2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Kubrick and Clark. The film was released on the sixth of April 1968 and immediately gained the recognition of the public. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards and one of them was specifically given for its visual effects. The movie comments on the history of evolution beginning from prehistoric era till the present time when a human being reaches the highest peak in technology development by traveling to Jupiter. While focusing on human evolution “2001: A Space Odyssey” also deals with the elements of artificial intelligence and extraterrestrial life. The movie is especially notable for minimal use of dialog. On the other hand the music plays significant role in shaping the content of the movie as it occupies almost the entire scene of the film. The film is especially distinguished for the sophisticated context. I like the way Kubrick starts the film and the way he created suspense to the viewer by introducing several unfamiliar elements in his movie. However, I did not like some of the elements in the movie because they seemed illogical to me. As a result, 2001: A Space Odyssey has always been viewed as a mysterious movie by the viewers.
When I first watched the movie, I was totally confused. The plots were really sophisticated for me. Especially absence of dialogues was something unusual because I was not used to the movie with predominantly more music than usual. The transitions from prehistoric era into the modern life seemed somewhat hard to grasp. However once I watched the movie the second time, things gradually began to clear up in my mind. I now figured that it requires reasoning and logical thinking to penetrate the hidden meaning of the movie. For instance, the transition to the space from prehistoric era was perfectly demonstrated by an ape throwing the bone into the sky. This metaphor indicates that starting from the employment of the bone people are the smartest creatures in the world who reached the space through the advent of sophisticated technology. Satellites and computers Hal 9000 are an excellent testimony to this fact value unlike other movies because it has a hidden meaning which makes the reader to explore its content. Stanley Kubrick backs up this point saying that:” How much would we appreciate La Giaconda [the Mona Lisa] today if Leonardo had written at the bottom of the canvas: 'This lady is smiling slightly because she has rotten teeth', or 'because she's hiding a secret from her lover'? It would shut off the viewer's appreciation and shackle him to a 'reality' other than his own. I don't want that to happen to 2001”. I also pointed out the fact that by this film the producer is also trying to tell us that we have to be aware of what we have created and not get into its loop. For instance Hal 9000 was a computer with designed with human characteristics which had the control of the ship. However, in the end it malfunctioned and could kill the entire crew.
However, I came across some plots which were really illogical and did not make sense. The demonstration of Black monolith three times and the flying starkid in the end were really farfetched. I did not understand as to why the other used black monolith to transition from one stage of development or change to another. Seeing it in the desert near the cave for monkeys, under the lunar surface and near the deathbed did not greatly surprised me. The flying kid in the sky was another incredible scene for me because there is no air in the space so how can a human being fly. Therefore I believe that these two cases played down the value of the movie.
In general, I like the movie because it is mystical and create suspense for the viewer. At the same time I think thank that it is a great source of information explaining the human evolution from prehistoric era till the present time. The music is a great catalyst for the viewer to grasp the sophisticated plot of the movie. However, the movie could have been a lot improved and flawless if the black monolith with flying kid had a justified logical meaning to the context of the movie