Since "2001: A Space Odyssey", Kubrick has devoted himself to exploring the essence of mankind. It can be said: Kubrick believes in the universal existence of human nature, and believes that under the oppression of complex collective human nature, humans need to use the same complex system to restrain themselves, but the right of such restraint is often deprived by a few mobs. . This sad human paradox is precisely caused by the imperfection of human beings. Kubrick repeatedly wanted to explain: Because man is not a god, an essential "evil" must be manifested in man. At the same time, human beings have thought out many mechanisms to resist this "evil". The conditioned reflex treatment in the film is just one example. But no matter what kind of treatment method is, it can only suppress human nature for a short time. In the end, a person will still show his weakness in the face of social choices.
The film focuses on three themes: first, a mockery of the psychological conditioning system, and second, a mockery of the institutional system. Third, the discussion on the universal human nature of mankind.
First of all, the film believes that: human beings have universal humanity, and this kind of humanity includes human inferiority. Originally, Erics was the incarnation of ordinary human beings. He did a lot of evil, pursued freedom, unrestrained, and innocent. But at the same time, he pursues elegance and loves perfection. According to Freud's "three-self" theory: the lawlessness of mankind is straightforwardly the essence of the self. However, in the following plot, the director metaphors the second point of view: the human soul is incurable. The so-called preaching and healing are just people's self-deception, and eventually people will fall in actual behavior. We accidentally thought of Milan Kundera's famous saying: When human beings think, God laughs. What Kubrick wants to say is: the birth of mankind itself is absurd, and these unknowable behaviors are still unknowable, and humans can never explore. Just like human nature, we don't know why this is at all, but in short, whether it is religious salvation or conditioned reflex treatment, it is futile. This reflects the fatalism in Kubrick’s movies. We can see that the murderer and suicide in Kubrick’s movies are one, like Hal in "2001: A Space Odyssey", "The Clockwork" Eric in "Orange", Jack in "The Shining", and the instructor in "Full Metal Case".
According to the second meaning, because of human imperfection, a certain system is needed to restrain human behavior. In the film, the prison is an example. Foucault believes that society is a ubiquitous prison. Society forces people to follow a certain law. Once this balance is broken (Erics’ free will), society must give people revenge, and vice versa, once people touch their own nature, society will still give people revenge. This is the biggest joke of mankind.
As we all know, Kubrick’s film dubbing is a classic. In this film, he paired the disgusting plot of Erics with Beethoven’s symphony, which makes people look very uncomfortable. The truth is Above, it is this dislocation that shows the right of mankind to choose free will. The director tells us: Human beings do a lot of evil because of their nature. At the same time, it is absurd to try to change this nature. Human behavior is a cycle, and people have to survive this cycle and yearn for salvation.
Although it is reflected in the movie that humans have only the right to choose, the director does not appreciate this right, and does not recognize the fact that existentialism "existence precedes essence", but from the perspective of the director's personal image shaping: the director has not abandoned the individual. Erics in the film is persistent and tenacious. After he experienced various social relationships, he announced ironically: I was cured! This is actually another theme of the film. In short, Erics is the incarnation of human beings, so when we read movies, we will sympathize with all the encounters of Erics. The last words of the film refer to: human beings have compromised in the contest between their nature and social laws, even though both are equally evil.
Kubrick has a meaningful saying: "The meaninglessness of mankind forces mankind to create meaning... No matter how vast the darkness is, we must have our own light..." I think: it is the persistent creation of this director , It interprets the best light for us, the light of human suffering.
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