A Clockwork Orange scene analysis

Opening Sequence 

A Clockwork Orange opens with a disorientating title sequence whereby Kubrick uses red and blue conflicting backgrounds and non-diegetic music that creates a suspenseful pace. A reason behind his use of the disorientating colours could be that they provoke different conflicting emotions which therefore confuses the spectator. The first shot we see is an close up of Alex, his face split into two, drinking in the milk bar with his droogs. The way his face is presented with makeup on one side and none of the other suggests that the character has a two sided personality, representing his duality or with reference to the title sequence, his red and blue sides as they are very conflicting to the spectator.  

The film's narration is in the form of Alex's personal voice as he speaks to toe spectator directly. He singles himself out as the leader of the group, helping us to align with him as he acts as our narrative guide in this unfamiliar world as we try to make sense of it, however the language used is very confusing therefore a lot of what Alex says is not very straight forward. Because of our alignment, we distance ourselves from the others in this world which sets up a frame for our consistent alignment to Alex throughout the film, as he is the only one we have a connection with. The camera pans outwards, however Alex is always central in the shot which reinforces his significance to the spectator. 

Alex's view of women is reinforced by the décor of the milk bar, as all of the furniture is made in the shape of women, a visual statement referencing how women are literally treated like objects which serve a function, for example the woman shaped 'milk dispenser'. The idea that the milk is tainted with drugs, preparing them for the 'ultra-violence' which takes place, takes away the natural purity of the milk, and this could connote Alex's lack of respect for the supposed function of women. Even as objects, he looks down on them and suggests that they are there to fuel men's desires. 

Tramp Sequence 

The first example of violence in A Clockwork Orange is aimed towards a drunken man whereby Alex and his droogs assault him, however Alex tells the spectator that the man is a drain on society therefore he is doing this for the greater good. The man is introduced with a close up of a bottle, and the stigma closely linked to alcoholism causes us to look down on him and reinforces Alex's point of view as he is our guide. Applauding him, Alex and his droogs look down at the man and the spectator is given a point of view shot of this, further reinforcing Alex's perspective by forcing us to see him in this way. In the close up of Alex, we are viewing him on his left side which makes him appear normal and civilized, and he has not yet became violent. The man uses unfamiliar language which Alex has to be our guide through, and in his narration he guides us to thing negatively about the drunken man as a way to justify his assault.  

During the first half of this sequence we are positioned closely to Alex, assisting us in our alignment with his character. However, when Alex begins his assault with the droogs, the camera pans out into the distance so that the spectator is not forced to watch him assault the man. Alex and his droogs become silhouettes and we no longer are able to experience his point of view as his character becomes indistinguishable. Kubrick uses this to reinforce in our minds that Alex is not portrayed negatively, but rather as a character who gives reason and who we should side with, and he does this by distancing the camera and also masking him with shadows and hiding his 'alter ego' side from our view. 

Singing in the Rain sequence 

During the Singing in the Rain sequence, Alex is shown acting upon his objectification of women. When the doorbell initially rings, the woman shows that she does not want to let them in, however when her husband orders her to do so, she complies and this positions women as submissive in the film, reinforcing Alex's ideological perspective. When Alex and his droogs enter, he is indistinguishable once again due to their masks before he begins to sing this dehumanizes him and helps the spectator to distance themselves from him which makes his actions less personal and shocking, similar to the previous scene, whenever he becomes violent. The unusual tone of the scene is eerily created by the diegetic sound of Alex singing along to Singing in the Rain which has very positive connotations and drastically creates a contrast, further representing the duality of Alex's character and causing the scene to lack its serious nature and also affecting the spectator's reaction to the assault and sexual abuse which takes place. 

Alex makes it clear that he views women as objects throughout the film, for example the milk bar, and he feels that he can do as he pleases with them, the gradual reinforcement of this message causes this scene to be less serious due to the desensitization of the spectator. During a medium close up of Alex wearing a mask, the unfamiliar face and unusual language makes it hard for the spectator to align with Alex, therefore we continue to disassociate Alex with these acts of violence. The scene ends before we are able to see more of Alex's behaviour, Kubrick does this so that we only view Alex as our guide who reinforces society's ideals through acts of violence, even if we do not agree with the actions in reality. The film may be seen as more controversial now due to the drive to end rape culture, however when initially released there was a different view on women's rights, therefore Kubrick's intended audience would have been easier to manipulate, which explains why this scene drastically changed my viewpoint of Alex, and strongly affected my opinion of the film itself.