“I'm afraid. I'm
afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is
going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel
it. I'm a... fraid.”
2001 Space Odyssey
is a true science fiction film and is one of my favorites. Many people have a
lot to say about 2001 like that it’s a visionary film, it’s extremely trippy,
or it’s the purest expression of cinematic art ever to be released. This
Kubrick epic has the most diverse interpretations than any other film. It was
controversial at the time because it brought a new take on Darwin’s theory of
evolution. 2001 has many themes other than evolution such as: man versus
technology and the miracle of life. I will cover these three themes throughout
the review.
From the very start
of the film it is completely pitch black for almost three minutes with music
playing in the background. Some of the viewers are waiting for the film to
start unaware that it already has. Kubrick is showing us the true beginning of
time. We are then shown planet earth and our ancestors whom inhabited it
billions of years ago. The apes are going hungry, fighting over water, and on
their way to becoming extinct. Then suddenly it happens… the Monolith. It came
out of nowhere and when touching it provides one with intelligence. When the
apes touch the Monolith it changes mankind. After an ape named Moon-Watcher
touched it he discovers the use of tools and that a bone could be used as a
weapon. The starving Moon-Watcher eventually kills, making man’s first tool a
weapon. They evolved. What is the monolith? It can be viewed as
extraterrestrial life helping the evolution of mankind and some even believe
that it is man’s search for a pointless god, but I’ll leave that up for the
viewer to decide.
In the Clockwork
Orange one of the themes were man versus culture and society, but in 2001 it’s
man versus technology. Millions of years later we are shown a spacecraft. Much
like the film Wall-e, humanity has become lazy and is too dependent on technology.
The H.A.L. 9000 was supposed to help the
crew on their mission to Jupiter, but when he malfunctions he takes it upon
himself to exterminate them. H.A.L. is calculating and incapable of feelings.
When he malfunctions he becomes self-aware and turns against his human
counterparts. This forces Dave to eventually take action against him. H.A.L. is
like the architect from Matrix Reloaded, he is essentially a computer program
created by man yet acts like a god. He traps the man and insists that it is in
their best interest.
The process of
conception to the eventual birth is a major theme in 2001. After Moon-watcher
throws the bone into the air, the viewer is shown the Orion III spaceplane
almost provocatively slowly entering into the Space Station V. It can be viewed
as sexual intercourse. A little after this we are shown the spacecraft
Discovery One on its mission to Jupiter. The Discovery One looks somewhat like
a sperm cell and Jupiter looks like an egg. During the Star Gate sequence it is
essentially showing us the origin of life… a big bang of sorts. Following this
sequence, an older Dave is in a white room and it can be viewed as the womb.
The film then concludes with the birth of a child. This film, to me, has the
most diverse interpretations even more so than the Shining.
2001 is one of the
greatest cinematic experiences you will ever have. It revolutionized the
science fiction genre and even influenced Star Wars, yet is it really a science
fiction film? It’s about man’s evolution and where we would place in the master
plan of the cosmos. It warns us the consequences of relying too much on
technology. It shows us the miracle of birth and nevertheless makes us question
life. The film is pure poetry. Stanley Kubrick was a cinematic genius.
5 out of 5
