Film Listology: #104 - A Clockwork Orange

Send us Fan MailThe Film Listology season resumes this week with a foray into a trio of New Hollywood films. Host Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry dub this phenomenon a transgressive trilogy in how each captured critical and commercial attention by embracing cultural taboos and moving them from the margins to the center. The films definitely rode a counterculture wave that impacted not only mainstream moviemaking but American youth culture at large. These three films each released within a four-year period, and the first one discussed ranks #104 on the McMurry Super Index, from Warner Brothers in 1971, Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange. The film functions as an outright social satire but its themes are dark and despairing. Projecting a dystopian near-future, A Clockwork Orange in no way presents a wholesome society, and registers immediate cult status for its "ultraviolent" depictions of criminality and juvenile delinquency. While the hosts posit and objective evaluation of the film's broader themes, the subject matter nonetheless warrants VIEWER DISCRETION, particularly for listeners unfamiliar with the film, its narrative subject matter, and Kubrick's directorial choices. Will these details help or hinder Clockwork's Cultural Significance Factor? Our hosts debate the film and weigh its controversial legacy.Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Anthony Burgess. A Clockwork Orange. New York: Penguin books, 1962.Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/. Support the show