ACWO - Introduction analysis

Even from the first shot in the introduction, the audience is manipulated to align with a specific character. Firstly, Alex is the first character that we see, he is looking into the camera but more specifically at each audience member individually - making the audience and Alex relationship different and more personal wit each other person and their response to the eye contact. Personally, I found the eye-contact to be weird, making the alignment with the character more difficult. The camera starts at a close up of Alex then pans back, revealing the surroundings and other characters, however alex maintains constantly in the center of the frame at all times and it the only character making eye contact with us at this time. The eye contact is maintained for the duration of this shot, once again reinforcing the alignment the audience should develop with Alex. Alex is the only character in this scene with his feet up on a naked female mannequin, this plants a seed in the audiences mind of his opinions on females. When the narrator speaks, we instantly associate him with the character we see on screen, and he is seen as our guide in the film as the audience are introduced to futuristic environments and non-normal dialect. As he is the narrator, we see things from his perspective and are denied the opportunity to see things from an alternative point of view, this is used to be very manipulative in future scenes. He says '...and my droogs', when describing his associates, this distinguishes his as the leader character - in general, audiences will attempt to align with the leader character as they are seen as the strongest in the group.

The next scene shows a mid shot of litter and empty beer bottles, this shortcut to meaning helps us associate the singing character with a drunk homeless person.  Before we see the gang in the frame directly, the scene is backlit, meaning their huge shadows cloud over the whole scene, nearly plunging it into darkness, this lighting effect connotes power with the group. The shot would be even, but the tramp visually disrupts the otherwise perfect symmetry in the shot.  The narration used here encourages the audience to share his point of view, it also can be seen as a justification for his next actions. While Alex and the homeless man are speaking, there is a close up shot used when Alex speaks, but only a mid-shot when the drunk homeless man speak; also Alex speaks calm and is articulate, while the drunk guy is.. drunk, and slurs his words. Reinforcing the justification for Alex to commit this assault. Alex initiates the assault, once again showing him as the leader of the group. We see him strike in a close up shot, but as the violence begins, the shot switches to a mid shot and Alex cant be distinguished in the group of attackers. This manipulates the audience, and doesn't directly show Alex being aggressive, making alignment for the audience easier.