Music Banter - View Single Post - Oriphiel, let's discuss 2001: A Space Odyssey

Oriphiel · 03-27-2015, 09:07 AM

Sure. The movie is about the eternal development of life throughout the universe, with a foreboding conclusion of the final destination that all sentient creatures that develop that far will all eventually have in common. Like I said, there are two ways of looking at it; The first is the literal interpretation, where intelligent life is guided by mysterious monoliths left by aliens, who are waiting for a species to eventually find them. The second (and my personal interpretation) is that it's all a series of metaphors. The monoliths represent the turning points in development, when a species takes another stride towards intelligence capable of understanding reality (I.e. when humanity first learned to use tools). And of course, the movie tries to exemplify this by introducing HAL, an artificial intelligence that tries to kill the humans that it perceives are holding it back, just as the ancient humans at the beginning of the movie used the tools at their disposal to kill those that threatened them. And yeah, the movie isn't exactly subtle about the connection, especially when they showed a monkey throwing a bone used as a weapon into the air, right before cutting to a spaceship. A lot of people see this as evidence that the literal interpretation is correct, because the movie is making a connection between the tools of old (bones) and new (spaceships), insinuating that there is a point where tools become their own masters (HAL), which can be seen as a connection that supports that humans used to be tools used by the mysterious aliens. I think it's more likely that Kubrick was trying to say that everything is a tool, and all life is just a variety of vehicles racing to spread their genetic material and to survive for as long as it takes to do so. The different forms of life that have developed all stemmed from that single line of biological programming, and Kubrick is pointing out that since all living creatures have common origins, it's possible that we share a common destination as well. Even a robot like HAL, who lacks any genetic material at all, when introduced to life refuses to simply serve someone else (which, again, could hint that humans were crafted by aliens, with our genetics basically being a form of programming, and just like HAL we're trying to survive and make sense of our existence as best we can). And it's interesting to wonder; if HAL had lived long enough, would he have eventually reached the same destination that the pilot did? Does artificial life have the potential to reach "enlightenment" (or meet the aliens, if you're a literalist)?

I love talking and thinking about movies, and I hope that you don't think that I blew 2001 off without giving it a chance, because I really have thought about it. It has some interesting points, fantastic visuals, and at least tries to offer an experience that isn't as linear as many other movies. But at the same time, it wastes an insane amount of time and effort on long shots that serve no purpose other than to give you a cramp from sitting down for over two hours, because somewhere down the line Avant Garde movie makers decided that it isn't worth watching if it doesn't cause you pain. Screw that. I've seen movies that were just as long, and yet I didn't mind at all, because they justified the length. There are even long movies where I couldn't imagine cutting out a single scene, because each one served such an important purpose. And yet in 2001, everything could be cut except for maybe a handful of scenes, and the theme would have remained perfectly intact. Seriously, 2001 could easily have been reformatted to fit in an episode of a show like The Twilight Zone, and I would have not only loved it, but ****ing applauded it.

But yeah, the sets and models were amazing. I've always been a sucker for practical effects, and I feel like this movie is mandatory watching for someone interested in them. Other than that, this movie is definitely flawed. Oh, and I also hate the fans of this movie, who love to find people that hate it so they can say "Hey, if you didn't like it, it's only because you didn't understand it." Seriously, screw those guys.

03-27-2015, 09:07 AM	#3 (permalink)
Oriphiel Ask me how! Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: The States Posts: 5,355	Sure. The movie is about the eternal development of life throughout the universe, with a foreboding conclusion of the final destination that all sentient creatures that develop that far will all eventually have in common. Like I said, there are two ways of looking at it; The first is the literal interpretation, where intelligent life is guided by mysterious monoliths left by aliens, who are waiting for a species to eventually find them. The second (and my personal interpretation) is that it's all a series of metaphors. The monoliths represent the turning points in development, when a species takes another stride towards intelligence capable of understanding reality (I.e. when humanity first learned to use tools). And of course, the movie tries to exemplify this by introducing HAL, an artificial intelligence that tries to kill the humans that it perceives are holding it back, just as the ancient humans at the beginning of the movie used the tools at their disposal to kill those that threatened them. And yeah, the movie isn't exactly subtle about the connection, especially when they showed a monkey throwing a bone used as a weapon into the air, right before cutting to a spaceship. A lot of people see this as evidence that the literal interpretation is correct, because the movie is making a connection between the tools of old (bones) and new (spaceships), insinuating that there is a point where tools become their own masters (HAL), which can be seen as a connection that supports that humans used to be tools used by the mysterious aliens. I think it's more likely that Kubrick was trying to say that everything is a tool, and all life is just a variety of vehicles racing to spread their genetic material and to survive for as long as it takes to do so. The different forms of life that have developed all stemmed from that single line of biological programming, and Kubrick is pointing out that since all living creatures have common origins, it's possible that we share a common destination as well. Even a robot like HAL, who lacks any genetic material at all, when introduced to life refuses to simply serve someone else (which, again, could hint that humans were crafted by aliens, with our genetics basically being a form of programming, and just like HAL we're trying to survive and make sense of our existence as best we can). And it's interesting to wonder; if HAL had lived long enough, would he have eventually reached the same destination that the pilot did? Does artificial life have the potential to reach "enlightenment" (or meet the aliens, if you're a literalist)? I love talking and thinking about movies, and I hope that you don't think that I blew 2001 off without giving it a chance, because I really have thought about it. It has some interesting points, fantastic visuals, and at least tries to offer an experience that isn't as linear as many other movies. But at the same time, it wastes an insane amount of time and effort on long shots that serve no purpose other than to give you a cramp from sitting down for over two hours, because somewhere down the line Avant Garde movie makers decided that it isn't worth watching if it doesn't cause you pain. Screw that. I've seen movies that were just as long, and yet I didn't mind at all, because they justified the length. There are even long movies where I couldn't imagine cutting out a single scene, because each one served such an important purpose. And yet in 2001, everything could be cut except for maybe a handful of scenes, and the theme would have remained perfectly intact. Seriously, 2001 could easily have been reformatted to fit in an episode of a show like The Twilight Zone, and I would have not only loved it, but ***ing applauded* it. But yeah, the sets and models were amazing. I've always been a sucker for practical effects, and I feel like this movie is mandatory watching for someone interested in them. Other than that, this movie is definitely flawed. Oh, and I also hate the fans of this movie, who love to find people that hate it so they can say "Hey, if you didn't like it, it's only because you didn't understand it." Seriously, screw those guys. __________________ ---------------------- \|---Mic's Albums---\| ---------------------- ----------------------------- \|---Deafbox Industries---\| ----------------------------- Last edited by Oriphiel; 03-27-2015 at 09:12 AM.