2001 a space odyssey (stanley kubrick)

[RADIOACTIVE MAN]

just watched this flick again for the zillionth time,..i have a few therories about what it's about or symbolizes,who else here has watched it..what do you think it's about? Especially the ending?

[ShaDynasty]

I've read that the monolith is the screen, like thats what we're seeing the film through, its the same shape as a film ratio screen.

I don't really feel that though. I feel that its some ancient information or maybe from the future, the equasion for creating new life. Like sent through the universe to spread knowledge by someone, and when someone comes into contact they have understanding that they have the answers.

I think it says a lot about technology, because the characters appear to be disconnected from each other and only discuss work and stuff, like theres almost too much knowledge, and thats when george clinton has to show up and wipe the slate clean.

alternatively: I don't know.

[Fresh]

didnt really know what to think of it tbh

i thought the monolith was just some omniscent being that furthered a species intelligence/to the next level at the right time

not sure what the starchild is tho

i dont agreewith that sosa about too much knowledge. i just took it as humans have come so far with communication and manners and i suppose empathy. i mean the apes just shouting at apes at the start, then millions of years later humans are at a stage were they talk always in a good manner and are very courteous to other humans.

[Cthulhu]

I read the summary of the novel (which Arthur C. Clarke wrote concurrently with the movie, though both were based on earlier Clarke stories) which seems to explain some of the more cryptic parts of the movie. Kubrick wanted the film to be a more visual, open-ended experience, so he removed a lot of the explicit explanations.

In the book, apparently, the spaceships in the beginning are supposed to be nuclear weapons aimed at places on earth. Kubrick removed any reference to them being weapons because he didn't want to create the impression that he was referencing his previous film Dr. Strangelove. The monoliths are supposed to be some kind of technology developed by a super-intelligent alien race. Both Kubrick and Clarke agreed that trying to depict any kind of super-intelligent alien would come off as campy, so for the film the creatures appearances are never shown, the only sign of their presence is the monoliths and the weird things that happen in the star gate thing.

The building at the end is supposed to be a suite designed to look like a human-made dwelling so as to make him feel at ease before he is transformed into a new type of creature, the star child. At the end, the star child destroys the nuclear weapons orbiting earth, but this is obviously not shown in the film.

I have not read the book myself, but from reading the summary, it appears to have a life-affirming, positive outlook, whereas whenever I watch Kubrick's film I get this feeling of slowly encroaching doom (even after HAL is defeated). So while I think Clarke's story is a useful tool in interpreting the images (or at least the origins of the images) in the film, my own personal interpretation is that it's all about humankind coming into contact with things that are completely beyond its comprehension. I don't claim to understand the motivations of the beings behind the monoliths, but I don't know if they are necessarily benevolent. I don't think they are evil either, but they are so beyond human conceptions of morality that any encounter is terrifying and mind-altering.

Also, the monoliths, in the book, are apparently like triggers or "sentinels" ("The Sentinel" is the name of one of the Clarke short stories that was adapted into the film and novel) that alert these alien beings to the progress humankind has made. The first one alerts them that hominids have acquired higher thinking skills, the one on Jupiter's moon alerts them that humans have acquired advanced space travel, and the one beyond Jupiter is the entrance to the star gate, because now humankind is ready for the next evolutionary step (just as the first monolith signaled the change from ape to human). Personally, though, the opening scene gives me this more cynical feeling that the essence of humankind is violence and cruelty because after touching the monolith the ape creatures learn how to use weapons for war (granted, they needed to defeat the other tribe to gain access to the water hole or they were going to die).

Just some of my thoughts.

[Uncle Steezo]

the monolith represents the black man handing knowledge to the uncivilized spawn of yakub.

think about it...

also notice how there were no black people in the movie.

[RADIOACTIVE MAN]

interesting view points,how do you guys feel about immortality and the probablilities of obtain it traveling through different cosmos? That's kinda one of ny theories

[Uncle Steezo]

I feel that immortality is th edefault state of humanity, if we lived in a pristine eanvironment and lived healthily and ate right, we could live forever with today's medicine.

[Cthulhu]

lol

[RADIOACTIVE MAN]

I feel that immortality is th edefault state of humanity, if we lived in a pristine eanvironment and lived healthily and ate right, we could live forever with today's medicine.

im very inclined to believe this tho,seriously..what if we lived in a planet without disease or stress and ate just the right type/amount of food that our body needed..maybe we could live forever,..i do think our ways of live definately shorten our lifespan,especially with pollution in the air etc..i agree to an extent with that style