A Clockworkwork Orange (1971 movie) - Essay Example

A Clockwork Orange (1971 movie) The film A Clockwork Orange, by the renowned director Stanley Kubrick, is basically a science fiction. One can easily identify that the director shows keen interest to comment on the contemporary society. Almost all the problems faced by human beings are vividly portrayed by the director. Besides, the director makes use of the characters as his mouthpiece to communicate with the viewers. Thesis statement: An investigation to unearth the scope of the problems faced by human beings, within the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick.

Plot summary The plot revolves around the protagonist Alex DeLarge, who is an outlaw and a member of a gang involved in anti-social activities. The film unveils the near future social life in London. But Stuart Y. McDougal states that “When A clockwork orange appeared in 1971, it was attacked as an unmediated celebration of the violent young self, as a provocation to youthful viewers to imitate what they saw on the screen” (19). As pointed out, Alex represents the gangs in London. After stealing a car, Alex attempts to rape a lady.

This incident distracts the members of Alex’s gang but they are helpless to revolt against him. This encourages Alex and leads him to further crimes. At last, Alex was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment (say, 14 years). Within the prison system, Alex was forced to undergo experimentation to reduce social crimes. The Ludivico technique of conditioning, under the supervision of the Minister of the Interior transformed Alex to a new individual. This is the core aspect of the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick.

The problems portrayed in the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick Gangs: Alex’s gang in future London, as portrayed by the director represents the global youngsters who are totally frustrated and aimless in the modern world. Alex’s capacity to commit more and more crimes without considering it’s after effects represent the life of modern youngsters without any social commitment. One can easily identify that Alex’s gang members accept him as their leader because he was outrageous and cruel.

The basic animal instinct to survive by ignoring the mental status of others is beautifully portrayed by the director. Psychiatric problems: The protagonist of the film represents the youngsters who face a number of psychiatric problems. For instance, the inherent cruelty in Alex’s gang reveals the mental problems faced by the youngsters. From a different angle of view, Alex’s problem and the experimentation (say, Ludivico technique of conditioning) can be generalized to a wider context of psychiatric problems.

Social problems: As pointed out, the film represents the future London (say, after 1971). One can easily identify that the social problem caused by gangs is still hindering social progress in the modern society. Alex’s gang creates much problem in the society because they are in search of social recognition. Their attempt to acclaim social recognition was illegal and it paved the way for their imprisonment. Political problems In this film, the Minister of the Interior in London played an important role to transform Alex to a politically responsible individual.

After the treatment or experimentation, Alex underwent total transformation and his basic instinct to conduct crime is no more an issue. In short, one can easily identify that the initiative undertaken by the Minister of the Interior aims to solve the political problems in London. Economic problems The grass root level cause of the crimes committed by Alex’s gang is interconnected with economic problems. Once can assume that the gang members’ poor economic status forced them to be involved in criminal activities.

By providing ample importance to Alex and his gang, the director made use of the same as an effective medium to communicate with the viewers and to convey his message. Summing, the film A Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick represent the responsibility of a movie director as a social being, who is so concerned about his public domain. The protagonist represents the youngsters who feel frustration and aimlessness within their private and public domains. The formation of gangs is closely connected to psychiatric, social, political and economic problems faced by individuals in a modern society.

In short, the director made use of the protagonist and his gang as a mouthpiece to communicate with the viewers in an effective manner. References McDougal, Stuart Y. Stanley Kubrick's A clockwork orange. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.Print.