My 2001 Space Odyssey reflection

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001 Space Odyssey is an artistic and beautiful commentary, on technology, and what it means to be human. Inspired by a book and produced in 1968, with only 40 minutes of dialogue, this movie relies on powerful imagery and a timeless musical score to tell three separate yet intertwined stories. The first part takes us back to primitive times, where a group of apes discover the tools. The second part follows Dr. Heywood R. Floyd and his crew as they make a trip to a moon space station to discus an alien artifact discovered under the surface. The third and arguable most famous part follows astronauts Dr. David (Dave) Bowman, Dr. Francis (Frank) Poole and Hal, a super computer that not only runs the ship but also has human intelligence and possibly human emotions, as they travel to Jupiter. I toughly enjoyed this movie for two main reasons: first, the use of silence and imagery, second, the advanced ideas of humanity and technology.
The first aspect of this movie that really caught my attention was how Kubrick played with the visual and auditory senses of the audience. Most of this film lacks dialogue, but a great position of the movie contains a riveting score. Although not everyone has seen this movie, many recognize the score; it is jut that powerful, and when it plays against the images Kubrick gives us it makes for an outstanding experience. Another portion of the movie does not have dialogue or music; instead it is the sounds of the crew working and the ship beeping. In one particular scene, where Hal is shutting down the hibernating crew, there’s only the sound of the beeping life support machine, and the panics ringing as a display announces “Computer Error”. Although that scene is mostly silent, it is both suspenseful and meaningful, because the computer is never suppose to error and because we as the audience know it is not an error, Hal is doing it on purpose.
The second aspect of the movie that I found intriguing was the sociological and technological commentary. It’s socially relevant now more so than back in the 1960’s. The theme of technology taking control has been used and reused a lot in books, T.V. and movies, but Kubrick was one of the first to do it well. Hal controls the entire spaceship and when he malfunctions he murders most of the crew, humans relied so much on technology that they gave it all the power, it is only through his own resourcefulness that Dave stops Hal. It also shows arrogance on the part of man, believing that we can create foolproof machines, and than control them. I couldn’t help thinking, when they constantly said, “No Hal 9000 has ever malfunctioned” and that it’s ‘impossible’ for it to make an error, that they also described the Titanic as ‘unsinkable’. The social commentary was also interesting, what does make us human? Hal was given human intelligence and thought processes, he could make his own decisions and possessed the power to worry, a BBC reporter even wonders if he can feel emotion. If Hal can feel emotion, and think, and make connections with people, how far from being human is he really? Is it flesh and bone, and DNA that make us human, or is it something else? The scene where Dave is disconnecting Hal, he tells Dave he “is afraid”. It really makes you wonder, if we give a computer all the mental and emotional elements of a person is it really still just a computer? And if not, what should we do when it malfunctions? Blame the programmers, or the computer itself?
Stanley Kubrick’s film; 2001 Space Odyssey, is a beautiful cinematic feat, that can inspire, perplex, and captivate people over 40 years after its release. The way Kubrick uses music, and silence, as well as color and light is mesmerizing, while simultaneously reflecting on technology and the future of mankind, should be studied and praised even now. Although we as a society have lost mass interest for this type of quiet, artistic film, it still has much to teach us. Although it may not be as fast paced as a superhero movie, or as heart stopping as a horror flick, or even as easy to watch as a comedy, this film has the power to make a person stop and think about the world around them; and that is timeless.