Movie Review - A Clockwork Orange: Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

A Clockwork Orange: Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish

        A Clockwork Orange received critical acclaim, made more than thirty

million dollars at the box office, and was nominated for various awards; however,

this esteemed film was outlawed from the nation of Great Britain in order to

curb its immoral content from permeating society.  Before all the controversy

began, A Clockwork Orange was a novel, written mostly in Russian, by Anthony

Burgess.  Stanley Kubrick is known to critics as a film maker who probes the

dark side of human psyche.  Kubrick has also directed films such as Dr.

Strangelove, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket.  In each of these movies the

audience delves into the evil side of the main character. Great Britain had this

film removed from theaters across the country because the government justly

illustrated there was a connection between the movie's graphic violence and an

increased crime rate.

        In Clockwork . . . , there are unquestionably  violent and graphic

actions. Multiple beatings, a rape, and a murder are performed by the lead

characters. These crimes are drug induced.  Before going out, the gang goes to

the "milk bar" for some "milk plus" which is riddled with amphetamines.  The

first violent act came not more than ten minutes into the movie.  It was when

the boys, led by Alex, beat a helpless wino that asked them for some change. The

gang then strode away as if nothing occurred.  They struck him repeatedly with

canes and they kicked him a few times to the job.  Next, the boys went to see a

rival gang.  This other group was in the middle of raping a woman when Alex and

Company came in and intervened.  They proceeded to beat the other gang members

to a pulp.  Then, they went to the house of a writer, to burglarize it.  While

there, they brutalized the writer and his wife.  Alex raped the wife in front of

the writer and then started to sing "Sing'n in the Rain" as he pummeled the old

man.  Alex's final act of violence came at the house of a rich health spa owner.

The gang went there with the intent of robbing the place, but the woman who

lived there was alert to the scheme and called the police.  She attacked Alex

and he defended himself with a sculpture of male genitalia.  The fight ended

when Alex crammed the statue in the mouth of the victim, and killed her.  These

were some of the more graphic scenes, which aided Britain's decision to ban the

film.

        Incidents from this film triggered an onslaught of violent crimes across

the country of Great Britain.  Numerous copycat crimes were reported which

mimicked to exact detail the grotesque murder and rape scenes found in Clockwork.

The most notable copycat crime was in Britain where a woman was raped and beaten

by a group of thugs who sang "Sing'n in the Rain" as they carried out their

ruthless act of violence.  When questioned by police, one of the thugs commented,

"I got the idea to beat this b**** from a movie I saw." The movie turned out to

be none other than Clockwork....

        Stanley Kubrick has also been responsible for additional films that are

bleak, pessimistic, and sometimes terrifying.  Not only is this his style, but

it is also his means of conveying a very sublime personal message.  Kubrick

believes that contemporary society is a very tragic and violent place.  This

message comes across very clearly in Clockwork Orange.  It is through this film

that Kubrick explores the nature of violent crime and in doing so brilliantly

satirizes the deterioration of society and its values.

        Although Kubrick's message may be sincere, his methods exploit the

intentions of video imagery and demean his viewing audience.  Films of this

nature have an incredible power to induce its viewers into committing violent

actions.  This theory is not ingenuous and has been supported by many prominent

members of the psychological community.  For this reason, I believe the film

needs to be formally banned.  Although it played to sellout crowds in London for

nearly a year, it introduced weak moral standards and a glorification of

violence to the public. This film was best received by the college aged youths

of Great Britain. This is a very impressionable time in the life of a person and

could influence them into justifying violence and the abuse of women.  The

British government made the right decision in banning the movie and protecting

the ailing moral standards of Great Britain.

        As stated previously, many scholars believe that  A Clockwork Orange

was responsible for a wave of copycat crimes and an increase in the crime rate.

This theory can be supported by the fact that in the viewing area where

Clockwork was shown there was a dramatic increase in crimes directly related to

scenes from the movie.  Even if the percentage of the increase in crime was

minuscule, this does not underscore the value in banning the film.  Does not

saving just one life justify banning the content of this heinous video?  I

wholeheartedly believe the answer to this question is yes. Human life is worth

much more than one man's sarcastic dissertation on violent crime.

        What will be next--a young girl brutally raped and killed, an innocent

child tortured by ruthless villains, and old man shot down in cold blood?  One

would think a society as educated as ours would recognize the danger in

glorifying these films of violence and gore.  Our children have a hard enough

time determining right from wrong.  Movies such as Clockwork... only add to the

moral decay of our society.  If society is to work toward the esteemed goal of

building a kinder, gentler nation, censorship must play a key role in our

dauntless journey.