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Rebecca Florence Miller

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2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

Last updated on: May 2, 2016 at 4:53 pm by Rebecca Florence Miller

2001: A Space Odyssey 2016-05-02T16:53:34-06:00 Rebecca Florence Miller

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This post is part of a ten-part series drawing from the Arts and Faith Top 100 Films. You can read the introduction the series here, along with the schedule of films to be featured.

I don’t even know how to begin to talk about the visual masterpiece that is Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Why is it so staggeringly effective? It has almost no plot and the only character given significant development is the supercomputer HAL 9000 that we find at the middle of the film. Why does this film hit us in the gut, despite all this and despite its avant-garde refusal to spell out its meaning?

This is first of all an evolutionary tale. Working via three movements, the film begins with ape-men depicting the evolutionary “Dawn of Man.” Movement from the animalistic to the super-technological is segued to from that iconic image of the ape-man (having been moved or inspired or influenced by the otherworldly monolith which suddenly has appeared among his tribe) throwing a bone tool into the air while the triumphant theme plays … seguing to an almost bone-shaped, bone-white spaceship around the year 2001. The segue is seamless. We move from the savage to the awe-inspiring of both the universe and of man-made tools in the eons that have transpired in between.

The second movement, taking place after this, is called “Jupiter, 18 Months Later.” In this act, it is revealed that a monolith has been discovered on the moon (this film coming out about a year before the actual moon landing), and as humans encounter it, they approach it with the awe that the apes did in the first movement. There are elements of the technology in this second movement that were positively prophetic of our world today. Virtually none of the special effects, sets, or costumes seem outdated.

The blandness of the human beings in this movement is striking. They speak almost in monotone, have no character development to speak of (save for one astronaut’s adorable daughter, viewed via something not unlike Skype). The depiction of human beings is overwhelmed by the visual landscape they inhabit. The eye is dazzled by the beauty. Who needs plot? We have much to nourish us here! Both inside the various spaceships, space bases, and space vehicles, and outside in the wonders of the stars, everywhere we look, there is color, originality, and detail. Shots are framed with symmetrics, sharp angles, and deep focus. The space walk sequences are devastatingly spare, the image of an astronaut tumbling through the emptiness of space elemental in its horror.

There is beauty and horror here, but there is no recognizable humanity. Humans are like computers, and the computer is like a human, logical but also emotional. Capable of treachery and evil. Capable of conversation and something like friendship. HAL is the tool, but he is the most human. Yet he is overcome by the inventiveness of the human being, Dave Bowman, who rages against the dying of the light.

The third movement is called “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite.” In this act, our intrepid astronaut Dave, is transported through massive amounts of time and space. As flashes of glorious light shoot past him, Dave’s horrified, terrified face is glimpsed vibrating intensely inside his space helmet. Close-ups reveal his skin has aged substantially. This sequence goes on for a very long time until at last his space pod is dropped into what looks like the bed chamber of a palace or aristocratic home. The final sequences in which we see Dave from multiple perspectives and in multiple ages is obviously meant to evoke evolutionary development. He encounters the third monolith as well. He fades to an older and older age, at last becoming something like the spirit of a fetus, encased in a bubble.

What are we meant to conclude from all this? What does it all mean? Kubrick is too much an artist to hand us a ready-made “meaning.” Instead, we are left to wrestle with the film and the questions it inspires.

Writing for the Criterion Collection’s website, Howard Suber says this:

The paradox of 2001 is that this work, whose story and whose actual making were so dependent upon human technology, itself a concrete manifestation of human logic, should ask us to move beyond logic, beyond concrete realities altogether, that it should take us into the domain hitherto reserved for theology: speculation on human destiny. Like all great films, 2001 takes hold, not merely of the eye and ear, but also of the mind. It is concerned not with the evolution of man’s body, but with the evolution of man’s mind and spirit. It is remarkable not only for its awesome visual effects, which have never been surpassed, but also for the fact that it is, at its core and its conclusion, a sacred drama for a secular society.–Howard Suber

“A sacred drama for a secular society.” The vastness of the universe and its grandeur is also on bold display in this film. The star flight sequence boggles the mind (and it was somewhat replicated in the recent Interstellar, a much more human film but still with a lot to think about relating to transcendence). Does a secular society still long for something transcendent? Readers, do you? Do the wonders of the heavens make you ask the deep questions of origins?

Perhaps Kubrick meant to suggest that our origins came from aliens, super-beings who by their intelligence produced all that is. It’s interesting that a secular society finds it easier to believe in the transcendence of aliens than in God. Why not see God as something like an alien? Does not the presence of all this grandeur suggest that someone put it here? I think the monolith is attempting to grapple with these questions. This cannot all be just bare chance. Surely something caused all this.

The second thing that this film made me think about was the way that the tools of an evolving or advancing society can so easily be used for evil or destruction. The bone that creates advancement for the evolving humans is also used to destroy other beings. To murder. Space technology can be used to create massive destruction to human beings. Errorless computers can turn on you. Humans tend to take their greatest advancements and use them for evil in addition to good. And so, Facebook and Twitter are used to unite great democratic movements. And to spread threats of violence, to troll, and to spread racism and terrorism. The internet is used to provide good information on any number of topics and to thereby empower people, but it also is used to abuse children and spread the pictures of their abuse forever. The internet is the great new evolutionary leap (whether you believe in human evolution or just evolution of society), but with each leap, how much farther do we actually get? New power just reveals our capacity for evil more clearly. How do we know we will be the ones to evolve in the “good” way? How do we know we will not just become more powerful and more evil? Should we be optimistic about humanity? Why or why not?

This film stirs up endless amounts of good questions. Which ones resonate with you? What images from the film are most indelibly implanted on your imagination?

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Community discussion guidelines:

Because this is a Christian blog, the things I’m talking about will obviously be topics that people feel strongly about in one direction or another. Please keep in mind that this is a place for substantive, respectful, constructive conversation. All perspectives are welcome to discuss here as long as all can treat each other with kindness and respect. Please ignore trolls, refuse to engage in personal attacks, try not to derail the conversation into divisive rabbit trails, and observe the comment policy listed on the right side of the page. Comments that violate these guidelines may be deleted. Vulgar remarks may result in immediate blacklisting. For those who clearly violate these policies repeatedly, my policy is to issue a warning which, if not regarded, may lead to blacklisting. This is not about censorship, but about creating a healthy, respectful environment for discussion.

P.S. Please also note that I am not a scientist, but a person with expertise in theology and the arts. While I am very interested in the relationship between science and faith, I do not believe I personally will be able to adequately address the many questions that inevitably come up related to science and religion. I encourage you to seek out the writings of theistic or Christian scientists to help with those discussions.

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Image credits (in order). All images from IMDB.com:

“2001: A Space Odyssey,” MGM 1968. Gary Lockwood. Photo by MPTV – © MPTV – Image courtesy mptvimages.com

“2001: A Space Odyssey,” MGM 1968. Keir Dullea. Photo by MPTV – © MPTV – Image courtesy mptvimages.com

2001: A Space Odyssey

Interstellar

Kubrick

Transcendence

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