- Ah, but what about the woman he kills? And the guy in the HOME house? They are both rich, privileged types. If this is based on the proles of 1984, they would all be equally poor. And if they were members of the Inner/Outer party, they still wouldn't have any nice things.
- And there's no way in hell the author could get away with writing a book like the one he was writing.
- Who says he did? As long as the book itself somehow escaped the memory hole, it doesn't matter what happened to the author after it was written.
- It is said by the Int Inf Min that he was taken away for wanting to kill Alex, although it was heavily implied that that was the cover story for him to be eliminated for his political beliefs
- The Britain A Clockwork Orange takes place in is not yet 1984's Airstrip One, but is in the process of becoming Airstrip One.
- While the government talks of rounding up political offenders en masse and the Ludovico Technique is an obvious attempt at large-scale mind control, the prison guard and police still have the crown as part of their uniform insignia, and the government official seems genuinely concerned about potentially losing an election (Also, government officials wear suits or uniforms rather than blue or black boiler suits). In addition, although much of the area Alex lives in is heavily vandalized, there does not seem to be any of the chronic shortages or war-damaged buildings and landscape of 1984.
- Also, religion is freely practiced, and the world is hyper-sexualized compared to the atheistic and anti-sex Airstrip One.
- While the government talks of rounding up political offenders en masse and the Ludovico Technique is an obvious attempt at large-scale mind control, the prison guard and police still have the crown as part of their uniform insignia, and the government official seems genuinely concerned about potentially losing an election (Also, government officials wear suits or uniforms rather than blue or black boiler suits). In addition, although much of the area Alex lives in is heavily vandalized, there does not seem to be any of the chronic shortages or war-damaged buildings and landscape of 1984.
At the end of the original novel, Alex ends up in a high-paying job as compensation for his treatment. However, at some point between Clockwork Orange and Leon, his crimes become too serious for the government to tolerate; Alex only just avoids being arrested. He changes his name, his face, and his accent, and immigrates to America. There, he eventually manages to become a DEA agent and, after ingratiating himself with local crime syndicates, finds a new high in those mysterious yellow and green pills, accompanied by fits of shotgun-wielding ultraviolence against shifty drug holders.
Alex himself grew up to be 'psychotic lowlife' Badger. He kept his bowler hat.
- That explains the needles-in-the-eyes-ask-me-what-I-see thing... and considering what we've heard of prison life in the Firefly universe, those scenes at least match up. How delightful. Since the outer planets seem to have the Old West culture thing going on, and the inner ones are more advanced, the London-esque settlements that produced Badger could produce someone like Alex.
- Firefly does have a Core World called Londinium.
- Do you really think they would want to experiment on him AGAIN? He got a lot of attention after what happened, which was bad for the government. Surely they would just want to make sure he stays happy so everyone forgets all about him? He should become a police officer, or be working for the Ministry of Love.
- Yes, but the old government giving him a reprieve in both cases would be seen as a sign of weakness by Norsefire; so, they arrest him - a move justified, at least in the propaganda of the Mouth, by his frequent misdemeanors - and use him a convenient guinea pig while in custody.
- Alex would never develop a social conscience. Remember (in the book at least), he stopped the old ultraviolence cause he got bored with it. Besides, the violence V enacts is politically oriented and not derived from a sadistic enjoyment of torturing a victim.
- Ah, but that's where another reading of the book becomes necessary— Alex did tire of thuggery, but upon seeing Pete (who had begun to reform on a deeper level), he realized that he wanted more from life. He wanted a family. He began to grow up. He genuinely outgrew violence-for-the-sake-of-violence. As Burgess himself stated, he'd grow up to realize there's no point in tolchocking poor malchicks and devotchkas who were at the mercy of an oppressive government. However, that doesn't mean he'd never lose his sadistic taste. Oh no— should someone have taken away his new-found maturity and want for a better life for himself, he'd not only return to violence, but also hone it in a bloody maelstrom of vengeance. In other words, Alex becoming V makes perfect sense!
- Still not buying it. V is almost the polar opposite Chaotic Good to Alex’s Chaotic Evil. Everything V does is motivated by his empathy for those not in power. You put them both in the same room and V would probably kill Alex just on principle. His rescuing Evy, collecting keep sakes of other victims, and extreme focus on neutralizing what he proactively views as corruption... I mean, basically at every turn Alex is the guy V throws daggers at.
- Yes, but the old government giving him a reprieve in both cases would be seen as a sign of weakness by Norsefire; so, they arrest him - a move justified, at least in the propaganda of the Mouth, by his frequent misdemeanors - and use him a convenient guinea pig while in custody.
- 19th century Alex, to be precise. Somewhat less disaffected due to his wealthy birth, he is still remarkably callous and apathetic, as well as a criminally-minded, horny bastard. He vaguely tries to follow social norms by marrying, and having lots of sex, but he just plain gets bored after a while...
- The government of ACO continued on into a totalitarian police state, developing its Pavlovian methods of brainwashing. The white building in the Staja eventually becomes the Ministry of Love.
- This has been discussed above.
- The car they steal is called a Durango 95, implying that it's set some time after 1995.
- The Movie was made in the 70s...
- Not necessarily; after all, the Nintendo 64 wasn't made in 1964, and the Mercedes 220 wasn't built in the year 220...
- The car they steal is called a Durango 95, implying that it's set some time after 1995.
- Both were directed by Stanley Kubrick and take place in the future. The events seen here are what is going on when the Monolith is discovered.
- The homeless man does mention "men on the moon, and men spinning around the earth"...
- Jossed by the appearance of a 2001: A Space Odyssey movie poster during a scene.
- Well in the book he addresses the reader multiple times, as it is told as though he was recounting it to a long friend or something. Take from that what you will.
And for the record, I'm putting it here as a counterpoint to the previous WMG, as a way to give a theory of how A Clockwork Orange can be "Americanized" without being a blatantly racist look at African-American gang culture.
- Interestingly enough, one of the last times we see Pete, he is retreating as Alex beats up Georgie and Dim. It's possible he decided to just high-tail it out of there and just came along for the Cat Lady segment as One Last Job.
This includes the theory that he has a Freudian Excuse. He Used to Be a Sweet Kid but got traumatized by the Crapsack World he's living in and didn't have very good role models. Because of this he felt the need to let his anger out by lashing out at others through violence. Maybe it all started after he took drugs or simply snapped and used violence.However, he realized he was hurting innocent people, even though he knows it's wrong and because he doesn't fully understand how his subconscious mind works and Adults Are Useless, he came to the conclusion that he is an irredeemable monster. His parents, while not mean towards him, are quite neglectful, yet they are called decent. The other adults are either neglectful themselves or us force instead of trying to help young people solve their emotional issues. Alex knows he lives in a Crapsack World, so he probably found Safety in Indifference and gave up trying to be a good person. He does have a love for culture, because deep down he likes order, and deep down he admires Beethoven for bringing joy to the world. He did say himself that Beethoven didn't do evil acts and only created music. The Ludovico treatment didn't work, because pain and force are not what can convince him to want to change. Seeing Pete being redeemed is what redeemed him too, because what he truly needed was hope for better change both in the world and within himself.