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A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)PHLISOPHICAL ISSUES: free will, political coercion CHARATERS: Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell, narrator, leader of gang), Dim (Warren Clarke, a droogie), Georgie (James Marcus, a droogie), Deltoid (Aubrey Morris, Alex’s case worker), Minister (Anthony Sharp, Minister of Interior), Dr. Bodsky (Carl Dueing, scientist in charge of Alex’s treatment), Prison Chaplain (Godfrey Quigley) OTHER FILMS BY DIRECTOR STANLEY KUBRICK: Spartacus (1960), Lolita (1962), Dr. Strangelove (1964), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), The Shining (1980), Full Metal Jacket (1987) SYNOPSIS: The movie is based on the novel by Anthony Burgess and takes place in a future where crime has run rampant and there is very little to be done about it. Alex is the leader of a gang of droogies and is particularly vicious. After accidentally killing someone he is imprisoned and volunteers to under go a new form of treatment in which his body associates violence of any kind with extreme feelings of nausea and sickness that are strong enough to paralyze him. Afterwards he attempts suicide and the government is forced to “fix” him again, restoring him to his former self and covering up the whole experiment. DISSCUSION QUESTIONS: 1. While Alex is in prison he talks to the Chaplain about the treatment and about wanting to be good. The Chaplain says “The question is weather or not this technique really makes a man good. Goodness comes from within. Goodness is chosen.” Is the Chaplain right? 2. Later in that scene the chaplain says, “When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.” If everything about our daily routine was planned for us down to the smallest detail and we had no choice but to follow it, would we still qualify as humans? Machines? Rocks? 3. Aristotle says that to be truly virtuous one must act from a virtuous disposition and not spur of the moment reactions or with a conscious effort. Would the treatment make Alex virtuous the way that Aristotle describes it? 4. After his treatment and during his presentation to show he is cured, Alex is attacked and cannot defend himself due to the treatment. Would taking away the ability to act violently from known criminals be acceptable since it would leave them defenseless? 5. The Minister says of Alex’s new condition, “Ladies and Gentlemen our subject is impelled towards good by paradoxically being impelled toward evil. The intention to act violently is accompanied by strong feelings of physical distress. To counter these, the subject has to switch to a diametrically opposed attitude.” Are there situations in life when, as a result of actively choosing to do evil, we inadvertently do good? 6. After the Presentation the chaplain remarks, “Choice! The boy has no real choice, has he? Self interest, fear of physical pain drove him to that grotesque act of self abasement. Its insincerity was clearly to be seen. He ceases also to be a creature capable of moral choice.” Even though Alex will suffer, couldn’t he still choose to stand up and fight back? For example, couldn’t he continue to keep having evil thoughts as long as they were subtle? 7. Hume said we have a kind of weak liberty in which we can choose to act or not act according to how our will motivates us. Do you think post-treatment Alex has this kind of weak liberty? The next day as Alex is released from prison he claims that he is a free man but after the treatment is Alex really free? 8. After Running into everyone he had assaulted prior to being cured, Alex stumbles into the writer’s house whose wife he raped in the beginning of the movie. The writer sees it as some kind of fate for Alex to have shown up there. Does this reinforce the idea of Alex having no control over his life? 9. The writer says of Alex, “I tell you, sir, they have turned this young man into something other than a human being. He has no power of choice any more. He's committed to socially acceptable acts, a little machine capable only of good.” What’s so bad about that? 11. At the end of the movie Alex is fixed up and begins terrorizing people again. This differs from the ending in the book in which Alex outgrows his psychopathic behavior and becomes a productive citizen. By diverging from the book, what the film maker's point? 12. If you had the chance to reprogram violent criminals against their wills would you? 13. Does society’s interest in maintaining social peace outweigh a criminal’s right to retain his character traits even if they are violent? Author: Brandon Chewning |
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