Spar Tederighi

It is simply not enough to condense this movie into a mass of superlatives. The wide expanse of the lunar landscape, breathtaking views of space, and psychedelic ending are all indicative of Kubrick’s brilliance. What many reviews seem to miss, however, are the many future technologies that Kubrick seemed to predict for a movie that was made one year before the Apollo 11 mission. It is almost eerie in terms of how accurate Kubrick was, as technologies shown in the movie include computer chess, AI assistants, tablets, and even digital conferencing. Some other technologies that are showcased in the movie include spacecraft that can generate artificial gravity (O’Neill Cylinders), suspended animation, and artificial general intelligence, all of which are technologies that are achievable within the next 50 years. The movie moves slowly, capturing the intricacies of space with each scene allotted a significant amount of time to elicit a sense of wonder from the audience at the sheer amount of detail contained in each scene. The ambient sound effects are phenomenal in that it contrasts with the silence of the movie to establish a cadence associated with the visceral emotions that are portrayed in the scene. While the movie may be perceived as repetitive to some due to its slow nature, the unparalleled beauty and attention to detail within each scene requires the viewer to be engrossed in the movie to digest. At its heart, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a story of the struggle between man and technology. While the monoliths that appear at certain points serve to represent that technological advancement that is occurring, it also symbolizes the devolution of man in their pursuit of technological supremacy. For instance, in the beginning scene where a monolith appears, the apes use bones to attack each other. As the film progresses, action begins to be incorporated as an element in more scenes. The main protagonists, Dr. Frank Poole and Dr. David Bowman, are being sent to Jupiter on the spaceship Discovery to investigate the origins of a strange radio signal from a monolith. Also on the ship is the HAL 9000, which is a super intelligent AI that can control all the functions of the ship. One day, HAL alerts the scientists to an issue with one of the components of the ship. As Dave checks the ship for any issues, none appear. The scientists suspect that HAL 9000 is the culprit behind the warning. Frank and Dave discuss their plans to disable the AI, but HAL can lip-read and understand their plans. This initiates the climax of the movie, where the struggle between man and technology becomes most evident through the juxtaposition between the silence of space and the tension of the protagonists as they face the metal Goliath. When Frank leaves the ship on a spacewalk, HAL moves the EVA pod away from Frank, leaving him stranded in space. As Dave attempts to rescue Frank and order HAL to open the door of the ship, HAL utters one of the most momentous lines in movie history: “I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.” This line signifies the turning point of man’s relationship with technology: it can no longer sustain the abuse from man. At certain points of the film, the AI’s drive to survive felt more “human” than any of the actual humans themselves, which is a testament to Kubrick’s genius in that this theme portends the overreliance that humans have on technology. In short: this movie is amazing.