# In A Clockwork Orange, is Alex supposed to be masturbating to Ludwig Van? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529 "2008-08-10T20:54:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/1 "2008-08-10T20:54:27Z")
In the scene in A Clockwork Orange, where Alex goes home to his room after a night of “ultra-violence”, and puts in a mini-cassette tape of the old Ludwig Van, is he supposed to be masturbating to this? There is this shot of his face with an expression of sick pleasure on it, and you can’t see below his torso but it seems like his hands are doing something. And he says, “as I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures.” Is that what we’re supposed to take away from this scene? ---
**Author:** ![unstrung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a698b9/32.png) [@unstrung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unstrung)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/2 "2008-08-10T21:01:56Z")
Yes (I think) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/3 "2008-08-10T21:17:31Z")
The way I see it, he’s masturbating, but there’s a (perhaps deliberate) ambiguity as to what to. To memories of the ultra-violence? To the music? Or just to plain old masturbation fantasies? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/4 "2008-08-10T21:21:47Z")
I don’t think it’s very ambiguous - his thoughts are shown, depicted in scenes that he is imagining: a woman being hanged falling through a trapdoor, explosions, cavemen (?) being crushed beneath an avalanche of rocks, and a vampire version of himself with fangs dripping with blood. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/5 "2008-08-10T21:44:46Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] I don’t think it’s very ambiguous - his thoughts are shown, depicted in scenes that he is imagining: a woman being hanged falling through a trapdoor, explosions, cavemen (?) being crushed beneath an avalanche of rocks, and a vampire version of himself with fangs dripping with blood. [/QUOTE] It seems I totally misremembered the scene. :smack: Serves me right for diving in too quickly. There is still the ambiguity of the role of the music, though. ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/6 "2008-08-11T01:50:47Z")
Slooshy is nadzat for to listen or to hear. Not wank. I never got the impression of masturbation from the scene, I thought the point was that we was listening to something so beautiful, engaging in a practice so respectful, and getting such evil images from it. Now that you mention it though… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/7 "2008-08-11T01:56:54Z")
The book never says he masturbates to Beethoven, just that it evokes fantasies for him. Also, as **Laudenum** says, Burgess’ Nadsat glossary says that “slooshy” means to listen. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-a-clockwork-orange-is-alex-supposed-to-be-masturbating-to-ludwig-van/459529/8 "2008-08-11T02:44:08Z")
The expression on his face & his shoulder movements… yeah, he’s yankin’ it.