How does the spectatorship theory influence Stanley Kubrick as a director?

A Clockwork Orange

In this scene, the main character Alex and his gang break into a house and beat up an old man and rape his wife. It is clear from the first shot of Kubricks style, slow pan shots, medium shots and preferring to look at the action from afar. The house is very colourful and brightly lit, which fits A Clockworks Orange futuristic setting. The lead character Alex beats the old man and woman up to the tune of 'Singing in the rain' as he starts to sing. The use of 'Singing in the rain' conflicts the audience who associate the song with Gene Kelly and swinging around on a lamp post. Now, the audience associate singing in the rain with the rape Alex has committed. This audience re-association is very clever because later in the film, Alex is re-conditioned by the government to be unable to hurt anyone, otherwise he feels physically sick. In Kubricks own way, he has re-conditioned his own audience similarly to how Alex has been re-conditioned.

An brief segment of an essay also connecting the use of audience reconditioning.
In this essay, the writer also points out the use of Beethovens ninth symphony used in the scene of Alex's reconditioning. The scene shocks the audience due to its distressing imagery whilst playing a piece of classical music that the audience will now associate with for the rest of the film.



The Shining 

In this scene, it illustrates Kubrick's desire to alienate his audience and weird them out. Wendy walks up the stairs and sees a man in a bear costume performing a sex act on a hotel guest. The music is very intense and demonic in this scene and the fast zoom in surprises you. This scene does have context however because the Stephen King novel 'The Shining' includes this scene in much greater depth however Kubrick has intentionally taken this scene, took it out of context and put it in his movie to shock his audience. Essentially, the audience is put into the shoes of Wendy who is experiencing the ghosts of the hotel reappearing.

Full Metal Jacket

In this clip, we see Hartman and Pyle meet for the first time. In this clip, Kubrick does not align the viewer with Hartman and Pyle. It is up to the viewer to decide if they feel empathy for Pyle or that he deserved it. This also foreshadows Joker's conversation later in the film about the duality of man. Kubrick does not present the war film as a film discouraging or encouraging war. It is neither an anti-war film or a pro war film. Instead Kubrick presents it as depiction of war and it is up to his audience to decide. In this clip, Pyle could be personifed as anti-war, he is not masculine, he is fat, and has no respect for his superiors. Whilst Hartmann is definitely pro war, he shout obscenties, challenges Pyles masculinity and strangles him. 

Eyes Wide Shut

In the trailer for Eyes Wide Shut, Kubricks last film, towards the ending of the trailer, We see Bill and Alice kissing whilst the camera zooms in on Alice looking uncertain. The scene is interrupted by a split second shot of Bill at the morgue, with a doctor pulling a body out. This scene links to the spectatorship theory by the use of Mulvey's theory that the cinema is viewed from a male perspective. The camera acts a phallic object and the zoom in can be alluded to sexual excitement. This is called voyeurism. However the juxtaposition with the split second shot of the morgue creates an visual link between love and death, Both love and death feature prominently in Eyes Wide Shut.

Barry Lyndon

Barry Lyndon is a film set in the 18th century. It follows the adventures of Redmond Barry, an irish farmboy who finds himself living in a royal family. However, Barry soon neglects his family, abuses his wealth, and becomes an alcoholic gambler who loses everything. The film is based on a book written by William Makepiece Thackeray. This is an example of intertextuality, a film based on a book that the spectator may have already read. However, Kubrick alters his film so that it doesn't strictly follow the narrative of the book, making a few plot differences and ending the film earlier than the book does. Stylistically, Kubrick makes every shot in this film resemble a watercolour painting to echo that time period.