Historical Case Study: A Clockwork Orange

1.Discuss the background to the film.

. The film is set in a dystopian future in which the young run riot and have no respect for their elders. The film has many references to drugs and violence such as during the opening sequence in which a group of youths beat an old homeless man to death. This event is still referenced to by the media when crimes of this particular manner are committed. The media at the time of the films release were shocked and thought that this scene and many other violent scenes in the film would cause copycat crimes and influence the younger generations in a negative way. The only issue is that the film didn’t show the way the world could be, it showed the way that it was but in a different way.

The film got such a negative view from the press that it was banned by its own director, (Stanley Kubrick).

2.How was the film reported by the press and how did the youths of the time relate to the film?

. The film got an extremely negative review from the press due to the adult nature of the film. They thought that the adult themes would influence violence and corruption in young people and cause them to join gangs and act in a way that the characters in the film do.

I don’t think that the youths at the time of the films release were really affected as there were already specific groups and cliques, which the youths could be referred to. The film merely shows that in a different setting with a few more adult themes which is what got the media so wound as to create a moral panic.

3.How can Stan Cohen’s theory be related to this film?

. Stan Cohen’s theory can be related here as it shows the younger generation as ‘Social Deviants’ or people who don’t conform to the ways that a normal society should act. It shows young people as being violent and aggressive. Also it applies to his theory of ‘Moral Panic’ due to the fact that after the films release the media got people so wound up and afraid of young people as they thought that they would be influenced by the characters in the film and start acting in the same anti-social manner.