Daily Dialogue — October 10, 2012

“As we walked along the flatblock marina, I was calm on the outside, but thinking all the time. So now it was to be Georgie the general, saying what we should do and what not to do, and Dim as his mindless, grinning bulldog. But suddenly I viddied that thinking was for the gloopy ones and that the oomny ones use, like, inspiration and what Bog sends. For now it was lovely music that came to my aid. There was a window open with the stereo on and I viddied right at once what to do.”

— Alex (Malcolm McDowell), A Clockwork Orange (1971), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, novel by Anthony Burgess

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Anti-Heroes / Villain Protagonists, suggested by Shaula Evans. Today’s suggestion is by Teddy Pasternak.

Trivia: Alex performing “Singing in the Rain” as he attacks the writer and his wife was not scripted. Stanley Kubrick spent four days experimenting with this scene, finding it too conventional. Eventually he approached Malcolm McDowell and asked him if he could dance. They tried the scene again, this time with McDowell dancing and singing the only song he could remember. Kubrick was so amused that he swiftly bought the rights to “Singing in the Rain” for $10,000.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The use of slang — “viddied… gloopy… oomny” — comes across as rather goofy. As such it provides a chilling counterpoint to Alex’s violence.

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