Ludovico technique
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article refers to the psychological conditioning technique from A Clockwork Orange. For information regarding the art and video production firm of the same name, please see Ludovico Technique LLC.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Ludovico technique is a fictitious drug-assisted aversion therapy from the novel and film A Clockwork Orange. It involves the patient being forced to watch violent images for long periods of time, while under the effect of drugs that cause a near death experience. The idea is that if the patient is forced to watch the horribly graphic rapes, assaults and other acts of violence while suffering from the drug effects, the patient will assimilate the sensations and then become incapacitated or very ill either attempting to perform or even just witnessing said acts of violence.
The Ludovico technique is an artistic semblance of the psychological phenomenon known as classical conditioning, a process pioneered by Russian psychologist, philosopher, and physiologist Ivan Pavlov. In the story of A Clockwork Orange, when the protagonist Alex DeLarge is made the subject of the Ludovico technique, he, like Pavlov's Dog, is acclimatized to harbor physical and psychological aversion to the controlled stimulus being impressed upon him.
In the process of creating both the novel and film adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, original author Anthony Burgess and film director Stanley Kubrick both went to painstaking effort to incorporate a plethora of symbols for the context of the story. This wealth in simulacra of contemporary culture and modern science within the work's expanse is a large part of why the story of A Clockwork Orange has remained so timeless.
[edit] Social background
Much of the film reflects the fears, and logical extrapolations, of the time in which it was made: Massive unemployment, moral decay, and the various liberal and conservative approaches to the resultant crime. The main character Alex DeLarge, a hedonist, sadist, and sociopath reflects the end result of such a future dystopia. The fictional Ludovico technique plays a crucial role as both a plot device and social commentary.
After his capture and incarceration for murder (the conservative approach to crime) he volunteers for the Ludovico Technique (a liberal/technocratic approach to crime) in hopes of early release, not having any idea what the treatment entails. One crucial plot device is that while being forced to watch scenes of violence and cruelty, he is also forced to watch old newsreels and propaganda of violent regimes in an attempt to cure him of every conceivable social aberration. One such film repeatedly shown was Triumph of the Will. Unfortunately the original scores were also played with these newsreels, many of which were his one socially acceptable vice; his love for the music of Ludwig Van Beethoven. Thus while being 'cured' of violence and social aberration, he is also forever denied the music of Beethoven. It is this 'flaw' in the treatment that allows Alex to eventually undo his treatment, and after surviving an attempt on his life by one of his former victims, the film ends with him being made a political pawn in the crime debate, as he begins to once again imagine doing all the sociopathic things he did before.
[edit] In popular culture
This treatment is parodied in The Simpsons, in the chapter "Dog of Death". When Mr. Burns tries to convert Santa's Little Helper into a vicious hound, the dog is tied up, his eyes are kept open and he is forced to watch violent images like a nuclear explosion and dogs' mistreatment, under the sound of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a fine example of The Simpsons' Stanley Kubrick homages, a treatment which eventually works. It should be noted that this is actually the exact opposite of the Ludovico Technique, namely producing aggression and lack of empathy in a subject that was previously sociable and well behaved and is typical of Mr. Burns' ability to make almost anything evil when he uses it. In the end, while Bart is looking for his dog, he arrives at Burns' manor, who makes the hounds chase him. Santa's Little Helper is the first to find him, and Bart runs scared when the dog tries to bite him. He is cornered, but when SLH jumps to catch him, Bart says he loves him and the dog reverts to his nice self. Then, when the other dogs arrive, SLH makes them run away.
The treatment is also parodied in the Drawn Together episode "Clum Babies". When it is discovered that Wooldoor Sockbat produces sperm with magical healing powers, some of the characters form a business selling his Clum Babies to heal the sick. In a parody of the stem cell controversy, Princess Clara, a Fundamentalist Christian, objects to the use of Wooldoor's sperm to save lives, and uses scare tactics to make Wooldoor swear off masturbation forever. However, when Clara becomes ill with tuberculosis, the other housemates make Wooldoor produce another Clum Baby to heal her by using a parody of the Ludovic technique; they strap him in a chair with his eyes clamped open, and then force him to watch pornography.
The scene in Zoolander with Derek Zoolander's brainwashing by Mugatu while listening to Frankie goes to Hollywood's "Relax" parodies the Ludovico.
The treatment is mimicked in the "Not in Portland" episode of ABC's Lost.
[edit] In music
The song Ludvico Drive-In by the band At the Drive-In is a reference to A Clockwork Orange's fictional treatment.
The music video "Too Much Information" by Duran Duran depicts clearly the Ludovico Technique applied to Simon LeBon (the lead singer).
In the music video for the Guns N' Roses song "Welcome to the Jungle" Axl Rose is seen being submitted to the Ludovico technique.
