Sunday 2 March 2014

A Clockwork Orange - Inspiring Real Life Crime

A Clockwork Orange (1971)


After its 1971 release Kubrick's ultraviolet thriller 'A Clockwork Orange' is thought to have influenced many crimes a cross Britain leading to its withdrawal from British circulation. These crimes included: 

  • the murder of a tramp by a 16-year-old youth
  • the second involved another 16-year-old youth who, dressed in the film’s distinctive gang uniform, stabbed a younger boy
  • the third was the brutal and horrific gang rape of a Dutch girl by a group of youths from Lancashire, as they sang 'Singin’ in the Rain', the song sang by 'Alex' in one of the films most notorious scenes.



This spate of crimes lead to many questioning whether media, film, book or other, can truly influence peoples actions. The film production of A Clockwork Orange was rather alarming to its audience, encouraging people to be wary of its message. The film explores the moral dilemma of freedom of choice, as well as mental illness and its treatment. The film poses many moral questions, many of which still remaining once the film was back in British circulation. 



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1 comment:

  1. vmb10 March 2014 at 09:46

    The debate about the influence of films on crime is endless and conclusions remain evasive. This is certainly not the case in the Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme murder.

    Interesting research and well done for posting the video clips onto your blog. The film was withdrawn after Kubrick got death threats and was not released until he died.

    In your evaluation if you reference this film then you need to find a sequence which indicates Kubrick's use of thriller conventions.

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