55 years later, 'A Clockwork Orange' is becoming a policy blueprint
David Menzies reflects on how the warnings laid out in the 1971 dystopian film are being viewed as less of a cautionary tale and more of a policy blueprint by Canada's government.
It's been 55 years since Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece film A Clockwork Orange released in cinemas. Since then, time has only sharpened the warning that serves as the film's message.
Adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel imaging a Britain drowning in violent crime while a warped government experimented with “compassion” instead of consequences, the twist was the state's belief that criminals could be effectively reprogrammed — if only society tried harder to understand them.
On Wednesday's episode of The Ezra Levant Show, guest host David Menzies said these themes are all too familiar in today's world.
In A Clockwork Orange, gangs terrorize the public while authorities are reluctant to dole out punishments. Law-abiding citizens are viewed with suspicion as criminals are given endless chances.
Replace this image of a dystopian “near-future Britain” with a modern nation like Canada, and the resemblance becomes both uncanny and eerie.
The fictional British state uses a drug-induced aversion therapy designed to neutralize violent impulses; the real-life version of this was in 2017, when Justin Trudeau argued it would be inappropriate to jail returning ISIS fighters.
Just like the film, Canada's preference was for rehab over incarnation.
It also touches on the state's potential need for an expansion of prison space for future political offenders, a line that is seemingly becoming more of a reality with each new piece of censorship legislation the federal government passes.
In the end, A Clockwork Orange shows a government that rewards criminals, excuses brutality and punishes dissent. Fifty-five years on, it no longer feels like speculative fiction. It feels like a roadmap we were warned not to follow ... and followed anyway.
BECOME A MEMBER
RebelNews+ Clips
RebelNews+ is our premium subscription service, which gives you access to our exclusive long form, TV-style shows, documentaries, members-only comments section, and the ability to read RebelNews.com without ads.
Subscribe now to get the full experience!
https://rebelnewsplus.com/
COMMENTS
-
Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2026-01-29 21:08:14 -0500I never liked this movie and thought it a rather strange choice for Kubrick. Then again, he’s been a hit-and-miss director for me. Earlier, he directed my favourite film, his science fiction masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey” as well as his bitingly funny satire “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”. (That flick is probably funnier now than when it was released more than 60 years ago.) Later, he directed “Full Metal Jacket”. I’ve seen most of his other movies once and that was enough, but those 3 I’ve viewed numerous times.
When I heard about “A Clockwork Orange”, I thought, “Really? After ‘2001’?”
Mind you, as a director, he took great pains to get things right. How good was he at it? For example, apparently the Pentagon wanted to know where he got all the information from for the B-52 bomb run scene in “Dr. Strangelove”. His response was that it was all in the public domain.
Since he was so careful about details, maybe Kubrick was on target with ACO. -
Bruce Atchison commented 2026-01-29 19:51:34 -0500How horrifying when fiction becomes fact. But will good folks do something about it? I have my doubts.
