Quote:
Originally posted by Shoplifter
I think it still stands as the ultimate examination of the place of youth in modern society, and was prophetic in how it shows how youth would come to dominate society.
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Strangely enough since I was only 21 when the film appeared, it didn't occur to me that CO was about youth. Nor have I noticed since the domination of which you speak: only that the world is very practised at allowing youth the illusion they matter. If you want a movie about youth fighting back, McDowell's first movie, "If", might do it better for you.
CO showed a world in which technology had left behind morality. Violence was rampant and a government anxious to clear its prisons (to make room for political prisoners) embarked on a course of brainwashing for violent criminals. Thus the central question of whether dehumanizing an individual is a more morally acceptable solution than killing him.
With great relevance to the present, the film asks what sacrifices we are willing to make in order to live in relative security. It also takes a poke at the public's willingness to praise a government one day and turn on it the next: both without any real reason.
I also believe that many people saw more sex and violence in the film than was really there. That's a testament to how well Kubrick made CO, but it is worth noting that the film was re-rated to "R" some years ago.