The use if iconography in Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick, reveals significant insights into the movies main themes: human nature, violence, and sexuality. Although Clockwork Orange was produced in 1971, nearly thirty years ago, and was banned from many theatres because of its controversy, Kubrick's portrayal of brutality is not far from the truth of society today. The surreal and bizarre objects in the movie, for example the graphic symbolism, the eerie music, and the phallic imagery, serve to enhance the viewer's experience by offering a cynical and horrific glimpse into the potential evil of all human beings.

Many of the film's disturbing objects hold symbolic meanings that make a heavy impact upon the viewer. For instance, the long spider-like eyelashes that the central character, Alex, wears on his right eye are used to show the evil opposed to the good that all humans possess. Another thought-provoking object, which is on the right sleeve of Alex, is the protruding eyeball that is staring out at the world. Perhaps this is the eye of God, representative of an always watching "good." The eye is the window to the soul, and, undeniably, Alex's soul is corrupt in nature. The government could try to condition Alex to be a good man, but his underlying evil personality will always remain a part of him.

Clockwork Orange also contains religious symbolism for Alex and the viewer. For instance, the relationship between Alex and his pet snake is especially significant. Alex sleeps with, strokes, and kisses the snake, which represents evil. The symbolism of the snake is opposed by the ceramic cruficix with the figure of Jesus, who bled and died for human sin. Alex embraces both good and evil in his life, but obviously he has grasped the latter because it is what he prefers to touch and caress.

The use of music, interlaced with violence, is also an integral aspect of Clockwork Orange. Alex is moved by the sounds of Beethoven, so much so that he worships the composer as a god. When Alex hears the music of Beethoven, he imagines thrashing, killing, and raping. He says, "Bliss, bliss and heaven--it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh--Oh, it was wonder of wonders--And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now." Alex's use of heaven and flying metaphors are linked to the word "flesh," indicating that his feelings of violence and brutality are associated with beauty and happiness. This contradictory association between Beethoven's music and violence is yet another technique to show the battle between good and evil, in which the latter is winning.

In almost every scene of Clockwork Orange, phallic imagery bombards the viewer. The Korova Milkbar, for instance, is furnished with naked mannequins, who release "milk" like a liquid drug from their breasts. Alex wears a harness around his pelvic area, forcing the viewer to give all attention to that area and the wrong that he does with it. Pictures of naked women hang in Alex's room, and drawings of homosexual acts are graffitied on the apartment walls. One explicitly sexual scene includes two girls who are sucking on popsicles that are phallic shaped. Alex approaches them and takes them home for the "old in and out." Sex and violence become united in the world of Alex and his gang of thugs. In one scene, right before they make an attack, Alex says, "What we were in after now was the old surprise visit. That was a real kick and good for laughs and lashings of the old ultraviolent." Alex refers to the beatings and rapings as "the old ultraviolent," giving him and his gang "kicks and laughs."

Clockwork Orange can be problematic for viewers because of its violent and graphic symbolism. In one respect, the symbols are portrayed as normal in the eyes of Alex and his "god." However, the symbolism is also an assault to the viewer, who knows that it is wrong to hurt people intentionally and to commit pointless and random acts of hate. Kubrick does a wonderful job, through iconography, to display the battle between good and evil and the unchanging innate nature of man. His film suggests that the future of our world might become one that associates violence and sexuality with feelings of happiness and power. As Alex says, "You were not put on this earth just to get in touch with God. That sort of thing could just sap all the strength and the goodness out of a chelloveck."