. Alex is the leader of the group that has a lot of social and political influence has a flag that symbolizes the zeal of USA and European Union (Squire 2004). The scenario in the opening shot includes women who were regarded as objects of sex, the principle of divide and rule of the political field, over-sexualizing sex of the entire populous and use of drugs that facilitated lots of conflicts. The arrangements of fascist, hippy and groupings based on ethnicity on both sides of the screen also symbolized uncomplicated history from the western countries in the current centuries, starting with Alex in the start and finishes with conflict with the men at the door. In the preceding scene, there is re-enactment of historical aggression of the poor where one of the beggars is beaten up. In another scene, there is an invasion of the writer’s house where the couple was attacked by Alex and his gangs (Silber 2009). The gangs trashed the writer’s desk by beating him up and later raping his wife. In the hidden narrative, there is a switch to the first scene of Korova. Interaction of Dim with the mannequin milk dispenser who was naked represents the hiring of slave workers and prostitutes and shows the theme of prostitution in general. There is a fight between Alex and his colleagues as a result of power sharing deal (Waller 2001). There was ideological differences i.e.in the case of Beethoven that resulted to disciplinary measures, which later created hostility among the members who were watching. The findings further indicated that Alex left the bar and went home in the morning (Wasko, and McDonald 2002). There is a shift of focus from the powerful known Alex to a common thug who was going home at night after spending the entire night in the streets. There is also switched to the powerful Alex once he entered into the building where the focus is on what happened between night and dawn. After the entire night operation, Alex removes the items that were stolen the previous night and adds them to other collections that were put under the bed. He later listens to his favorite Beethoven music. The sexual motives of Alex and his hidden wealth could be easily communicated (Squire 2002). Fact that Alex loved Beethoven music indicated that he loved himself that much. This can be symbolized by his own simulation in front of mannequin woman like the picture that indicated his constant use of prostitution (Torr 2008). As Alex is in deep sleep after being a wake the whole night, his mother wakes him up to go to school but he makes an excuse of suffering from a head ache. The parents who were naïve about the night activities of their son continued to discuss their own things. The way in which Alex’s parents were discussing in the kitchen showed that Alex had control over his parents (Zufryden 2004). Alex gets up only to find his corrective advisor by the name Deltoid who was waiting him in the bedroom of his parents where he warns him to stay away from troubles. During his interaction with Alex, Deltoid was intensely physical to the extent of even grabbing his genitals. Holding of genitals is an indication of physical abuse from either of the parents and may be regarded as a sequence of regressive dream. In the surface narrative where droogs betrays Alex, he looks into ways to stir his leadership droogs by possessing burglary acquired from the house of the Cat-lady. Alex further causes some serious injuries to the cat lady. Since the droogs were still angry as a result of the fight they had before with Alex, he made sure that Alex got fatal injuries and later left him in the hands of the police. After Alex was arrested by the police, he became under tight security of Muloko. Interrogation by the police After Alex is caught, he was violently interrogated by the police. The hidden narrative shows that Deltoid, Alex’s post corrective officer and the police ganged together against Alex (Tapscott, & Williams 2005). There was an implied sexual advance of Alex where he reacts by getting hold of the private parts of one of the officers, like the way he was done before b his Post-corrective advisor (Thompson 2007). After Alex was beaten up, he finds himself in one of the rooms with some police officers. As he demanded for a layer, the officers laughed at him and gave him several bunches in his stomach. Alex made situation worst when he retaliates back by hitting one of the police officers. The police officers responded to him by beating him several times until he vomits something he later on regretted (Planner 2006). To add the pain, he receives un expected visit from Deltoid who looked at him coldly and assures him that he would come the following day to speak on his behalf. Before Deltoid left, he spited on Alex’s face, something that left him haunted like never before. Alex was made to confess all his crimes by the officers for the last twenty four hours together with his treacherous friends. The police officers extracted all the information from Alex and later put him in one of the congested cells where criminals and drunkards were held. Immediately Alex was put on the prison, he fights two other prisoners who tried to assault him. He was later helped by one of the guards and was singled out where he was left alone in a room and was carried by a deep sleep. During his sleep, he was fascinated by thoughts of Beethoven’s ninth and he visualizes the violent and new lyrics for the Ode to Joy. There were