A Clockwork Orange film study essay (draft)

‘Alex awakens to Beethoven’s 9th’ scene: close viewing essay (draft!)

Anthony Burgess, author of the 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange once wrote, “Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?” In Stanley Kubrick’s 1971 film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, the idea of imposed morality vs. free will is a recurring and significant theme to reflect on, and challenge the ethics of the real-world issue of experimental and inhumane psychiatric treatments such as lobotomies and electroshock in the 60’s-70’s. In the climatic scene ‘Alex Awakens to Beethoven’s 9th’, techniques of music, setting, camera zooms and acting coincide to connect the audience to the emotional turmoil and downfall of protagonist Alex DeLarge: the after-product of experimental and inhumane government treatment politically marketed as ‘a successful rehabilitation’.

These aspects have been used to create the extremely climatic, intensely emotional scene of Alex waking to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the score played alongside a violent Nazi propaganda film shown to Alex during the aversion therapy. Now when hearing the symphony, along with the thought or sight of violence, Alex immediately has the overwhelming sensation of pain and terrible nausea. After being released and immediately discovering he had been betrayed by his parents, and then beaten to near-death by his former-droogs (now authoritative policemen) in the woods, Alex desperately seeks shelter at the nearest house. Only to find himself at the mercy of a revengeful writer whose life he carelessly destroyed years earlier, Kubrick has used these aspects to effectively portray and connect the physical and psychological impact rehabilitation has had on Alex with the audience to bring up these real-world issues. It links into A Clockwork Orange’s wider theme of imposed morality vs. free will.

A significant aspect in Alex’s awakening scene is the use of music. Specifically, the revengeful Dr. Alexander playing Beethoven’s 9th symphony at full volume as a means to torture Alex, who is locked in the upstairs guest room. It is a high-tempo classical instrumental, featuring layers of violins, thunderous percussion and flute, fluctuating from loud and thunderous to very soft flute parts rapidly. Kubrick has used Beethoven’s 9th symphony and Alex’s intense reaction to parallel the beginning of the movie to Alex now, at the climax of his emotional downfall, after discovering his parents had rented his room out to another young male, and having been taken advantage of and brutally beaten by his former droogs, now policemen. Beethoven’s 9th exemplifies the change and hypocrisy in power in A Clockwork Orange—  how the writer Alex beat to near-death years earlier is now torturing the vulnerable character. Kubrick’s choice of music in the awakening scene brings up the film’s theme of imposed morality vs. free will. What used to be the symphony Alex listened to in “pure bliss” is now an act of torture, an exemplification of a disastrous effect of the forced and unethical aversion therapy that Alex was deceived into believing would cure his need for violence— this was a topical reflection to how many inhumane psychiatric treatments were marketed in the 60’s. Coinciding with the intensely emotional way Alex is reacting, Beethoven’s 9th now has a chaotic, almost-demonic edge. We are able to connect and see the shocked, betrayed and psychologically-tortuous impact that rehabilitation, much like electroshock and lobotomies in the 60s, has had on Alex in a way we have not seen previously. 

The acting in the awakening scene is another way the psychological effects on Alex are effectively portrayed. Throughout the scene, Alex’s emotions are in turmoil; he is clearly distressed: he shows this through horrified, shocked facial expressions, gagging, clutching his ears and sides of his head to block out the music, and banging and kicking at the floor and door. How Alex is acting in the scene — gagging, coughing and covering his ears and head — the intense facial expressions showing his anger, shock, horror, and panic— Kubrick has effectively shown both the physical effects and effects of the psychological turmoil Alex is going through while hearing Beethoven’s 9th. With no remorse and completely at the mercy of Dr. Alexander while locked in an upstairs room, the audience is shocked to see a side of Alex we have never seen before, and, for what could previously be unthinkable for the earlier and younger version of Alex, feel pity for him. Being able to connect and feel genuine sorrow for Alex on such an emotional level in this scene brings up the theme of imposed morality vs. free will. Through Alex’s intensely dramatic reaction to the symphony, at the mercy of Dr. Alexander and having returned to the house at which we have seen merciless torture once before, the audience are able to see the effects of government rehabilitation on Alex and connect with the intensity of his emotions in the scene.

