A Clockwork Orange - Opening Scenes

The opening scenes of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange immediately demonstrate the film's reliance on the spectator taking the preferred world view of its protagonist, Alex.

Right away, from the opening flashes of blood red and dark blue, we are prepared for a disorienting, odd tone, emphasising the film's pop-art sensibilities of stark colour and surreal imagery. It is surprising, then, that Alex appears in medium close-up, staring not at the audience, but the individual spectator. This instantly marries the audience to this character, as he explains the alien situation. His direct eye-contact contributes to the spectator's alignment with Alex, as well as his narration, which makes Alex the only character to make sense of this world for the outsider, using strange dialect like 'synthemesc' and 'moloko'. We have to trust his word, because Kubrick has denied us an alternative worldview from which to make rational sense of Alex's actions. As people, we are drawn to leaders. Alex identifies his gang as 'my droogs' with a sense of ownership, simplifying the spectator's search for a view-point as this man is leader of the pack. These 'droogs' do not make direct eye-contact with the spectator, signifying the value Alex has for the audience and his status as leader - he matters, they do not. It is as if he sees himself above this and them, viewing himself with a sense of self-importance.