lots of flute plays in his mind and Beethoven’s soar in the sky. Immediately Alex is waken up and taken out by one of the officers. Alex selected by the minister for treatment As the minister is being shown around the prison, he notices Alex who was in a pathetic condition and thought of emptying the cells by use of Ludovico technique. This could be done so as to create space for political offenders. In the hidden narrative, the minister introduces himself as political/social leader (Walker 2006). Alex consists of four other people imprisoned together just like the opening shot where he had the hierarchy below him (Sweeney 2007). The minister depicts his own like on the Beethoven where Alex gets the attention from the minister and later lies to him. The minister selects Alex for treatment since he already knew that Ludovico technique will not work. After Alex signs for the treatment, the governor in charge of the prison disapproves the signs for treatment since he already knew that the program will be ineffective. The officer in charge of prisons gave a warning that Alex will commit other crimes again and was later delivered to Dr. Alcott whose name resembles that of cinematographer who was working with Kubrick. All these scenarios made Alex on his way to the cinema again. Ludovico session Alex looks at violence in a cinema screen as serum is affected. He becomes sick as Dr. Brodsky has an explanation to colleagues that the unpleasant feelings were as a result of violence that appeared on the screen therefore, reducing violence (Planner 2006). In the hidden narrative, the film moves attention of the audience with Alex being part of the audience. Alex has the opportunity to view some of the crimes he committed like rape and beatings on the screen and becomes sick. Al these scenes were part of the real cure provided to Alex. After all the treatments that Alex had undergone, he returns home to his parents where he found a lodger who had moved to his bedroom. He was never able to fight him since he was still undergoing treatment. Alex later leaves the room crying that he no longer has a home to stay as the lodger explained to him that he was justified to struggle for himself. According to A clockwork Orange, it was found that Alex later strolls around the Thames with the intention of throwing himself inside the river. One of the beggars recognized him where some of them attacked him. Alex was later rescued by the police who he later recognized as his former droogs. Since Alex is unable to defend himself, he was mercilessly beaten by the police and was nearly drown in the river. Alex was inflicted the same suffering he used to inflict on others as this became the last session of his treatment. Second entrance of writer on the phone and writer house After Alex was beaten up again, he incidentally finds his way to the writer’s house where he found him on a wheelchair (Kubrick 2001). The writer is able to recognize Alex through the news papers. When the journalists were preparing to interview Alex, the writer recognizes Alex through his singing and later realized that he was the one who was behind the attacks made to him and his wife. In Alex’s unconsciousness, he had a dream of getting back to home of false enlightenment. Through his dream, the writer recognizes him through the newspaper that later welcomes him and promises to have a live press coverage that will win him sympathy nationally. This dream is gradually turned into a nightmare (Clockwork Orange 2002). The writer, in his wheelchair and Orange Cloths is a Clockwork Orange which is a reflection of divided identity of Alex. As the writer ends his call to a reporter, Alex in his new identity starts singing the song from the bathroom ‘Singin in the rain’. When the writer heard this, he realized that Ludovico Technique did not materialize and that Alex in his new form had faked his way into the house by being a victim. As Alex’s story unfolds, Alex falls from the building but he is not killed but instead breaks his wrist, feet and back together with other parts of the body (Kubrick 2001). Before coming to his senses, he comes to realization that some of his friends wanted to kill him for their own political self ambitions. He wakes up after a week in the hospital having been covered with splints and bandages felt no physical sensations. The nurse who was captivated in a romance novel could not discern him until Alex begged her to lie with him. All the nurse could hear was a garbled voice since Alex had missing teeth and stiff mouth. After all this has happened, Alex falls into a dream where he picture s himself doing his old behaviors: running down the pedestrians, stealing cars, and engaging in sex while people were watching. When he wakes up from his dream, he finds his parents in the room with his mother crying besides him. Alex’s parents begged him to go home with them but he instead chases them out of the room and promises them that thing s could his way in case he was to be taken home. After he was left alone, Alex realizes that he can entertain bad and unlawful thoughts. After some days, he was visited by minister of the Interior who was accompanied by photographers and reporters. The minister offered him a friendship hand and promised him that he was harmless and that he was a government representative. Alex was promised a well paying job after his recovery. Before the departure of the minister, Alex was given a present. Alex