Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange"

Paper Summary:

This paper explores early feminist readings of Stanley Kubrick's film, "A Clockwork Orange", and, in examining their dismissal of the film for its supposed misogyny and anti-feminist message, shows that the film's ultimate "message" may in fact be a lot more subversive than early feminist readings would attest to. The paper maintains that Kubrick is showing us a rather extreme, aestheticized reflection of the relations between men and women in society, as the artist perceived them. What "A Clockwork Orange", then, presents us with is an aestheticized version of violence that comes about not merely as a means of social control, but as the result of relations between men and women that have been strictly codified by norms of gender that are then left unquestioned.

From the Paper:

"Rather than beginning by exploring the role that women play in "A Clockwork Orange", I would like to ask another question that is more pointed: What role does feminism play in "A Clockwork Orange"? Before we begin to answer that question, a brief overview of the film's plot: "A Clockwork Orange" follows the misadventures of a gang of young male hoodlums, or "droogs," led by anti-hero Alex. The gang's sole pleasures include "ultraviolence," listening to classical music - especially Beethoven, and raping women."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beehler, Roger. "Containing Violence." Ethics 92.4 (1982): 647-660.
• Costello, Donald P. "From Counterculture to Anticulture." The Review of Politics 34.4 (1972): 187-193.
• DeRosia, Margaret. "An Erotics of Violence." Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Ed. Stuart Y. McDougal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 61-84.
• Gracyk, Theodore A. "Pornography as Representation: Aesthetic Considerations." Journal of Aesthetic Education 21.4 (1987): 103-121.
• Staiger, Janet. "The Cultural Productions of A Clockwork Orange." Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. Ed. Stuart Y. McDougal. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. 37-59.

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• Comparison Essay # 87478 : "A Clockwork Orange"
• Analytical Essay # 2466 : "Cinematic Success of "A Clockwork Orange"

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