Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange: Singin In The Rain

Few films have replicated the controversy of Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971). Created during the ‘Golden age of American Film violence’ between the 1960s and early 1970s and based on the Anthony Burgess novella of the same name. The Orwellian, science-fiction film, catalogues the life and crimes of antagonist Alex Delarge; a young, violent and hedonistic deliquent with an enthusiastic appreciation for music, specifically German composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. Alex’s ‘droogs’, Dim, Georgie and Pete often accompany him on his escapades, delving into what Alex refers to as ‘lashings of ultra-violence’. The term ultra-violence, refers to exceptionally violent acts such as, assault, rape or murder; all of which transpire within the film. In the film’s arguably most controversial scene, Alex and his ‘droogs’ conduct a brutal home invasion, whereby they savagely attack a writer and rape his wife. These abhorrent acts materialise whilst Alex cheerily sings ‘Singin in the Rain’. Furthermore, within this essay I will be analysing the significance of the role of sound in depicting narrative and constructing meaning in A Clockwork Orange. …show more content…
Through the agency of this familiar intertextual link, Kubrick further illustrates Alex’s desensitisation from violence, which is more terrifying than Kubrick employing a silent rape