Sex, violence and the missing chapter in "A Clockwork Orange"

Watching the Blu-Ray extras of A Clockwork Orange, I found out that the original book by British author Anthony Burgess — that I never read, sorry— included a final chapter where Alexander DeLarge, the terrible character that is interpreted by Malcolm McDowell, personally decides to “choose” good over evil. Being the whole story a denunciation of modern governments trying to brainwash convicts to forcibly turn them into model citizens, this is an important part of the plot to say the least. 

Apparently, in the face of the wide criticism that the movie attracted in 1971 for its alleged glorification of violence, Burgess defended the Stanley Kubrick movie publicly in his country but, in private, he always felt bad because the movie did not include the ending he originally conceived. Moreover, Burgess detested violence himself and the book was a manner of coming to terms with his own feelings on the topic since his first wife had been herself a rape victim.

Doing some extra research on the topic, I found out that the film script had been based on the U.S. edition of the book and the American publishers had originally convinced Burgess to print the book without the "redemptive" final chapter. When Kubrick belatedly read this chapter he agreed with the American publishers and, for better or worse, he discarded it. 

Now, I understand Kubrick’s decision. The film seems perfect as it is, with its ending celebrating the main character tendencies to sexual excess and violence being restored after he is brainwashed in reverse to his original state, denouncing also, in a very funny way, the overt manipulation of the public opinion by the political power through the media. In terms of the violence and how it is being portrayed though, there is a big question mark here, and the question of course is… was this the right thing to do? 

Apparently, even Kubrick got scared with the reactions to the film in England, when violent acts by teenagers supposedly “inspired” by the movie started to happen here and there. Even more reason to concern was added by the threats that Kubrick’s family started to receive in that time. Finally, the director decided to prohibit further exhibitions of the movie in the UK, and this was a decision that was upheld until his death in 1999. For years, the movie became a legend in England, only accessible by pirate video copies or imports brought-in by travelers. 

I have always felt fascinated by A Clockwork Orange. Now that I saw it again, I guess I may never be able to see another film with such sense of wonder. Not only because of the hypnotic first-person narration by Malcolm McDowell, the perfect position of the camera in every take, the abundant humor and sarcasm we find, and the amalgam of grandiose music, clothing and mise-en-scene that predicted the future in so many ways but also because, being so politically incorrect, maybe a movie like this also precluded its futuristic social portrait of sex and violence of becoming a reality. 

Feminists got encouraged by movies like this. And they were right to be. There is an absolute macho perspective in regards to the sexual liberation of the society depicted in the film. Automated bars where patrons had to milk the breasts of naked women sculptures to obtain drugged cocktails that incite adrenaline rushes might be impossible today, but were totally conceivable years ago. 

Kubrick himself never intended to put reins to this twisted vision of the future, maybe just for fun, maybe to provoke and excite its audience, or maybe to incite contradictory feelings to a point where we do not have another choice but questioning ourselves. When after his treatment Alex is shown to the public to demonstrate that he is incapable of hurting anyone, for instance, he is presented in a stage next to a gorgeous naked woman, feeling immediately sexually aroused. Interrupted by the neutralizing pain that he has been conditioned to feel, he is unable to touch her. When this is done though, the woman remains at the stage longer than expected, happy to exhibit her beautiful body and bowing to the applause of an ecstatic audience that includes us, the spectators. 

Also, even if the Singing in the Rain scene is the most famous rape scene in the movie, Kubrick inserts another sequence where a big-breasted, attractive woman is about to be raped amid giggling comments and jokes. These days, not even a genius like Kubrick could get away with a scene like this.

Maybe we should thank old Kubrick for that.

January 10, 2013