A Clockwork Orange, behaviorism and freedom

What to say about A Clockwork Orange that hasn’t been said before, what can we say about Stanley Kubrick, we could spend hours and hours talking about the filmits ending, its philosophical analysis… It is impossible for me to summarize the importance of the film in a few lines, it is impossible for me to delve into all the questions it raises, so I will try, as far as possible, to get a little closer to the background of the film.

Stanley Kubrick brought this film to the big screen in 1971, although it could not be seen in many countries until later; The film suffered censorship and bans, but even so, it became a classic and rose to the status of cult film..

A Clockwork Orange It is based on the novel of the same name by the British author Anthony Burgess. The work is considered one of the most important of the dystopian genre in the United Kingdom. However, taking into account how difficult it is to cover the entire analysis, I will only focus on the film version, because it is the best known and because it presents some important differences from the book.

There is no doubt that A Clockwork Orange It is a work of art in the cinematographic world. Kubrick made a film in which he left his mark, his personal stamp.. The colors, the plans, the music… everything in A Clockwork Orange It is perfectly designed and measured to the millimeter, visually it fascinates and captivates us from the beginning.

The language also stands out, the jargon used by the protagonists, which combines words from other languages, especially Russian.; This slang was invented by Anthony Burgess, author of the novel, and is known as nadsat. Music plays a fundamental role, let’s not forget the I’m singing in the rain of the protagonist, the use of synthesizers and the presence of classical music, especially Beethoven.

Discovering Alex

Alex is the protagonist, a young man who adores Beethoven, loves violence and does not know morals.. A Clockwork Orange takes us to a dystopian future in which Alex and his drugos enjoy ultraviolence. It seems that the young people of this future do not know the limits of violence, they enjoy it and it is their only form of entertainment: rapes, robberies, beatings… Anything goes for Alex and his drugos.

Alex is a young man who moves by instinct, who is incapable of thinking about the repercussions of his actions, of distinguishing good and evil.. It seems that there is no reason or motivation that explains this innate violence in the protagonist, in addition, he is very influential and is the leader of his drugos (friends of his). The world in which he lives and his relationship with his parents probably has something to do with his behavior, although, in this dystopian future, young people seem to spend their time committing criminal acts, without any other purpose. in the life; which leads us to think that, perhaps, society does have something to do with it.

Alex doesn’t treat anyone well, not even his drugos, who, in one of his crimes, will betray him. Alex becomes a young murderer and is sent to prison as a result.. There, Alex will lose his name and acquire his new identity as a prisoner, becoming prisoner 655321. In prison, Alex feels a certain attraction to The Bible, but his interpretation of it is far from the conventional one; Alex identifies with the most violent scenes, seeing himself as a Roman who participates in the flagellation of Christ.

Due to his interest in The Biblethe prison priest takes a certain liking to him and sees in Alex a young man to help; However, Alex despises the priest, although he never shows it. Alex confesses that he has heard about an experimental treatment, called Ludovico, that gets you out of jail quickly, and tells him that he would like to try it and, thus, become a “good man.”

The film presents us with the true nature of evil. Is Alex evil by nature? Is he bad because of circumstances? Does society have anything to do with it? There are many questions that arise as we get to know Alex, but even more when we discover what the Ludovico treatment is like.

The State, in its fight to eradicate violence, has developed an experimental treatment that turns a “bad guy” into a “good guy”, in this way, not only do they manage to lower the rates of violence, but they also get a greater part of the productive society and useful and reduce costs in prisons. In reality, this treatment is nothing more than a government strategy, it is nothing more than a way to make a part of the population useful that only generates expenses. Are those who try to turn Alex good? Can we really choose?

Freedom in A Clockwork Orange

The government believes that prison is not a place for reintegration, but rather encourages evil and violence to increase. The Ludovico treatment promises to change these young people, turning their antisocial behavior into appropriate and socially accepted. This treatment corresponds to classical conditioning, in the purest style of Pavlov and his stimulus-response.. Alex undergoes the treatment and passes it successfully, proving to be a good man.

All of this leads us to wonder if Alex has lost his freedom, his free will. Alex does not choose the good, the treatment has conditioned him so much that he is unable to defend himself, to do what you would really like. He is unable to touch a woman, respond to an insult or avoid a humiliating situation, but not because of his own decision, but because of the effect of the treatment.

A Clockwork Orange investigates violence, violence linked to the sexual behavior of the protagonist, violence for violence’s sake and the nature of it. But who is more violent? Isn’t that violence of the State? Let us remember that, in the film, we see how the prisoners are deprived of all freedom, of all identity and subjected to violence. The Ludovico treatment manages to nullify Alex completely, turning him into a puppet of the State that only uses him for its promotion and his interest. A violence that is permitted, disguised and socially accepted, something that takes us back to Michel Foucault and his work. Watch out and punish or even Machiavelli.

Alex manages to get out of prison, from the place that had taken away his freedom, however, he is even less free. Everything seems very paradoxical in A Clockwork Orange, not only does he lose his freedom when he leaves prison, but Alex must face his past, he will suffer and live in torment. His former friends, on the other hand, continue to exercise violence, but now, justified and permitted: they have become police officers.

The State has so much power that it exercises violence over the individual, turning him into a puppet, taking advantage of it for its own publicity and benefit.. It seems that Alex is no longer the bad guy, now he is the victim. Is Alex still a man when he is no longer able to decide? His previous behavior did not know morality, but is there morality in Ludovico’s treatment? The movie It opens the door to countless reflections, so many that it is impossible for me to summarize them in an article.

A Clockwork Orange It is, without a doubt, one of the great works of cinema, visually magnificent, aggressive, reflective and hypnotic.. His influence is so strong that some of us have been affected by Ludovico’s treatment almost as much as Alex, making it very difficult for us not to think of a scene from Beethoven every time we listen to a piece by Beethoven. A Clockwork Orange.

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