On A Clockwork Orange

What is A Clockwork Orange's stance on the intertwined nature of sexuality, violence, and the role of "the law?" How would you compare and contrast its representation of these issues (at the level of plot and visuals) with that seen in Straw Dogs?

In the section of the Cook book that you read for today's class (pages 355-383), he discusses multiple technological innovations made during the 1970s. Identify how the Steadicam and one other innovation were important to films during this period. [In addition, discuss the use of the Steadicam in the scene from A Clockwork Orange (below). What effect does it achieve that traditional editing or a tracking shot (camera is mounted on a track on the ground or the ceiling) would not?] YouTube has removed the video so you can disregard this part of the question.

On Straw Dogs

In her review of Straw Dogs, influential New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael famously called it, "the first American film that is a fascist work of art." Discuss what you think Kael meant by this statement. Incorporate your observations about the film's engagement with issues of gender (masculinity and femininity), violence, and politics/national identity.

According to Cook (in Lost Illusions), how does the concept of the auteur play into our understanding of American cinema from this period? (Be sure to discuss what underlies the concept in your answer).

After screening the clip of The Wild Bunch's opening credits sequence (above), and taking into consideration the clip shown in class and Straw Dogs, how might we think about Peckinpah as an auteur?

(An addendum to my mention of Britain's banning of Straw Dogs - it was banned from many theatres and then from public home viewing under the 1984 Video Recordings Act. It couldn't be seen in its original form until its DVD release in 2002. The rape scene was edited down in order to receive a R rating from the MPAA. We saw the un-cut version of the film in class.)

On Easy Rider

After re-watching the scene (below) from Easy Rider and, keeping in mind today's class discussion, what do you think that Wyatt (Peter Fonda) means when he says, "we blew it"?

On Bonnie and Clyde

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After re-screening the opening sequence of Bonnie and Clyde (above), consider it within the context of our class discussion of the Classical Hollywood model of filmmaking (i.e. Rear Window) and the European art cinema model of filmmaking (i.e. Hiroshima, mon amour). How do you see it blending both models? Or, do you think that it borrows from one more than the other? Please make sure that your answer makes reference to specific visual or other stylistic characteristics from the films.


The closing sequence of Bonnie and Clyde was seen as single-handedly transforming the way that violence was represented in Hollywood cinema. Why do you think that is? Do you think that it remains as effective and disturbing today as it was in 1967?