Detailed description analysis and interpretation

¶ … Film directors everywhere have a general tendency to make their movies according to the demands of a Hollywood type of public. Most probably, this happens because people in the industry are aware of the success that the productions made in Hollywood have, and, they mainly abandon originality in favor of profits. The audience appears to confirm the fact that movies made in conformity with the requirements of a general public are more successful than the ones distinguished through their uniqueness. When making movies that are different from what one would normally find in Hollywood, film directors expect harsh critics from the public, and, in most cases, such movies are catalogued as being queer.

When Stanley Kubrick came out and presented A Clockwork Orange to the world, it seems that the audience had not been ready to deal with something involving such a great deal of vulgarity. Critics took advantage of the opportunity which came along with the movie and condemned it both for the offensive concepts that it promoted, and, for the fact that it had presumably been too boring. It is not certain whether they were right or not, but, considering the fact that the twenty first century accepted the movie with their arms open, one might be led to believe that it had been too advanced for its time.

One of the main reasons for which the public did not initially welcome A Clockwork Orange is that it presented new concepts. Being unfamiliar with the genre (if the movie can actually be part of one), the audience did not know what to believe of the film. Their confusion contributed in labeling the movie as being unpleasant, and, as a result, it came to be banned from certain areas shortly after its distribution.

A Clockwork Orange is not your typical science fiction film, and, for that matter, it cannot even be referred to as being anything typical. The movie amazes through the elements which the director chose to use, and, the public is left unaware of what to think consequent seeing the motion picture. As the movie contains a great deal of scenes involving violence, most viewers consider it to be too aggressive.

While the British public seemed to be appreciative towards the movie, the authorities decided that it had been immoral and unfit for viewing in British cinemas. It had not been long until the movie's aftermath emerged, leaving marks in most countries where it had been issued. The British decided to ban it from all cinemas consequent to a period in which it ran in a small number of cinemas. The U.S. film industry initially rated it X because it featured aspects which could not be seen by a general public.

The British government could not have possibly agreed with the fact that a movie condemning the fact that the system is controlling people was being distributed in cinemas around the country. This definitely triggered a wave of confusion among cinema fans in England, as they had certainly made some connections between the exaggerated concepts that Kubrick presented and the real world. Gladly, the present day society is nothing like that shown in the movie, but, even with that, one cannot help getting the impression that the system is attempting to make puppets out of the public. This can also be done by banning certain movies, books, or articles which address the topic, and, A Clockwork Orange might have been a victim of society not wanting anyone to interfere in its attempts to manipulate people. While this is an exaggerated thought, people worldwide had certainly taken it into consideration.

People generally fail to understand the moral of the film and cannot understand if they should either hate it or love it, since it contains both pleasant and repulsive themes. This is one of the normal responses that the public has after they watch the movie. It is possible that the director had intended his movie to have this effect on the audience, as people will certainly not forget the movie.

Even when they make a science fiction movie, European film directors succeed in making it different from the rest of the S.F. genre. It is not necessarily for a movie to include space ships and monsters in order to qualify as a science fiction motion picture, as it can also relate to the genre by displaying normality in an abnormal way. The difference between the European movie scene and the American one is that good European movies are referred to as being art, while good American movies are considered to be good merchandise.

The fact that the American film industry rated the movie X is a direct example of how the American public could not deal with a movie of such complexity. Even though the Americans have also come up with very good movies until the time, all the productions presented similar concepts, with their directors being overcautious when concerning their work being associated with the queer genre. Because of the X rating that his movie received in the U.S., Kubrick went back to the drawing board and remade the film by replacing a series of scenes and making the movie receive an R. rating. Apparently, there have even been cases of people performing crimes in the U.K., and, later telling authorities that they had been inspired by the movie to act accordingly.

Most Hollywood directors, regardless of their fondness for the queer genre, cannot possibly come up with something similar to A Clockwork Orange. It can almost be said that the movie has a touch of British humor involved in a number of scenes, thus shedding light on the puzzle concerning its initial critiques.

Of course, Hollywood has had its share of psychopaths over the years, ever since actors such as Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart managed to produce wonderful performances in the roles of mentally deranged individuals. However, none of them can actually be compared with Malcolm McDowell's character in A Clockwork Orange. A mad lunatic obsessed with Beethoven, running around the streets of England with his thugs in search of committing crimes is clearly not the product of a Hollywoodian mind.

It is not difficult to understand why the U.S. film industry had initially rated the film X, considering the fact that sex scenes continue to express vulgarity in the R. rated version, even after the director had replaced some of the original sex scenes. A Hollywood director would certainly shorten the rape scene, and, attempt to amplify the feeling of guilt experienced by the audience during the time when Alex's gang ravishes the woman.

American directors have also made movies in which extreme violence is omnipresent. The Wild Bunch and Bonnie and Clyde have received harsh critics from the public because both of them involved a great deal of immorality. Even with that, A Clockwork Orange by far presents much more violence and depravity than the two American movies put together.

Alex is an anarchist in his essence, as he constantly tries to act against society and believes that his actions will have no effect on himself. Kubrick often insists in some scenes, giving the audience the feeling of continuity, and, thus, boring them. However, these scenes contribute in the general way in which the public perceives the movie, as they are constantly reminded of the level wickedness that a man can achieve. Considering that he or she wanted to involve a great deal of violence in a movie, a Hollywoodian director would have acted so that the public would actually enjoy decadence instead of being horrified by it.