10/11 M

Assignment due 10/18


The scene that I chose from M is towards the end of the film after Mr. Beckert has been captured by the gang of Beggars and is being given a pseudo trial to determine his fate after killing all those children. In this scene Mr. Beckert is trying to explain himself and what feels. He expressively explains that the murders he commits are events he does not even remember. He claims that voices of torment speak to him and that a "shadow" follows him around, this shadow is himself, but a different side of himself that is essentially evil. This side of him torrents him as well as the voices of the parents of his unsuspecting victims and the victims themselves. It is only when he finally kills that the voices spot and he reawakens unaware of his actions. He is then shocked when he sees posters talking about the crimes he has committed. His claim stands as these murders not being his fault because he was unaware of his actions. The reason I chose this particular scene is because of the way that Mr. Beckert explains his take on the situation. You can see the distress in his eyes and body language when he describes his torment and you can see the sick pleasure of an almost euphoric state when he explains that it all ends when he finally gets a kill. His eyes roll into his head and he almost savors the feeling of the moment in his mind. After that moment passes his body language demonstrates defeat and almost sadness because its over and now he is brought back to the reality of the situation. This ties into our lecture and how Mr. Beckert follows this Freudian idea of death drive, or this beyond instinctual feeling of doing something but unconsciously in order to cease the suffering he feels. He unconsciously commits these murders by explaining that he has no recollection of them just the feeling of when it happens, and it ends his torrent and suffering when the voices finally stop after he commits those murders. Mr. Beckert, from his expression describing the feeling of the murder is almost euphoric as if he as reached some kind of Nirvana. The Nihilism then lies within the actions of Mr. Beckert, his day to day life holds no satisfaction, it holds no purpose and he commits heinous crimes that make the parents of the victims truly question if there is any divine justice. This is supported by the way the film ends when the parents, although being told that the criminal was apprehended and will be punished for his crimes find no peace of mind. The are still suffering from the fact that although the murderer will be dealt with their children still won't return home. Nothing can replace the emptiness and horrible feeling of losing their children. Mr. Beckert also represents nihilism by the way he "comes down" from his moments of High after the murderers are committed or he gets sucked into reality. The first instance of this was not in the scene I chose but from an earlier scene where Mr. Beckert spots a child's reflection in a mirror in a store. The look of sick pleasure crosses his face at the thought of murdering the child and then he is immediately brought back to what would be considered from his perspective, a sad reality. People like Mr. Beckert are trying to find outlets from their mundane lives and although he is portrayed as a mentally unstable person, he was stable and tactical enough to know how to lure his victims and stalk his prey in an almost primal way. He is reverting back to this Freudian idea of the death drive, where this action is beyond just instinct and it is tied to his nature of being. I might be completely wrong but I feel the need to tie this into A Clockwork Orange (the film) by Stanley Kubrick based off the novel by Anthony Burgess. In a Clockwork Orange the protagonist seeks pleasure outside of his mundane life by committing crimes with his gang of thug friends. SPOILER ALERT (In case you want to see it) In one scene in particular the main character and his gang manage to lie their way a couple home where they take the man of the house hostage and beat him. They take the mans wife and rape her in front of him all while he sings to the happy tune of "singin in the rain".  In this moment I see a parallel between Mr. Beckert and the main character of A Clockwork Orange. Mr. Beckert was also singing a happy tune (or at least in a happy way) when he lured his victims. Much like A Clockwork Orange this happy tune turns out to be the downfall of the criminal. Both of these individuals are seeking something beyond themselves to create a sense of pleasure and to end their own suffering. As the death drive is described it is ironically a self destructive act, in both these cases it is self destructive because they are caught (however the end is quiet different in a clockwork orange).


If you are interested, and don't mind spoilers, here is the scene from A Clockwork Orange