A CLOCKWORK ORANGE & the ROMANTIC VILLAIN | How EVIL Characters Become CHARISMATIC

One of the strangest protagonists in film history is Alex Delarge from Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. He is a violent criminal who does unspeakably horrific things to innocent people. Yet we are meant to sympathize with him when he is victimized by the state.

We’re left wondering how he has become such an iconic figure. Why is he so fascinating?

In this video, I explore what makes passionately evil people so interesting as characters. We'll talk about the music of Beethoven, which plays a significant role in the film, as well as the philosophy of Friedrich Schiller, whose poem "Ode to Joy," is equally significant to Alex's personality. Finally, in a spill-over from my last video, we'll compare and contrast Alex with a character from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World—maybe it can shed some light on the nature of individuality and why mere morality (as modernity conceives of it) is so underwhelming.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Alex DeLarge: The Strangest Protagonist in Film History
00:58 Alex's Inspiration: Beethoven, Passion, & the Romantic Movement in Music & Philosophy
05:35 The Philosopher Behind the Film: Friedrich Schiller's Theory of Characters
9:35 The Dilemma: How Do We Become Passionate?
12:54 The Energy of God: Brave New World & the Elevating Power of Worship
20:05 The Magnificent Paradox: Finally Learning to Be Alive

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FURTHER READING
Kubrick on A Clockwork Orange: An interview with Michel Ciment
www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/interview.aco.html

Kubrick Tells What Makes A Clockwork Orange Tick by Bernard Weintraub
www.archiviokubrick.it/english/words/interviews/1972clockworktick.html

‘A Clockwork Orange’: Kubrick and Burgess’ Vision of the Modern World
https://cinephiliabeyond.org/clockwork-orange-kubrick-burgess-vision-modern-world/