Ultraviolence refers to acts of extreme violence, often seemingly performed at random, with no clear justification (e.g. attacking a defenseless old man for no reason at all), and with no ulterior motive (such as theft). The term was introduced by Anthony Burgess in his novel A Clockwork Orange, in which the main character, Alex DeLarge, robs, rapes, and ultimately murders without a twinge of conscience.

Whilst similar to the phenomenon of thrill killing, with ultraviolence the taking of life is incidental to the act of brutality, and so lays primarily with the motive of the perpetrator. It is the act of violence almost as an extreme sport - violence for violence's sake. This sense of aesthetic violence has led the term to be used in media criticism for the representation of violence as an enjoyable spectacle, either through aestheticisation and fetishism, or violence as a spectator sport.

As such, the term has been applied to films or television series featuring such violence, e.g. Elfen Lied, Kill Bill Volume 1, GANTZ A Kite and Sin City . An 'underground' culture has seen the release of popular Japanese films and TV series such as Audition where ultraviolence has grown into a sub-genre.

Uses in popular culture

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Anthony Burgess released his novel A Clockwork Orange in 1962. The movie version of A Clockwork Orange was directed by Stanley Kubrick, and released in 1971.

The British band Sigue Sigue Sputnik released several songs which included allusions to A Clockwork Orange or ultraviolence in general, including "Ultraviolence" and "Super Crook Blues".

In the Spider-Man 2 video game, when the player comes across a gang of thugs fighting each other, one can be heard to exclaim "time for the old ultraviolence." This is a quote from Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange.

In the computer game Doom, the fourth skill level is called "Ultra-Violence", but it is believed that this is actually a play on the word ultraviolence.

The punk band Lower Class Brats recorded the song "Ultra Violence" on their album Rather Be Hated Than Ignored. The lyrics are a direct reference of events from A Clockwork Orange.

The professional wrestling promotion CZW uses the term "ultraviolent" in reference to their brand of hardcore wrestling.

The debut release of thrash metal band Death Angel is called The Ultra-Violence.

In Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a weapon is featured in the most cruel colors, "ultraviolent" and "infradead".

There is a UK Industrial-Gabba band called Ultraviolence.

External links

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• Ultraviolence
• Screening Violence Film theory appoach to ultraviolence in the media.

Violence | Sociology