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ʑStanley Kubrick is a director notorious throughout Hollywood for his unconventional,
and often morose, films. He is a perfect example of a director who uses montage and mise-en-
scene to his advantage to create a certain mood and reinforce the themes of a film. Clockwork
Orange is a story which takes place in the future and tracks the leader of a gang of hoodlums
Buy cheap Stanley Kubric's use of montage and mise-en-scene in A Clockwork Orange term paper
particularly fond of committing acts of "ultra-violence." The same themes which are prevalent
in Kubrick's other movies appear here as well (the downward spiral of humanity, death,
destruction, and mayhem.)
The plot of Clockwork Orange is conveyed mostly by Kubrick's brilliant use of montage.
The first cut in the movie comes after a blood red screen and features the main character, Alex,
and his "rouges" looking sinister and drinking milk. From the film's outset we are tied to Alex,
the group's leader, in the eeriest possible manner, which sets us up for what is to come. There is
also an element of foreshadowing in the first shot of a red screen, which seems to suggest the
violence which ensues.
There are also numerous point-of-view shots which create a connection between Alex and
the audience. However, Alex is not exactly a person we want ourselves to identify with, but due
to the manner in which the film is shot, we end up sympathizing with him in spite of ourselves.
We follow the story through his eyes and therefore develop a strange love-hate relationship with
him.
There are also numerous examples of Kubrick using montage to create transition so that
the story goes along smoothly. However, Kubrick is far from the archetype Hollywood film-
maker and therefore does so in a subtler, more symbolic manner than the classic continuity style.
One such symbolic cut is seen early on in the film when he cuts from the gang beating a
homeless man to a close up of an elegant looking stage with artwork and fantastic detail. To
further create a serene atmosphere, classical music is playing, but this is in conflict with the
action that is taking place. The viewer is tricked by the initial cut, but when the shot opens up to
include the big picture, we hear screams of a naked woman who is struggling with four or five
young men who intend to rape her. There are undercurrents of theme echoing throughout this cut
and many others that allow the unsettling story to unfold by making the viewer uncomfortable.
Later on, after Alex has gone to jail and undergone a "treatment" which makes him sick
at the thought of violence, other shots occur which create transition and also convey a deeper
meaning than simply letting the story unfold on its own. After he has been beaten by his old
comrades and left in the wilderness, Kubrick cuts from a shot of Alex screaming in pain, to one
of lightning, to one of a sign that reads "home." In these three simple, successive pictures we
have ascertained that Alex is feeling completely alone, helpless, and scared and that "home" is
where he desires to be more than any other place at that moment in time. As if the viewer and
narrator had not already been through enough emotional distress, Kubrick then cuts to a shot of
an old man at his typewriter. This is the exact same cut we see in the beginning of the film
because, ironically, Alex has ended up at the exact same house his gang forced itself into years
ago to rape the exact same man's wife.
After the old man has given Alex shelter and medical attention, Alex takes a bath and
gets a little too comfortable. He begins to boisterously sing "Singing in the Rain," the same song
he sung years ago while performing the old "in and out" on the old man's wife. Kubric cuts from
a shot of Alex, feeling warm and safe in his bath, to one of the old man gripped by terror at the
most disturbing camera angle so that the audience can watch him convulse and see the whites of
his eyes. Again there is contrast between Alex's comfort and the old man's trepidation.
Lastly, Kubric also uses montage as a device for transition, such as when Alex jumps out
of a window to escape the torment of having to listen to Beethoven's Ninth symphony. Once he
jumps there is a shot of him falling and then a cut to a black screen. Not only is this another
point-of-view shot, but it also creates a small pause in the action. We know Alex cannot be dead
because he's the narrator (which he so kindly sums up for us in the next scene in case we were in
doubt.) So the shot conveys a change and prepares us for the fact that something about Alex will
be drastically different when we return to the action (and in fact when we do, he's "cured.")
The last point on the subject of montage is that it is used to convey the movie's theme. In
Clockwork Orange Kubrick cuts to images of very powerful allusions to convey the theme of
destruction. One such allusion is a cut of the Third Reich which is shown to Alex during
"treatment." Another very powerful image is that of Jesus which is used more than once in the
film. Early on, when Alex settles down in his room after a late night of "ultra violence," Kubric
cuts to shots of a statue of Jesus, but in a manner that makes it appear as if Jesus were dancing to
the music which is playing. Such an affront to religion makes very clear the type of world the
story takes place in, and that traditional values of righteousness have lost all validity. Jesus is
alluded to again later on, when Kubrick cuts to a re-creation of him carrying the cross. This is
supposed to give us a glimpse into Alex's mind and we are tricked into believing for a second
that he might have changed his ways. However, when the shot becomes wider we are horrified to
see that Alex is in the scene, driving Jesus forward with a whip. This simply reinforces the fact
that the world has become a cold, loveless place.
