A disturbing look into government control

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2011)

A Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick based off of Anthony Burgess' 1962 novel of the same name starring Malcolm McDowell as Alex. Alex is a troubled youth living in a futuristic society that has become lack of moral values and rules. Alex lives his life carefree and without regret as the leader of a small group of misfits known as Droogs. The Droogs spend most of their time high on a drugged form of milk (which in the future has become legal and sold in milk bars) as they cruise the night looking to increase their high with "Ultra- Violets". These "Ultra-Violets" come at the misfortune of others as the gang beats, rapes, and takes anything they want. The theme, or focus, of the film is on the ideas of the truths of human nature as they relate to social problems within society and the governments role in correcting them. In the film the government uses a mind control technique known as the Ludovico Technique to cure Alex of his need for violence and sex. Their goal is to cure him and make him fit into the mold of what they think a citizen should be and act like. The theme of this film reminded me somewhat of George Orwell's 1984. Before Alex is released from prison he undergoes the Ludovico Technique of treatment to cure him of his need for violence and sex. The treatment sessions themselves were just as violent to Alex as the crimes he had been committing before prison. He was drugged and subjected to countless hours of films showing him the most perverse violent acts imaginable, to the point that just the thought of such things made him ill. After Alex is released from prison he tries to fit back into society on the straight and narrow path, but the mind-altering treatments that he had undergone push him to the brink of madness. He is unable to cope with society as he had left it before and eventually tries to take his own life. After Alex's failed suicide he becomes a martyr for the people outraged at the idea of the government using drugs and mind control to change people for the better or worse. The director, Stanley Kubrick, uses several film techniques in this movie to bring its theme to life, two of which really stuck out to me, the use of color and voice over narration. The use of color primarily in the opening and ending scenes that just showed the films credits in front of very bright changing colors. This reminded me of the use of psychedelic drugs such as LSD and how during the time that the movie was being filmed our own government was experimenting with the use of LSD to alter the minds of soldiers to change them and create the perfect soldier, or how the drug was also being used by psychiatrist to alter the minds of patients. So even though the movie was taking place in the future its message reflected what was currently happening in society and the potential side effects from it. Voice over narration was equally important in this film, as it dealt with the inner workings of a character's mind. Without being able to really listen in to what Alex was thinking we could not of understood the depth of who he was before and especially after he underwent the treatments. Overall I highly recommend this film. It was a very entertaining look into society, with all of our difference and ideas of what is right and wrong, and most importantly the moral aspects of big brother using its power to alter what or who we are on the inside.