List of cultural references to A Clockwork Orange
Encyclopedia
Popular culture
references to Anthony Burgess
's novel A Clockwork Orange
and Stanley Kubrick
's film adaptation
have been wide-ranging, from popular music
and television
to movies and other media. Some references are based on themes central to the story, such as the use of Nadsat
words or phrases, whilst others have incorporated visual elements from the film. The film made Kubrick one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and the film has become a cult classic
.
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
references to Anthony Burgess
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
's novel A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange is a 1962 dystopian novella by Anthony Burgess. The novel contains an experiment in language: the characters often use an argot called "Nadsat", derived from Russian....
and Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's film adaptation
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
have been wide-ranging, from popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
to movies and other media. Some references are based on themes central to the story, such as the use of Nadsat
Nadsat
Nadsat is a fictional register or argot used by the teenagers in Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange. In addition to being a novelist, Burgess was also a linguist and he used this background to depict his characters as speaking a form of Russian-influenced English...
words or phrases, whilst others have incorporated visual elements from the film. The film made Kubrick one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and the film has become a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
.
Music
- A Clockwork Orange, like other dystopian science-fiction novels, had an important influence on industrialIndustrial musicIndustrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and cyberpunk music. The film version influenced bands' fashion styles. The band Tolchok took its name from A Clockwork Orange. - The 1991 single release of U2U2U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's The Fly had a piece of music entitled Alex Descends into Hell for a *Bottle of Milk/Korova 1 from the score of the Royal Shakespeare Company'sRoyal Shakespeare CompanyThe Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
production of A *Clockwork Orange. The performance was scored by BonoBonoPaul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
and The EdgeThe EdgeDavid Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
from U2. - Polish band MyslovitzMyslovitzMyslovitz is a Polish rock band, whose music incorporates elements of college rock, shoegazing, and, arguably, Britpop. Since 2003, EMI Group has been attempting to establish them internationally, with considerable support from MTV Europe...
's album Korova Milky BarKorova Milky BarKorova Milky Bar is the fifth studio album by Polish alternative rock band Myslovitz. It was released in 2002, and followed in 2003 by a release of the English version, which in fact included four songs from the band's previous album, Miłość w czasach popkultury...
refers to the film, comparing it to present situation in PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. - The German punk band Die Toten HosenDie Toten HosenDie Toten Hosen is a German punk band from Düsseldorf. They have enjoyed decades-long mass appeal in Germany.The band's name literally means "The Dead Pants" in English, although the phrase "tote Hose" is a German expression meaning "nothing going on" or "boring"...
alludes to the film in the song "Hier kommt AlexHier kommt Alex"Hier kommt Alex" is a song by German punk band Die Toten Hosen. It is the first single and the first track from the album Ein kleines bisschen Horrorschau. The song in concept introduces Alex, who is the central character on the concept album...
" from the album Ein kleines bisschen HorrorschauEin kleines bisschen HorrorschauEin kleines bißchen Horrorschau is the sixth LP by Die Toten Hosen, released in 1988...
.
Television
- There have been references to the film on South ParkSouth ParkSouth Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
:- In "Coon 2: HindsightCoon 2: Hindsight"Coon 2: Hindsight" is the eleventh episode of the fourteenth season of animated television series South Park, and the 206th episode of the series overall....
", the scene where the Coon (Cartman) attacks the rest of the Coon's gang is reminiscent of the scene in which one of the members insists the gang be run in a "new way" that entails less power for Alex (Cartman); then while walking along, Alex attacks his "droogs" in order to re-establish his leadership. The scene also has the same music playing: an excerpt from the overtureOvertureOverture in music is the term originally applied to the instrumental introduction to an opera...
of The Thieving MagpieLa gazza ladraLa gazza ladra is a melodramma or opera semiseria in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was by Giovanni Gherardini after La pie voleuse by JMT Badouin d'Aubigny and Louis-Charles Caigniez....
by Gioacchino RossiniGioacchino RossiniGioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
.
- In "Coon 2: Hindsight
- The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
contains frequent references to the film. In several episodes, Bart is portrayed as Alex DeLarge from the movie.
