Audience Engagement
A Clockwork Orange is a classic cult film. The narrative follows the protagonist Alex as he commits all sorts of heinous crimes without a second thought. ‘Alex submits to behaviour modification technique to earn his freedom; he’s conditioned to abhor violence. Returned to the world defenceless, Alex becomes the victim of his prior victims.’ The film has received many nominations and awards, and is #91 in the top #100 rated movies on IMDB. The audience is drawn to the film due to the authenticity of Alex’s character, but also the idea that evil can be killed. Alex faces the consequences of his own actions, and although it seems like this violent torture teaches him better, he will always go back to his own ways. Kubrick (the director) is contending that humans are inherently bad. Due to the sociopathic nature of the protagonist, the film takes violent twists and turns, and the development of the characters draws in an audience full of wonder and in the mood for a psychological scare.
Alex’s character is a big influence on my protagonist ‘COSTA’ as he is violent, ignorant and doesn’t care what his actions may reap. Whereas Alex never learns better ways, Costa does. My character is initially like Alex, but he learns to overcome his grotesque ways when he experiences the horrors he creates himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1XGPvbWn0A
This short film has received extreme amounts of audience engagement, and although it is not a piece of traditional art, it appeals to many people who have experienced the same scenario. Essentially, the film is edited footage of a woman walking around NYC by herself for 10 hours. It was created to portray the high levels of street harassment that is at play in New York, yet it was not surprising for many to learn that this is the kind of treatment millions of women get all over the world. The audience engaged through sharing the video, expressing their opinions and many telling personal anecdotes. The harsh reality of harassment is often ignored in western society, therefore the creation of this film is amazing due to its open confrontation of the issue.
The structural choices used in this video engage the audience as it is confronting at non-stop. The jump-cuts and use of realistic sounds from the streets of New York show the non consensual harassment women in NYC experience on a daily basis. Through this structural choice of jump-cuts and the stylistic choices regarding the hidden camera and way it is filmed, the audience is intrigued as it implies something risky and dangerous is happening.
Through the product, men are engaged as an audience as it shows them the affect that street harassment has on females. Although it is not a target to all men, it is portraying the negative insults that can come from a woman ignoring them and just going about her daily business.
I have chosen this work as a source of inspiration as the cat-callers are similar to the type of person the protagonist of my film is before he becomes a morally better person. Some of the lines in my screenplay have been taken from this video, as I wanted to put sprinkles of truth into the mix. The structural aspect of this film is jarring, and imposes a realistic view on street harassment in NYC. Through the use of jump-cuts and shouting, the violent undertones of the actions of the men are laid out for the viewers.
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