A Clockwork Orange

Walter Carlos, born as Wendy Carlos, did the majority of the electronically soundtrack for the movie, A Clockwork Orange. Her electronic music is perfect for the movie, especially the opening scene of the movie as the electronic music gives the movie the perfect blend of calm and chaos, which perfectly describes the characters of the movie. Although the electronic music in the scene is very slow and calm, there is a vivid sense and foreshadowing of eery chaos that is about to happen. The music of Carlos brings the dark shadows out of the characters and out of the mood of the scene, although everything in the opening scene seems to be white, which of course displays innocence.

I have never seen the full movie of A Clockwork Orange, so I did have to do some research regarding the significance of Singin' In the Rain in the movie. On simplest terms of analysis, many people claim that the song was only used because it was the only song that the actor who played Alex knew all of the words to. Through research I also learned that Singin in the Rain was not originally supposed to be in the movie. The song was added last minute so that the writer could later identify Alex as the killer of his wife when he sang it again in a bathtub. Based upon my own analysis I believe that Singin in the Rain was used as the perfect juxtaposition to what was happening at the moment. Alex and his friends are clearly deranged individuals and find no issue in breaking into a strangers house and brutally raping the woman that lives there. Therefore, the make light of the situation and sing a happy song. The director and writer's way to show how truly messed up in the head these boys actually are.

I also believe that it has quite a parallel to what happens to Alex later in the movie via the torture. Just as the woman hears a perfectly good and happy song as she is being raped, Alex listens to Beethoven as he is being tortured, making him feel sick to his stomach whenever he hears the music of Beethoven, which he loves. Similar to Alex, whenever this woman, if she survived, or her husband, hear the beautiful words of Singin in the Rain, they too would feel sick to their stomach as they will only connect it with the night Alex and his droogs broke into their house. Assosciation, as it is called in psychology.