Films
The film version of A Clockwork Orange immediately revolutionized the science fiction film genre, opening the way for other films to portray elaborate dystopian narratives and to intelligently analyze social dilemmas. Many film directors have borrowed themes and cinematic techniques from the film. The film is an essential part of modern cinema and films often reference it.- Heath LedgerHeath LedgerHeath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
said he based his portrayalThe Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
of The JokerJoker (comics)The Joker is a fictional character, a comic book supervillain published by DC Comics. He is the archenemy of Batman, having been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin...
on Alex DeLarge. - Films that use similar cinematic techniques to A Clockwork Orange include A Boy and His DogA Boy and His DogA Boy and His Dog is a cycle of narratives and films including or stemming from works of science fiction author Harlan Ellison.Ellison began the cycle with the 1969 short story of the same title, and a revised and expanded novella-length version was published in Ellison's story collection The Beast...
, THX 1138THX 1138THX 1138 is a 1971 science fiction film directed by George Lucas in his directorial debut. The film is based on a screenplay by Lucas and Walter Murch...
, and WestworldWestworldWestworld is a 1973 science fiction-thriller film written and directed by novelist Michael Crichton and produced by Paul Lazarus III. It stars Yul Brynner as a lifelike robot in a futuristic Western-themed amusement park, and Richard Benjamin and James Brolin as guests of the park.Westworld was the...
. - The torture scene in Reservoir DogsReservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is an American crime film marking debut of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It depicts the events before and after a botched diamond heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast: Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and...
being set to "Stuck in the Middle With You" was described by Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
in an interview as a direct reference to the scene in A Clockwork Orange where Alex kicks the writer and rapes his wife to the tune of "Singin' in the RainSingin' in the Rain (song)"Singin' In the Rain" is a song with lyrics by Arthur Freed and music by Nacio Herb Brown, published in 1929. However, it is unclear exactly when the song was written with some claiming that the song was written and performed as early as 1927. The song was listed as Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years.....
". A Clockwork Orange is also referenced at the beginning of the film when all the men are walking in slow motion, as Alex and his droogs did. - In Gangster No. 1Gangster No. 1Gangster No. 1 is a 2000 British crime film. It stars Malcolm McDowell, David Thewlis and Paul Bettany and was directed by Paul McGuigan.- Cast :*Malcolm McDowell as Gangster 55*David Thewlis as Freddie Mays*Paul Bettany as Young Gangster...
Malcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowellMalcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
, the actor who played Alex in the film version, plays his character of a gangster as an older version of Alex.
Sports
- Professional wrestler Patrick MartinAlex ShelleyPatrick Martin , is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Alex Shelley. He wrestles for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he currently teams with Chris Sabin as The Motor City Machine Guns. He previously gained fame on the independent circuit, working most notably for...
takes the first part of his ring name Alex Shelley from Alex DeLarge.
Magazines
- A MADMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
satire of the film called A Crockwork Lemon was created for the June 1973 issue #159 by writer Stan HartStan HartStan Hart is an comedy writer with many television credits. His work also appeared for decades in Mad Magazine. He was closely associated with another MAD writer, Larry Siegel; though the two wrote separately for the magazine, both contributed to the off-Broadway musical The Mad Show, and later to...
and artist George WoodbridgeGeorge WoodbridgeGeorge Woodbridge was an American illustrator known for his exhaustive research and historical accuracy. He is sometimes referred to as "America's Dean of Uniform Illustration" because of his expertise in drawing military uniforms....
. Norman MingoNorman MingoNorman Theodore Mingo was a commercial artist and illustrator. He is most famous for being commissioned to formalize the image of Alfred E. Neuman for Mad....
's illustration for the cover showed Alfred E. NeumanAlfred E. NeumanAlfred E. Neuman is the fictional mascot and cover boy of Mad magazine. The face had drifted through American pictography for decades before being claimed and named by Mad editor Harvey Kurtzman...
as Alex.
- In the September 1972 issue of PlayboyPlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, the cartoon strip "Little Annie FannyLittle Annie FannyLittle Annie Fanny was a comic strip created by Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder for Playboy in October 1962. The inspiration for the comic strip was Harold Gray's Little Orphan Annie. The comic follows the escapades of Annie Fanny, a tall, blonde, amply breasted, round buttocked, curly-haired young...
" featured a scene from A Clockwork Orange, with characters Annie and Ralphie watching it onboard a plane and discussing violence.
Further reading
- Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange by Stuart Y. McDougal Cambridge University Press, 2003 ISBN 0521574889
- Ludovico's Cure. On Body and Music in "A Clockwork Orange" by Gianfranco Marrone, Legas publisher, 2009
- 'Droog In The Dock" A Clockwork Orange film, music and interest Fanzine 7 issues by M. Embleton 80's-90's