tori johnson rough draft : 2001

“A Space Odyssey” is a very important scientific fiction film from the late 1960’s. The film was the first of many to be created to show us viewers the evolution we have been through. The film was a collaborative project between Stanley Kubrick and sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke.  “A Space Odyssey” is considered by many as the best film ever made. It is a story of discoveries made, of potentials realized, of obstacles overcome, and of ends opening doorways to new beginnings. It has set the standard for many science fiction films that followed.  This film shows the viewers what humankind has been able to do and discover through evolution and defies traditional expectations.  The film seems to be very inspiring, but is definitely not a thrill ride. The lack of dialogue creates much more boredom than other films.

            Early in the film Kubrick shows the first of what he believes to have lived on the earth before humans, apes. These apes represent the beginning of the earth as the first creatures to live. These apes slowly evolved from animal to man. This is the idea of evolution and many people now a day are skeptical as to whether or not this is true. Thinking this idea is a bit ridiculous; I did not find this part of the film very interesting. As the movie progresses so does mankind, and being able to fly to the moon is a huge accomplishment for humans. When a large black monolith is found beneath the surface of the moon, the initial reaction is that someone buried it there. Then is when Dr. Bowman discovers more about the monoliths.

Along with humans, technology is slowly increasing. According to Larry Cousins, now there is a race between computers (HAL) and human (Dr. Bowman).  Having such an advanced computer seems good at first, with no problems or glitches in its records, until it slowly starts to try and take over. By doing things like not unlocking the door for Dr. Bowman and his fellow space mate to trying to control the entire flight, its starts to worry the astronauts. With this part of the film I think Kubrick was trying to show the audience what could potentially happen if computers were so advanced they could take over.

            With that the end of the movie comes into play. A life style and home controlled totally on technology speeds up Dr. Bowman’s aging process faster than the normal human. He is totally and completely alone and is slowly dying. The thought of this is not very appealing to me because I can’t imagine a life based largely on technology. According to Rob Humanick from Slant Magazine, “in all films, a climactic, organized sequence of alien landscapes, exploding nebulae, and wafting tides of organic space that practically leaps off the screen. Putting to shame the comparatively shallow thrills of virtually every blockbuster ever made.”  Although most critics and people find this film extravagant and outstanding I would have to disagree. To me the film was very slow and not very amusing. The music was very old and was very general, not standing out to me.