The use of zooming the camera in and out in this scene is a significant aspect that coincides with the acting to portray the psychological turmoil Alex is going through. At the beginning of the scene, as the 9th symphony starts and Alex slowly wakes up to realise what is happening, the camera is zoomed out from his face to show the entire bedroom. The camera now shows Alex thrashing on the bed, the closed and locked door, and the confined space of the room itself. Nearing the end of the scene as Alex stares in horror at the brightness of the large window before him, the camera zooms into a close-up of his pale, horrified face as he realises jumping from the window is his last resort of escape. Adding to the aspects of setting, music, and acting to show his reaction to this, Kubrick has used these zooms to emphasise and further portray to the audience the psychological state of Alex. In the beginning of the scene when it zooms out to show the room, it happens at the same time Alex recognises the symphony and realises he has been purposely trapped in the guestroom of Dr. Alexander’s house. Zooming out to show the room at the same time Alex realises what is happening connects the audience to the intensity and chaos of the scene. Zooming in to show a close-up of Alex’s facial expression as he realises the window is his last resort emphasises the emotion and generates the climax that has the audience extremely engaged in the scene and worried for what will happen to Alex, raising questions on how the film will end.  

Another significant aspect in this climactic scene is the house at which it’s set. Alex awakening to Beethoven has been set in the upstairs bedroom of Dr. Alexander’s house, the writer who Alex and his ‘droogs’ beat to near-death alongside his now-deceased wife, who they brutally assaulted and raped as young teenagers. Dr. Alexander, who we discovered to be the owner of the house a bloody and drenched Alex seeks shelter at after being beaten by his former-droogs, is now blaring Beethoven’s 9th from a speaker system as a means to psychologically and physically torture Alex in revenge for what he did to him and his wife years ago. This was a significant aspect in the scene as Kubrick has shown how Dr. Alexander is now dominant over Alex, how after rehabilitation Alex not only lost his want for violence but also the power and authority he once had over his droogs and his victims of rape and assault as a careless and violent delinquent. Through setting the most climactic, emotionally-catastrophic scene in the film at the house of the writer he brutally assaulted years earlier, we as an audience are able to see how Alex’s perspective and the wider world around him has changed after his free will was taken away in rehabilitation. The audience is reminded of the unethical and experimental treatments of the 60’s and 70’s deinstitutionalization movement, when both the novel and movie were published. We’re able to see how Alex has changed throughout A Clockwork Orange and at his most vulnerable, unauthoritative position we have seen, the effects of rehabilitation are brought up. To an audience already familiar with inhumane psychiatric treatment in the deinstitutionalization movement of the 60’s and 70’s, seeing how therapy ‘ruined’ Alex psychologically raises the wider theme of imposed morality vs. free will and links into a real-life historical issue at the time the film was made.  

Through the aspects of acting, zooming in and out, setting and music, the disastrous psychological effects on Alex are effectively portrayed to the audience. This makes us connect with his character, and brings up the idea Alex that his rehabilitation was not as positive and great than we previously thought. Kubrick having used these effects dominantly to make us see and connect with Alex’s emotional turmoil, makes the audience think about the disastrous consequences of Alex’s government rehabilitation. The genuine pity and connection we make to Alex’s character while seeing these four aspects come together, gives a clear opinionated perspective on the deinstitutionalization movement and sheds light on the inhumanity of government psychiatric treatments. A film with a very real, haunting subtext on the topical issue of experimental psychiatry in the 70’s, A Clockwork Orange provides an opinionated perspective— challenging the ethics on a real world issue of imposed morality vs. free will. And as A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess once wrote, “Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?”