 A Clockwork Orange's main message can be found within its title, taking something organic and natural and turning it into something mechanical, cold, and inhumane. Anthony Burgess, the author of the book on which the film is based, writes, A Clockwork Orange has the appearance of an organism, lovely with color and juice, but is in fact only a Clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil or, since this is increasing or replacing both, the Almighty State. And this cuts to the roots of the story's message. The relationship between society and the individual, essentially what kind of a world allows for a child to turn into a monster. Do me and your bastard cowards, who don't want to live anyway, not in a stinky water like this. Upon our introduction to Alex and his droogs, they are seen as the pure epitome of evil. They assault, rape, fight, steal, and make a night out of all these horrible events. They're enjoying them. At first glance, he appears to embody everything that is wrong with the world. However, as the film progresses, it starts to paint Alex in a less negative light. His actions may be wrong and reprehensible, but there's a certain likability to the character that allows us as the audience to connect with and ultimately feel sympathy for our protagonist. This is something that Burgess spoke about following the film's controversial release. He wrote an article discussing both his novel and the film. In particular, focusing on what makes Alex likable, despite his horrendous actions. First is his use of language. Alex speaks in a hybrid language primarily composed of English and Russian. Although this may seem like a small detail, it ends up telling us a lot about his character. He's cultured, he has an appreciation for the power of the spoken word, and in a dystopian future, the spoken word holds a lot of power. It also helps separate him from those around him. While Dim struggles to form a coherent sentence, Alex's combining language to show his mental superiority. If the world wasn't in such a poor condition, Alex would have all of the traits necessary to succeed. Burgess, in addition to being an author, was also a linguist and said one of the biggest reasons he wrote the book in the first place was to play around with combining English and Russian. It was just a small linguistic game in which I tried to mix English and Russian to make a new ideologue for my hero. Next Alex is a love of beauty, especially with his appreciation of Beethoven. He's an individual, and in a dull world of conformity, seeing someone be unique and have a passion for something helps us connect with him. He appreciates the good that is left in the world, which he finds in Beethoven's work. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeousity made flesh. Compared to Wendy Carlos's score for the film, Beethoven's music is warm, alive, and humanistic, while Carlos's electronic score, although great and a perfect match to the film, feels mechanical, cold, and inhumane. Finally, Alex is aggressive. His acts are seen as wrong, but his care to do something is what draws us to him. This is a fundamental aspect of every well-written character. Pixar's first rule of storytelling is, you admire a character for trying more than for their success, and this on a much darker level applies to Alex. We care about him because he acts, and even though his actions may not be good, action is greater than inaction, and in a world stripped of humanity, Alex's actions are what makes him human. It was important to choose. If we want to choose evil, it's actually human. But we are not only drawn to Alex because of these three heroic traits. We also feel sympathy towards him because of the horrid conditions of his upbringing. Alex is in many ways a victim. That's exactly who I liked him, sir. He has parents that are uninterested in him or as well-being who are willing to replace him once the time comes. That's Jor. He, he lives here now. He rents your room. He has a very clear history of sexual abuse from Mr. Deltoid, his probation officer, somebody who is supposed to help him. Meanwhile, the world at large around him is just as bad. Police officers are corrupt. The police are fond of bringing our victims to the outskirts of this village. Politicians spend their nights in the milk bar, crime runs rampant, and humanity has devolved into the lowest common denominator. According to the film, Alex himself isn't bad. He was just raised in this horrific world. And because of that, he is a horrific person who is plainly evil. And yet because of him operating on this unconscious level makes you aware of things of your own personality, which you then identify with him. In fact, Burgess suggests he is better than those around him. He is a very clear understanding of the world and what he does. Most of those around him are just following orders, not acting on their own free will, while Alex is. According to Burgess, this is what makes him human. He writes the real meaning of the name Alexander, which is defender of men. Alex's actions are what makes him human. Everyone around him is just as evil, be it his droogs, the rival gangs, Mr. Deltoid with his sexual assault, the prison guards with their abuse, Dr. Bannon and Dr. Brodsky, who enjoy watching Alex's torment, Frank Alexander, who enjoys hearing Alex suffering, the homeless men, every character we see in the movie is evil to one extent or another. The only thing is, Alex admits that he is evil. Everyone else tries to hide behind a veil of morality, pretending that they are good. Meanwhile, they enjoy the same sick pleasures as Alex. He is the defender of men because of his honesty. He doesn't try to hide what he really is. In fact, he embraces it. That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old, ultra-violent. Even though his actions may be humanistic, it doesn't mean they can operate in an effective society. Alex is justifiably jailed for his horrendous actions and then offered a choice, freedom for reformation or imprisonment to remain stationary. I don't care about the dangers, father. I just want to be good. He can choose to give up his violent nature, one of the two things that he loves, the other, of course, being Beethoven, and he chooses to be altered mentally to stop being violent. After the Ludovico technique goes wrong, he is stripped of both Beethoven and violence. It's worth pointing out that his love for both of these is still present. And the first thing that flashed into me, Gulliver, was that I'd like to have a right down there on the floor with the old in-out, real savage. However, he cannot indulge in either of his two passions. Society tries to cure violence by creating more of it. Alex's treatment is in many ways barbaric and it all adds to the cycles of violence that made him into what he is. He is now forced to walk around as a shell of his former self, stripped of everything that made him human. Although this may have worked out in an idealistic world, Alex isn't part of one. The violence that he caused still surrounds him, taking one person off the streets doesn't fix a systematic problem. He again falls victim to the violence of the world. It's more violence of the imagination of the mind. I think the film is very important because the statement it makes is about the freedom of human beings to choose. As the title suggests, people aren't mechanic. Human nature isn't flexible. We cannot be permanently changed. And after Alex's torment builds and builds, he is led to suicide. To blast off forever out of this wicked cruel world. When people are stripped down to nothing according to the film, there is no point in living. However, his will to live is stronger than the mechanical bindings. After waking up, he is cured. He can think about anything, do anything and listen to anything. I was cured, all right. By the end of the film, his humanity is restored. His individuality is brought back. His violent ways are free. Burgess describes the ending as a happy one. It's a human finding humanity in a world that has none. Men's original sin is a product of his own will. He willed it himself. And by curious paradox, this will is a rather glorious thing to possess. Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed. What a dark and twisted movie that is executed perfectly in every sense of the word. But of course, you can expect nothing less than perfection from Kubrick. Anyway, this was episode 100 of the film dissection. Kind of crazy to think about. I wanted to thank everyone for your continued support. Whether this is the first video of mine you've seen or the 100th, I wanted to just say thank you. It really means the world to me and I don't have the chance to say it enough, but I just want you to know that I mean it when I do say it and I'm always so grateful that there are so many of you out there supporting me. It just really means so much. In case you're new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button. I have a new video coming out every Saturday. In case you missed it, I put a link to my last video on the Dark Knight trilogy and some of the philosophies associated with that. So be sure to check that video out if you're interested and I will see you next week. Thanks for watching.