A Clockwork Orange and teddy bears

A Youtube video that never ceases to cheer me up and make me laugh. It is a parody of a scene from A Clockwork Orange, obviously done by a big fan of the movie. To parodise something is to recognise its relevance, said someone, I don't remember who. The clip is both funny and unsettling, because it is so close to the original scene, the lines played with the exact tone and beat, with the same background music. Even the white teddy bear looks like Alex! And there is something fitting about the teddy bears: they are innocent just like Alex and like him are also feral animals. Parodies can also be full of symbolism and intertext. Enjoy this one.

Overture to the Sun

Strangely, everything seems to be getting right weather-wise here, this year. We had a lovely first day of Spring, we have now a perfect first May day. So far, it is sunny, warm and lovely, lovely, lovely. I thought I would put a piece of music to celebrate May. This piece of music is from A Clockwork Orange (anybody surprised?), or at least I first heard it in the movie, just like anybody else I guess. It is from a short-lived band named Sunforest, from their one and only record. I blogged about another song of theirs before. They now have their whole record on Youtube, so I appreciated this morning the rest of Sunforest's work. To say that it's not really my cup of tea would be an understatement. It's pretty much lame psychedelic stuff. No wonder the band was forgotten quickly.

That said, the two tunes that made it into Kubrick's movie are great in their own way. The Lighthouse Keeper song is pretty much silly entertainment, Overture to the Sun is a nice little pastiche of Renaissance (or baroque?) music, perfectly atmospheric for a sunny day of May. I say this maybe because the character of the Minister of the Interior say something similar about Alex when he is reformed, "as decent a lad as you would meet on a May morning"... Then he gets him beaten, in front of an audience, with Overture to the Sun in the background. And I think I just discovered why I thought spontaneously about this music for May. Anyway, for those who cannot stand violence, you can see the scene parodied here, with teddy bears instead of actors. I have to admit, it works perfectly, and there is something Alexian about the white bear.

I put here the original, then the rearranged movie version. You tell me which one you prefer. I think the movie one is superior.