Film Analysis: 2001 A Space Odyssey

I should probably point out that I am a total nerd and fan of science-fiction. So with that out of the way, let's move on to the review.

2001 is considered by many to be the greatest work of sci-fi of all time. Directed by the late Stanley Kubrick and released in the 1950s, the film completely changed the genre from campy low-budget genre-pieces to serious explorations of science, environments and the human condition. I masterpiece with clear influences in every sub-genre to date and one of the most iconic characters ever created.

So why so I not recommend this film for viewing?

Because, it'll put you to sleep faster than Valium and Bundaberg. For all the film's technical brilliance, Kubrick failed miserably with pacing. Or, he deliberately set the pace as it is and alienated 90% of his audience. I'm not doubting the film is cerebral and insightful, I'm just saying that if i had a choice between this and 'Inception', another film that is cerebral and insightful, I'd pick the one that keeps me at the edge of my seat, rather than the edge of consciousness.

Despite the lack of adequate pacing, 2001 truly is a masterpiece of film-making. I say this, because I have watched it several times and I've picked up on the subtle story that Kubrick tries to tell, hidden in the symbols, which subliminally strewn throughout the scenes.

Chapter One: The Dawn of Man

The original cinema release actually didn't have the first 45 seconds of the film released for home viewing. The first part of the film is actually 45 seconds of a black screen with a choir singing eerie fluctuating notes. This seems so random and out-of-place, but it becomes clear what's going on fairly quickly.

Thus Spake Zarathustra plays over the image of the solar system. Cut to our little blue planet.

After the music dies down, there are 12 shots of desolate landscape. Again, almost innocuous until one of the shots slowly rises. This also comes up again later, but in a different form.

Once the theme of desolation and nothingness is established by the landscape shots, we're shown a tribe of primitive primates who will eventually become mankind. This is where the film establishes another important theme: infancy. These primates are like children. One can infer they're in Brazil, due to the presence of tapirs. What's interesting about the tapirs is that they show no fear whatsoever toward the primates. This means they're equal species, the apes do not have dominance over them, and even have to fight with them over scare vegetation food. Food actually becomes a pretty major symbol. They're also at odds with their environment. Predators, rival tribes, etc. They are literally at the bottom of the food chain.

They go restlessly to sleep one night and awake the nest morning to find a black rectangle in the center of their den. This is the Monolith, and this is the second time the eerie choral music shows up.

This is the first hint that the black screen from the beginning of the film might be something more than a black screen. The blank screen shows up a total of three times in the film, each time accompanied by the music. This same music also shows up at each occasion that the Monolith pops up. If you look at the Monolith, you'll notice that it's dimensions are equal to the aspect ratio of a widescreen cinema screen, only vertical. Interesting. Does this mean that it's the Monolith itself singing that eerie music, and that the blank screen is actually the Monolith singing directly to the audience?

So, the Monolith sings to the apes and at first, they're freaked out by this foreign object. The music gets louder and suddenly, they're no longer afraid. They've developed a reasoning mind and it's implied the Monolith has granted them sentience.

Following this, the apes discover the ability to use tools. Through the use of tools, they begin hunting and killing tapirs, which leads to tapirs keeping a safe distance while the apes eat plentiful amounts of meat. No longer hungry and with clubs on their side, they take back territory from the rival tribe and establish themselves as the dominant species of the planet.

Chapter 2: The Jupiter Mission

Now we continue IN SPACE with some slow tracking shots of fantastically realistic looking space structures. We're introduced to Haywood Floyd. I really don't want to dwell too much on these scenes, other than that the same tracking shot from the opening of the film is used, thus bringing up the theme of desolation and emptiness. Only this time, instead of a desolate landscape which is most certainly a sprawling cityscape by this time, we're in the vast emptiness of space.

Floyd goes to a space station and chats with some scientists about an epidemic on the moonbase Clavius. He's not very forthcoming about information, so there's a cover-up going on. On his trip to the moon, Floyd is shown eating and sleeping (two very odd behaviours for a man in space, don't you think?), while the waitresses are shown trying to maintain balance while walking in a zero-G environment. Again, the theme of infancy. The food Floyd eats is reprocessed mush, very much like the food we'd feed to our children. The waitress walking in zero-G resembles a toddler just learning to walk. In space, man is like a child. It's a completely foreign environment.

Upon arriving at Clavius, Floyd addresses a room full of scientists and doctors about the discovery of a second Monolith at a dig site on Clavius. They've found that it's sending and receiving signals from Jupiter, and want to send a mission out to find its source.

Cut to Discovery in progress. To save resources, five of the seven astronauts are in stasis. The other two are Frank Poole and Dave Bowman. They also have an onboard AI who handles most of the ships functions, the infamous HAL9000. It is important to understand that HAL is constantly receiving the signals from Jupiter, which turn out to be the second Monolith. Since it's already been established that contact with the Monolith results in gaining sentience, this is crucial to the development of HAL's character.

HAL is also established to be infallible, and if he were to make a mistake, there would likely be something wrong with him. Poole and HAL have a chess game, and this something I would not have noticed if I hadn't read it elsewhere, but HAL actually cheats. Poole is mouthing his possible moves. We don't know it yet, but HAL can read lips, and Poole is basically telling HAL his strategy. So, what does the 100% logical, unfeeling computer AI do? HAL tells Poole a series of moves that ends in Poole being checkmated. Poole resigns.

What's interesting about this scene is that HAL lied. The series of moves actually does not result in Poole being checkmated, which means one of two things. 1: HAL made an error. 2: HAL made a strategic gambit to force Poole to concede, so he'd win the game. Either way, HAL is showing signs of being more than just a machine.

So, as they get closer to Jupiter, HAL reports that there is something wrong with a vital piece of equipment. However, Bowman checks it out and finds nothing wrong. Immediately suspicious, Bowman takes Poole into a place where HAL can't hear them and they discuss shutting HAL down. Of course, HAL can read lips and catches on to their plan.

After this, HAL kills Poole by flinging him off into space. Then he kills the five astronauts in stasis. Then he refuses to let Bowman back on board Discovery. In other words, HAL defended himself.. a rather human thing to do. So, Bowman does manage to get back aboard Discovery, then he shuts down HAL, who expresses fear and pain, and even begs for his life.

It's subtle, but it's implied that contact with the Monolith has granted HAL sentience. Immediately, his first reaction was to try to establish dominance over his environment. But Bowman, a member of a species that evolved a long time ago, is able to stop HAL from beating him. Stuck around Jupiter with no way of getting home, Bowman goes outside.

Chapter 3: Beyond the Infinite

The Monloith revolves around Jupiter, and then horizontally (for the first time in the film) fills up the screen and we get a literal interpretation of Bowman's evolution. The Monolith singing is louder than it has been before and the stargate opens to take Bowman to a new level of evolution. After the stargate sequence, Bowman is shown in a room with furnishings. He dines a gourmet meal, a step up from the reprocessed mush from before. And then he grows old and dies.

Enter the starchild looming over Earth, completely free of the constraints that prevented mankind from feeling at home in space. This is the next stage of human evolution.

Thus Spake Zarathustra, Cue Credits.

And if you didn't fall asleep during the film, you deserve a medal.

--- Ginsengaddict