# 70 A Clockwork Orange

I found the book to be fascinating when I read it two summers ago. When I first saw the movie at 18, I couldn't get through that scene (that has repeatedly been praised as a display of Kubrick's brilliance) where Alex is joyously crooning "Singing in the Rain," while a woman is being gang raped in front of her husband by Alex and his gang. Perhaps now that it has been 6 years I have either grown darker, more accustomed or numb to all the bad shit in this world or maybe I'm better at recognizing themes and how the shock value of certain things can better show those themes than simply talking about it. Is Alex psychologically ill, a lost cause or a promotion of anarchy? Is he curable? Was the government right in trying to make bad deeds repulsive to him or were they taking away his free will? When he "recovered" will he be able to control his urges and simply suppress them like we all do when we have bad thoughts? Or will he go back to his own ways? Is Alex a reflection of the "young people" of the world or how the young people will become as this planet evolves into a place where freedom has grown to become a blessing but also a curse in some instances? Something that is able to raise this many questions is a winner in my book because then it has become more than a book or a movie, it has become a real work of art. While I doubt I would be able to sit a watch A Clockwork Orange again, because the rape and violence was a little unsettling. I am glad that I was able to watch this movie and feel as though I really understand the message. This movie is as good as the book and Kubrick is probably the only person who could've made it so.