Dim's number is clearly 665. It's difficult to make out, but Georgie's number is evidently 667. Can we assume Alex's number is 666?
Further considerations:
Although smart film direction, amazing acting and a strong "satirical" posture drive much admiration, Alex is no hero. The "turmoil" and tastes of the times (the film was released in 1970) and Kubrick's humor and eye for corruption and telling human foibles and quirks--often suggesting a "feel" for our character as creatures in an "Augustinian" universe--naturally evoke admiration. Young people have and will continue to admire little Alex. But no--no!--he is not a hero, no more than Milton's Satan is in any way, shape or form a hero, and click HERE for more on that thread.
Considering the cinematic legacy of Malcolm McDowell as Alex DeLarge (Alexander the Great, another "psycho"), casting McDowell in Star Trek Generations as Dr. Tolian Soran--the "Man who Killed Captain Kirk"--represents a wonderful point of departure for meditating on human nature and ethics.
As Dr. Soran, McDowell represents the self-involved quest of a psychopath to create and dwell in an artificial universe of "perfect" self-gratification, and even if it means murdering the inhabitants of entire planets to do so. Captain Kirk of course represents "real humanity" struggling to survive, thrive and respond to the "real world". That Soran/Alex kills this real human hero speaks volumes as to the nature and centrality of our moral journey as human beings.
From time to time, our cinema produces remarkable revelations indeed.
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| Malcolm McDowell and William Shatner |
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