The greatest anti-villain ever

[Fawkes]

Alex from A Clockwork Orange (I'm talking about both the film and book) is generally classified as one of the greatest villains ever. I'm kind of hesitant to classify him as a villain though. F. Alexander is as much a villain as Alex is. However, I think the real villain is the state and the purporters of the Ludovico technique.

Any thoughts?

P.s. I know it doesn't matter at all whether you call him a villain or not, he still remains the same character, I'm just curious as to how people perceive him.

[Fulanito de Tal]

My Opinion: A Paragraph
By Dougal McSprayfarts

Alex was the leader of a gang that would break into people's houses and rape women. He was a villain then. However, after that horrible rehabilitation, he was working on reintegrating into society, but was not allowed to by the system. So, the system became the villain.

The End

[Fawkes]

My Opinion: A Paragraph
By Dougal McSprayfarts

Alex was the leader of a gang that would break into people's houses and rape women. He was a villain then. However, after that horrible rehabilitation, he was working on reintegrating into society, but was not allowed to by the system. So, the system became the villain.

The End
I dunno, I think the state was the villain all along. It was this desolate, void world in which Alex lived that prompted the extreme violence as a means of entertainment. And it was this very same state that later would strip him of his free will by imposing "forced goodness" upon him, showing a continuity of their disregard for the wellbeing of the general population.

[Pirate Utopian]

Villain who became a victim of a bigger villain but a villain nonetheless.

[Fulanito de Tal]

I haven't seen the movie in a while.

Didn't he try to reintegrate back into society as a functioning member and everyone treated him like he was still a villain? I think he was getting double punishment, from the state and then from the people.

[kitsune]

I think his behavior was shaped by a society that created the conditions that resulted in that sort of behavior, and that tried to undo the damage by brainwashing and not by changing the conditions. No matter what hamfisted psychological manipulations they try, the conditions still exist.

Villain? Victim? Both labels are somewhat accurate, but neither tell the complete truth. People can get very screwed up when they're in a very screwed up society.

[Jalapeno Enema]

vil·lain noun \ˈvi-lən\


Definition of VILLAIN

1: an uncouth person : boor

2: a deliberate scoundrel or criminal

3: one blamed for a particular evil or difficulty <automation as the villain in job … displacement — M. H. Goldberg>


. . .really? There's an argument as to whether or not Alex is a villain?

Ever watch South Park? The episode with NAMBLA?

Make whatever excuse you want, NAMBLA (not the Marlon Brando one, the other one) advocates pedophilia. Fuck the arguments (oh, it's for the rights of the children!), it's predatory and not cool.

Make whatever argument you want for Alex, he raped women, which is not cool (I never thought I'd have to spell that out.) The society, villainous or not, does not change the fact that Alex was a villain.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I'd say that Tuco (from The Good, The Bad And The Ugly) is the greatest "anti-villain" ever. Or perhaps even The Man With No Name.

[kitsune]

Make whatever argument you want for Alex, he raped women, which is not cool (I never thought I'd have to spell that out.) The society, villainous or not, does not change the fact that Alex was a villain.

An anti-villain has to be a villain. An anti-villain requires noble motives or compassionate moments to qualify, though, and I don't see that in Alex.

Understanding the underlying causes of why he is the way he is is not making excuses, just looking at the reality of the situation. It doesn't absolve him.

Others that come to mind: Leon in The Professional. Roy in Blade Runner. Dexter.

[Political_Chucky]

Darth Vader