See, life's not so bad, is it?

"A Clockwork Orange" was a highly controversial film when it was first released in the UK in 1972, and it was later banned from cinemas for almost 30 years. Not really surprising, considering that director Stanley Kubrick created a ultra-violent masterpiece - featuring the key components of gang culture, rape, mugging and murder. The film also takes on the state, through it's disturbing scenes of a government advised brainwashing experiment and the brutality of the national police force. So all in all, this film set out to break all the rules of traditional film making and tackle some of the worst fears facing the general public at this time.

But despite all the supposedly negative aspects that "A Clockwork Orange" portrays, I am here to argue that this media text actually offers its audience a great level of Matthew Arnold's desired "sweetness and light". Arnold praised cultural works that offered the audience any form of "sweetness and light" in their lives, and I believe that this film does exactly that - just in an unconventional way.

Due to the fact that this film is so full of ultra-violence, and all things ghastly, I believe that this infact creates "sweetness and light" in our lives - as we realise that no matter what problems we might be facing in life, nothing could be as bad as being subjected to one of the unspeakable acts committed by gang-leader Alex DeLarge. Nothing could be as bad as being compelled to behave as DeLarge does either, in fact. The audience can find comfort in the fact that they are neither the victim or the perpetrator of such awful crimes, and can conclude that their lives are not such a bad existence after all.

I think "A Clockwork Orange" also offers its audience an outlet for any violent tendencies they might have - without breaking the law of course. Coming home after a long day at work, to a moaning partner and house full of screaming kids and other responsibilities can't be easy, and watching such a violent and graphic film like "A Clockwork Orange" would allow the audience to vent any frustrations and revel in a "fantasy" world of violence - without the need to act out such desires for real, I would hope.

So lose yourself in the ultra-violent world of "A Clockwork Orange"; remembering that your life could be far far worse than it actually is - you could be as messed up beyond all recognition, so think yourself lucky.