Ultraviolence

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For other uses, see Ultraviolence (disambiguation).

Ultraviolence is a term from the novel A Clockwork Orange, referring to acts of extreme violence — random and unjustified (e.g. attacking a defenseless old man for sport).

In the novel by Anthony Burgess, the protagonist, Alex, robs, rapes, and ultimately murders without conscience. Ultraviolence is similar to the phenomenon of thrill killing, although, unlike thrill killing, taking life is not required — and if it happens, it is incidental to the brutality. Ultraviolence is treated as extreme sport, i.e. violence for the sake of violence.

This sense of aesthetic violence has led to the term's usage in media criticism, i.e. the representation of violence as enjoyable spectacle. The term "ultraviolence" has been applied to film and television series such as Elfen Lied, Kill Bill, Battle Royale, GANTZ, A Kite and Sin City.^{[citation needed]} An underground culture has seen the release of popular Japanese films and TV series such as Audition, in which ultraviolence is a subgenre.

[edit] Uses in popular culture

See also: List of cultural references to A Clockwork Orange

The band New Order used "Ultraviolence" as a song title on the 1983 album Power, Corruption and Lies.
The band Sigue Sigue Sputnik used both the word "ultraviolence" and samples from the film on their single "Love Missile F1-11" in 1986.
The Welsh Oi! band The Oppressed has a song called "Ultraviolence."
The Dutch Oi! band Evil Conduct has a song called "Ultraviolence."
There is a UK Industrial-Gabba band called Ultraviolence.
In 1988, the German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen released a concept album Ein kleines bisschen Horrorshow (a reference to Alex's Nadsat phrase a bit of [the old] horrorshow [ultraviolence]).
There was a synth/dance/techno/pop band from the Flint, Michigan area known as UltraViolence. They released songs entitled (Can't Get) Enough and Savage Heart.
In the Spider-Man 2 video game, when the player comes across a gang of thugs fighting each other, one can hear the exclamation "Time for the old ultraviolence." This is a quote from A Clockwork Orange.
In the computer game Doom, the second-hardest skill level is called "Ultra-Violence!".
In the role playing game "SLA Industries", the Frothers use a drug called "Ultraviolence."
The professional wrestling promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) uses the term ultraviolent in reference to their brand of hardcore wrestling.
Ultraviolent was used by the progressive intrumental band 4Front as a song name in the album 'Gravity'.
Charles Bronson 's 80s film work is usually called ultra-violent by detractors and fans alike, specially the Death Wish series and the movie Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects
Some DVD editions of the animé Akira feature a synopsis referring to "something more than comic-book ultraviolence being released".
In the movie "Phil The Alien" Phil (The alien) states at one point that his planet is peaceful, except for "When the weather changes, there is a brief period of ultraviolence."