The last two powerful cuts occur towards the end of the film and in the last scene. First,
after Alex is drugged and locked in a room where Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is booming,
Kubric cuts to a shot of the old man rejoicing in Alex's agony. His expression and the fact that
there is complete silence dramatize the cycle of violence. The last example is the last shot in the
movie, where Kubrick cuts to a shot of sex and violence in the clouds (what's going on in Alex's
demented mind) and the movie ends that abruptly, completely contrary to the lofty moral
expectations of the typical Hollywood film-goer.
Mise-en-scene is the other stylistic device Kubrick uses to convey the themes of
Clockwork Orange. The set design is one example of how the film visually conveys its deeper
meaning. Throughout most of the movie, the sets are almost completely barren, have
disconcerting angles, or are filled with trash. This evokes an unsettling feeling in the viewer and
communicates the fact that humans have literally trashed their emotional environment. This
theme can even be seen in the landscape. For example, when Alex and his "rouges" flee the
scene of a crime and are driving down the road, there aren't even leaves on the trees. There is
absolutely nothing comforting in their world. Furthermore, when Alex's gang breaks into a
home, the dominant color in it is white in order to represent the victim's innocence and the
senselessness of their crime.
The set design is also used to enhance the plot of the film. When Alex is in jail, the
exercise yard looks like a shoe box with the inmates as little miniature people trapped inside of it.
There are no windows or pictures, but simply four brick walls. This amplifies Alex's feelings of
frustration and captivity. In contrast to the set of the jailhouse, the treatment center is primarily
made of glass, to show the proximity of the outside world (a destination Alex is desperate to
reach.) Once Alex has arrived home from treatment, his colorful (yet still not warm and inviting)
apartment is no longer his home and the shot cuts to him walking down by the river where almost
everything is tinted blue to exemplify his loneliness. When Alex is bathing in the old man's
bathroom, there are plants on the windowsill. This is not characteristic of the decor but makes
the viewer feel more comfortable and thus convey's Alex's feelings of contentment. Later on,
the old man tells Alex to "Try the wine..." and it looks a great deal like blood. This foreshadows
his revenge. When the old man has friends over who "sympathize" with Alex, there are big,
disturbing bright lights behind them which suggest that something is askew and that he is being
interrogated. Lastly, when the old man is torturing Alex, the set design is the most commonplace
that we see throughout the movie, which is contrary to the fact that Alex feels most
uncomfortable there.
In several instances Kubrick uses the shot to convey the film's themes. For example,
when the doctors are "treating" or in actuality torturing Alex, the light shines on them so they
look almost saintly. This suggests that pain and suffering are prevalent in the culture and are not
particular to the criminals. Again light is used when the government tries to boast about the
success of Alex's treatment. The shots are filmed from behind so that light shines on the people
on stage, making them appear saintly when, in fact, they represent sex and violence. Thus the
desire to be good is replaced by the temptation of evil. .
Kubrick's shots are also used to strengthen the plot of Clockwork Orange. In the
beginning, the shadows of the gang as they approach a victim are formidably long to convey their
power and brutality. The eerily long shots of Alex's face are another reason we identify with him
from the beginning. In support of the auteur theory, Kolker describes Kubrick's affinity for long
shots when discussing 001 A Space Odyssey. When Alex is being interrogated after getting
caught, the scene is shot in the corner of a small room to emphasize the feeling that he is trapped.
At the treatment center we always see Alex as diminished with the doctors looming over him, his
head is small and vulnerable with crazy gadgets holding his eyes open. Once Alex returns home,
the shots of him are closer and more intimate than with any other character, so again we
empathize with him. When Alex meets the homeless man he attacked at the film's outset, he is
accosted in a tunnel where he looks trapped and vulnerable. Lastly, when the official who
recommended Alex for "the treatment" visits, the shot displays his guilty feelings by juxtaposing
Alex dressed in white with the official dressed in black and enveloped in darkness.
Finally, the camera angles are elements of the mise-en-scene used to reinforce the
movie's plot. First, when Alex is in control of the gang, he is always the dominant figure, the
others sit or lean while he stands. When he is challenged by another member of the group, they
come face to face. This routine changes, however, when he is being interrogated by the police.
Then the camera is constantly looking down on him to highlight his vulnerability. Later on the
same trend occurs when he meets two old gang members who have become policemen. When
the two take him out to the woods, there is a shot held for an incredibly long period of time of
just their backs. Since we cannot see their faces we are in suspense and curious about what will
become of Alex. Lastly, when there is a shot of the old man, the camera, for the first time since
Alex's arrest, is again looking down. This suggests that there might be a ray of hope for the
narrator. However, when he realizes that Alex is the same man who raped his wife the camera
angle changes and there is a close-up where the camera is looking up into his face.
There are many examples of how montage and mise-en-scene can reinforce the plot and
themes of a movie, especially when executed by a skilled director. Within these two categories,
there are subcategories such as set design, shot, and camera angle. Examining these elements is
integral because all too often we view films simply for entertainment purposes when there is a
reason behind every decision in film making that we should pay close attention to.
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