Questions about Clockwork Orange, Lord of the Flies, Being There Films, and Lord of the Flies Novel - Assignment Example

1. How does Hal Ashby’s film of Jerzy Kosinski’s "Being There" satirize American politics, especially the of the presidency? Being Thereis a film that presents the American politics as an institution that is manipulated and is dominated by businessmen. It creates a seemingly hyper reality that overshadows the American political system. It shows how simple-minded, almost to the point of being stupid, people are used because they are the perfect candidates for a political position, someone who just accepts information and suggestions without questioning it. This indicates that the government can not really be believable and credible since it is like walking on water, something that is impossible to happen. It also presents that people tend to believe in things that they do not really understand. In the movie, Chance seems to give out gardening metaphors relating to economic situation and forecasts. Gardening and television is the only world that Chance knows and so he makes remarks referring to the garden but what he means is really about the garden not economics but the people interpreted it in a different way finding him queer. The movie presents American politics as devious and devoid of credibility to lead the country. This clearly shows how Ashby believes that American politics and the government, at that, is not real but something that is created by the rich and famous people manipulating and dominating our society. 2. In William Golding’s novel "The Lord of the Flies", is the Problem of Evil due primarily to a flaw in human nature or to cultural forces that have shaped the boys’ attitudes and behavior? Support your opinion with specific details from the book. Golding presents evil as an intrinsic nature of human beings that even innocent boys living in an uninhibited island are stained by it. Cruelty is shown as an indication of this evil and this is presented in the scene wherein the boys started hunting pigs. The desire of man for power is overpowering that it even the children, seen in the event of Jack’s jealousy with Ralph’s leadership. Golding also presents evil as something alive in each human being seeking to come out and be recognized and utilized. This can be seen in the urge that the children in the story feel to inflict pain. This can be particularly seen during the time that Roger threw rocks at the kids reasoning out that he is not really aiming at them. This can also be seen when the biguns were bullying the lilluns, kicking their sandcastle. And after the pain comes the rush of joy. Like at the time when they were hunting and killing the pig, the choirboys were overjoyed that they even had a ritual dance. This indicates that evil is part of human nature, however, it is just hibernating and waiting for the time it will wake up. External forces have an effect on this evil as it is the force that wakes it up and causes evil to manifest itself. Being free from the constraints of civilization and the society, the boys act on their own wants. They do not realize that by doing what they want, they allow evil to come forth since they are not restricted anymore by the norms of the society. These primal urges become a sign of anarchy, violence and terror that rules the hunters. The hunters tempt each other into succumbing into these evils. 3. In Peter Brook’s film of "Lord of the Flies", what does the Beast symbolize? How do the four main characters differ in their attitudes toward this Beast? The Beast symbolizes the evil lurking within each person. Ralph faced the Beast by trying to focus on order, discipline and democracy even while fearing the Beast. He yearned for control over his own actions and he tries his best to make everyone realize that they should be thinking before acting. He actually represented the human being, the ego in humans. There is a desire to do something that he wants but he is trying to control because there is still reason and conscience in him. Piggy was the voice of reason that attempts to stabilize Ralph’s own desires and fears. He does not believe in the Beast at all. He is represents civilization and norms that prevents the natural beast in all of us to come out. Jack presents the picture of a human being devoid of control and given in to the innermost desires of a human nature, which in turn becomes evil in nature due to greed and violence. He is the picture of anarchy in a world which does not have norms of any kind of governing body or leadership. Simon symbolizes religion, wherein he has the courage to fight the belief in the Beast head-on. When he started out to announce to everyone that the Beast was not real and no one should believe its existence because it is the creation of their imaginations, he was killed. He represents the natural goodness in man. 5. In his film "A Clockwork Orange", how does Stanley Kubrick use visual symbolism to express the connection between art and violence? Kubrick connected art with violence by using images of violence as metaphors and representations of dehumanization. This can be seen in the scenes wherein there is allegory to Beethoven’s music and using it in conditioning the main character, Alex, out of violence. But by doing this, it made him powerless over violence and pain that he has inflicted prior to his prison life. Beethoven’s symphony emphasizes the heights and depths of human experience much like how Alex experienced this in the movie. Beethoven’s music became the representation of his Alex’s life. Art presented in the film depicted sex and violence that implied further the message of the movie. Kubrick used art in further emphasizing violence as it was used in acts of violence. Examples of these are the instrument used by Alex in killing the wife, a statuette resembling a phallic symbol and the artwork depicting sex and violence in the room of the cat girl that he raped. Kubrick used visual symbolism to establish the theme of the film, that art itself can depict violence and can be used for violence. Visual symbolism has a great impact in the movie since it creates images of violence connected with reality, not just our imagination. With this, the movie is able to project and establish more that the arts can be a vehicle of violence. Read More