Stanley Kubrick's films often focused on dehumanization and the dark side of human nature. Dehumanization was a common theme in Kubrick's films. Kubrick commonly used this theme because he was fascinated with the dark side of human nature and not because he thought all humans were basically evil. T
he best examples of his trend are A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and Full Metal Jacket. These three films explored dark side of the human psyche and the violent nature of human beings.
A Clockwork Orange is probably the most notorious of all the Kubrick films that explored the dark side of nature. The main character, Alex, is a psychotic rapist who gets sent to prison for murdering a woman. While in prison he is selected for an experimental procedure that supposedly cures violence.
They way it works is they strap Alex is front of a big screen and force him to watch violent acts over and over again. They condition him to feel sick anytime he gets the urge to use violence. But by the end of the movie Alex is back to his old ways and thoughts again. A Clockwork Orange is not a very uplifting movie.
There are numerous scenes of rape and violence. I think the message Kubrick was trying to convey was that violence doesn't solve violence. Conditioning a human to become sick anytime they get the urge to be violent. Kubrick once said that Alex represents someone without a conscience, original sin, and he represents man in his natural state. Even though the film is violent it is a great examination of the dark side of human behavior.
The Shining is another good example of dark side in Kubrick's films. The Shining is about a family that stays at a hotel during the off season to take care of the place. Jack Nicholson plays the father, Jack. Staying with Jack at the hotel is his wife and son. Their son, Danny, has a special psychic abilities which he calls shining.
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