We live in a violent society. The news shows us footage from highway accidents and mass shootings. Video games feature cold-blooded murder. And prime-time TV is almost always about a sociopath or serial killer. (Although the airwaves have been safer since How I Met Your Mother concluded.)
How does this media affect our behavior? Studies are always conflicted, which is why movies like A Clockwork Orange exist. Only one thing is certain—we can't get away from violence, in real-life and in the media. This movie explores our relationship with violence, and how it can both excite us and repel us.
Questions about Violence
- Why is Alex a violent person? Is it society? Is it how he was raised? Or was he born that way?
- How does Alex's attitude about violence change?
- The Ludovico technique is supposed to turn Alex away from violence, but how is the procedure itself violent?
- Does the film glamorize violence?
Chew on This
A Clockwork Orange depicts multiple kinds of violence: gang violence, sexual violence, and mental violence being three prominent types. The film considers mental violence, even against a criminal like Alex, to be the most egregious of the three.
Because the film is shown through Alex's POV, the violence is often portrayed as exciting and fun.