In the disturbing film, The Clockwork Orange, teenager Alex DeLarge (shown above) is sent to jail for assaulting multiple women. While serving his time, he is told that if he participated in som experiments he would "be fixed forever" and would end his sentence early. Scientists perform cruel and unusual actions on him mentally and physically. They put Alex through classical conditioning.
These scientists believed that with this treatment, Alex will realize that what
he had done is wrong. They first strapped him to a chair and so that he could not move. While in
the chair, they pried his eyelids open with clamps so that he was completely unable to move
them or close them. During the time when he was trapped, the scientists played clips of the Nazi's
performing acts of hate. They also showed a movie of a gang attacking and raping a young girl,
the same crime Alex and his gang executed. These videos drove Alex mad and lead him to cringing
every time he would see these images.
Pavlov first introduced the concept of classical conditioning. One of his most
famous studies involved using dogs as tests subjects. Pavlov would would ring a bell and,
corresponding with the meat, he proved that the dogs would salivate to the sound
of the bell. In relationship to Clockwork Orange, Alex would now wince at the sight of
these videos and what they represent.
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