was requested to sign a form and later left alone to listen to Beethoven’s 9th symphony (Hopkins 2001). Interview done to Alex on the writer’s lounge As Alex dines in the lounge, the writer who now has red with rage informs Alex his wife as a result of rape incidence done by him (Gillis 2009). He threatens Alex to the extent of having him take several glasses of wine. Writer’s friends instantly arrive and start questioning Alex who was already drunk and unconscious. With the continuation of dream consequence, Alex tries to maintain his actions (Clockwork Orange 2002). Alex who is now a writer observes all these happenings with contentment. Young Alex dies symbolically dies immediately, and all his deception died with him. The researcher also tried to know why is Beethoven's 9th symphony such an essential musical work (Hopkins 2001). It was found that this was one of the first symphony to be included a choir. It was also the longest pieces to be composed in history as it was also complex in terms of structure (Burgess 2002). The first movement was done in sonata form while the second was a scherzo followed by the minuet et trio structure, but the minuet followed a complete sonata form structure itself, and the last movement has no general structure, but includes several different structures from within, such as a fugue. As mentioned previously mentioned, the final movement never followed an overall structure as it incorporated many tempo changes, key changes, and even changes in time signature Conclusion During one of the interviews, Kubrick said that he had no intention of giving a verbal roadmap of his film as this can be seen in all his films. According to several authors and script writers, art in itself is a conversation of its maker and the spoken roadmaps are the duties of the audience. The artist does not need to provide an oral roadmap of their labor since the map itself could make the entire work unneeded. The only discussion an artist can offer to the audience is the verbal rejection of interpretations which might be risky and also explanation of techniques that are practical and valuable for the audience to know (Buch 2004). It has been difficult to comprehend the scale of creative and intellectual scale in A Clockwork Orange and the majority of films done by Stanly Kubrick since the research only tries to look at the genius cinematic process. Kubrick never thought like other film makers as he would outsmart other film makers. Even all those who saw themselves scholars are like infants when faced with Kubrick’s films. Arts performed by Kubrick are intimidating in originality and complexity. Anyone who persevered in learning his work could emotionally and intellectually be transformed. All we are left with after studying Stanley Kubrick’s work is a puzzle and a challenge. Future recommendations Due to limited time and resources, the researcher recommends that the new program to bring film education into every institution so as to give every student a chance to participate in the film making. Film sensitization plays a crucial role in ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to be involved in film. This can increase the number of participants in the film. Reference List Buch, E 2004, Beethoven's Ninth: A Political History Translated by Richard Miller, University of Chicago Press, Esteban Buch: Beethoven's Ninth. Burgess A 2002, A Clockwork O, Boston: Allan and Wayne. Gillis, 2009, Roman Catholicism in America. United States of America: Columbia University Press. p. 226. Hopkins, A 2001, The Nine Symphonies of Beethoven. London: Heinemann. Kubrick, S 2001, A Clockwork O, Boston: Allan and Wayne. Kubrick, S 2004, Visual Memory-Stanley Kubrick: Senses of Cinema. Cengage Learning. Levy, D B 2003, Beethoven: the Ninth Symphony, revised edition (Yale University Press Parsons, J 2002, Deine Zauber binden wieder: Beethoven, Schiller, and the Joyous Reconciliation of Opposite. Our magic binds again, Beethoven Forum, 9/1, 1–53. Planner, M 2006, The Ninth: Beethoven and the World in 1824, Journal of Advertising Research Phoenix, Oxford University Press,. Squire, 2002, The Movie Business Book, 2nd ed, Open University Press. Squire, L 2004, The Movie Business Book, 3nd ed, New York: Fireside,. Sweeney, R 2007, Successful Business Models for Filmmakers, Bloomington/Milton Keynes: Author House, Silber, L 2009, Career Management for the Creative Person, Three Rivers Press. Tapscott, W & Williams T, 2005, Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, London: Atlantic Press. Thompson, K 2007, The Frodo Franchise- The Lord of the Rings and Modern Hollywood, University of California Press,. Thomson, D & Showman 2003, The Life of David O. Selznick, London: Andre Deutsch, Torr, G 2008, Managing Creative People: Lessons in Leadership for the Ideas Economy, Wiley and Sons. Wasko, J and McDonald, P 2002, Movies and Money: Financing the American Film Industry, Sage Publications Wasko, J & McDonald, P 2008,The Contemporary Hollywood Film Industry, Blackwell Publishing. Vogel, H 2007, Entertainment Industry Economics: A Guide for Financial Analysis, London: Allan and Wayne. Waller, 2001, Gregory Movie going in America: A Sourcebook in the History of Film Exhibition, Wiley Blackwell, Walker J 2006, Halliwell's Film, Video & DVD Guide page 223 Zufryden,2004, Linking Advertising to Box Office Performance of New Film Releases: A Marketing. Berlin: Haggard Press. Read More