SSC Film Studies

Section B

With reference to the films you have studied for this topic, explore in detail two of the key elements that produce an emotional response in the spectator.

The films I have studied for this topic are Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket, both of these films use alignment and allegiance to create a certain emotional response within the spectator.

The use of alignment is evident in the opening sequences of both films. Full Metal Jacket begins with the soldiers getting their heads shaved giving them a ‘uniform look’ and they are essentially indistinguishable from one another. Each character is framed in a medium close up in the same scenario and Kubrick does not give preference to one character, making it more difficult for spectators to align with one character over another. The purpose of this sequence is to introduce and focus upon the regiment army lifestyle and loss of identity the characters will face, because of this we are aligned with the group immediately rather than an individual.

The opening of A Clockwork Orange differs in almost every way possible from Full Metal Jacket. The film begins with a blood red screen and non-diegetic, synthesised music combination introducing us to a strange, unfamiliar world. The scene then cuts to a close up of Alex’s face which introduces Alex to the spectators as a protagonist. During this shot, Alex maintains direct eye contact with the spectator and as individuals we feel he is looking at us; he is the only character making eye contact with the audience therefore he encourages us to align with him at this early stage. We align with Alex because we are denied an alternative point of view and the only way to make sense of the strange, disorientating world that we are introduced to is by adopting Alex’s point of view and seeing the world through his eyes. From this, we can see how the openings of A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket are very different as Full Metal Jacket’s opening aligns us with the group whereas Kubrick has used different techniques in the opening of A Clockwork Orange to encourage us to align with just one main character.

The next few scenes of Full Metal Jacket show us Marine Core boot camp, these boot camp sequences are included to create a sense of order and reflect the loss of individuality the characters are experiencing which contributes to our distancing from the characters as individuals. The purpose of the boot camp is the dehumanisation of the recruits so they can be rebranded as killing machines. Through his use of abusive language, physical abuse and strict living conditions, Hartmann drives the humanity out of the characters and moulds their views to align with the military’s desires. In doing this, Kubrick also aligns the audience’s point of view with the military’s and ultimately, the groups. The only characters who stand out in boot camp are Private Pyle and Private Joker as Private Pyle slows the group down and Joker tries to help him at first. Although the spectators should empathise with Pyle during boot camp, they have been aligned the military’s views therefore they gain allegiance for the group as Pyle continues to slow the group down and get them into trouble and as Joker starts to drift from Pyle and follow the ideologies of the group. From boot camp, the audience are encouraged to gain allegiance for the group which remains throughout the film as the spectators have adopted their militant ideologies.

In the second scene of A Clockwork Orange, we see Alex and the Droogs attack an unarmed, elderly tramp. During this sequence, Alex narrates his feelings towards the tramp to the audience and the narration guides our personal response towards the tramp; even if we do not agree with Alex, we are at least presented with his point of view and motivation for the attack. In this scene, Kubrick uses extreme close ups of Alex to positions us close to him and a variation of mid and long shots on the tramp to put distance between the spectator and him. Once the violence begins, the camera cuts to an extreme wide shot therefore Alex and his Droogs can only be seen as shadows. Because of this, we are unable to distinguish Alex from the gang and as a result we associate the violence with the gang rather than Alex which keeps us aligned with him as we do not specifically see him doing wrong.

In A Clockwork Orange, the audience are encouraged to give allegiance to Alex during the ‘Ludvigo’ Technique scene. Throughout this scene we are gazing at close ups of Alex as he is being punished and we are forced to view Alex’s face in pain making us feeling uncomfortable because, as the spectators, we are being punished with Alex for the participation in the acts of violence against women as we were aligned with Alex as he was committing these acts. As a result of our implication in the act of violence committed by Alex and our allegiance to him, we are forced to endure his punishment with him. We, as spectators, are subjected to punishment as the scenes of Alex being ‘trained’ are unpleasant to watch. From watching this scene, the audience may even feel repulsion, just as Alex feels repulsion at what he sees during his treatment.

In conclusion, alignment and allegiance are used in very different ways to give different meanings to each film. In Full Metal Jacket, we align with the group and I gave allegiance to them when watching. This alignment with the group was done by Kubrick to create a realistic depiction of war in his film rather than a war film like Platoon where we are aligned with a specific character and empathise with his story. On the other hand, the spectators of A Clockwork Orange are encouraged to give allegiance to Alex as Kubrick wanted to manipulate his audience into seeing these crimes as acceptable which was done so by aligning us with the main character and encouraging us to see the Droogs as antagonists rather than just Alex.