2001: A Space Odyssey

Kubrick's epic space drama following the dawn of man, a team of emotionless astronauts, and one particularly frightening robot in a journey through space and time

Grade: B+ (89/100) 

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Year Released: 1968

How can one begin a conversation about a film that has been unapologetically talked about since its release? It's no wonder to me that since Kubrick released 2001 it's been widely regarded as one of the most breathtaking works of cinema ever created. Truly the film's power lies in its sheer existential magnitude- before Star Wars, before contemporary CGI, before space movies were mainstream- what's staggering to me about this film is that someone actually had to make it. It boggles the mind to imagine how 2001's production took place, and fascinating to read about (I firmly believe that learning about a film's production is half the fun of the total experience). The production paid off, obviously; 2001 is not only widely recognized as one of the greatest films ever made, but it's also surely one of the most aesthetically delicious viewing experiences one can have. Watching this movie is an organized person's delight, but that's classic symmetrical Kubrick at work. Honestly though, and I do promise to give my honest opinions here, I had a lot of trouble making it through 2001 because I thought it was fairly boring.

Hear me out: there's a deeper message behind what I have to say here. Watching 2001: A Space Odyssey from the viewing screen of my Macbook on a hot summer afternoon, already fairly tired, was probably not the way Kubrick intended his film to be shown. I imagine that viewing 2001 would be significantly more powerful and stimulating in a theatre. But regardless, I found myself zoning out frequently during the long, quiet shots of landscapes and rooms and emotionless faces. Suddenly I was thinking about things that did not pertain to the movie necessarily- just thinking and watching and not really connecting the pieces. Then I felt guilty. Oh, god, I thought, I'm biased. Talking to my parents about the film I came to recognize my initial guilty feeling again; they spoke of the unprecedented technology and outlandish future gadgets depicted. When I watched the film I was not phased by the scene of Floyd talking to his daughter on a video phone- to me, that was just Skype. And my boredom- what caused it? Was it just the fact that I was tired and watching a long, quiet film? Or was is that I was raised on movies that succeed by overstimulating the senses of children with low-attention spans, two hours of content gags and visual stimulation? 

 I recognized while watching the film that today's audience of young people cannot possibly react to 2001: A Space Odyssey in the way that the generation before them could, both because we are underwhelmed due to lack of stimulation and because, having grown up in an age of technology, we aren't shocked and amazed by the production in the ways we might have been had we grown up fifty years earlier. It's a tragedy to me, but I also have to acknowledge the benefits of being a contemporary viewer of Kubrick's masterpiece, and I will point out three major benefits here: firstly, that 2001 has had an incredible influence on popular culture and is constantly parodied and evoked in media even 48 years after its release; secondly, that for the time of its conception and production it was immense and the story of its creation and subsequent development are worth exploring and admiring; and thirdly, that we now live in a time where some of the film's messages are more appropriate than ever.

Before I elaborate on the third point, I'd like to make the disclaimer that I've heard very frequently the warning not to overthink Kubrick movies. I understand these warnings and will return to them. I believe, from my own experience, that Kubrick can be seen as the Shakespeare of modern film in that his movies are so emotionally driven and subjective, open to multiple interpretations, meaty with substance, and uniquely beautiful and distinctive. My interpretation of 2001 is seasoned with my own experience growing up in a time of technology. Though I do remember a time before smartphones, I was around 12 when they become immensely crucial to society's functioning, and in the almost six years since then I have witnessed society progress to the point in which it probably couldn't function without the advancements made with smart technology. 2001 raises a lot of poignant questions about technology's place in humanity, and I felt a strong connection to the parts of the film that attempted to untangle some of those concerns.

It's not a new analysis to point out that the character of HAL 9000, the robot connected to the spaceship, is more human than the steely, cold astronauts aboard the mission; however, I believe that contemporary audiences can relate to this on a more developed level than people of the mid-20th century could. In many ways contemporary humans are more frequently being compared to mindless zombies and non-sentient robots due to our vast consumption of social media and technology. We can no longer do and act in ways that we once could in a scenario that would make Rousseau roll in his grave. When I witnessed HAL become more of a developed character than the astronaut Dave I was genuinely frightened, not necessarily for Dave's safety and the course of the film, but for the idea that plagues the minds of contemporary citizens of the world: that someday we may go so far as to be less human than the machines we create.

I'm sure there's more to be said about that, but I didn't want to dig deeper. I know we are supposed to take Kubrick films in the gut, feel them through our hearts and not our heads, let ourselves be immersed in the emotion they evoke from us. But every time we allow ourselves to evoke emotion at a film we learn a little about ourselves, and then we think: why do I feel this way? Society is best evaluated, in my mind, by untangling the emotions we feel after being provoked. 2001 is stunningly provocative in this manner. So sure. Take it for face value. Enjoy the stunning landscapes and visual effects. Feel fulfilled as the music swells and stirs you. But allow yourself to think about your own connection to it as well, especially during the year 2016, 15 years after the film is set. After all, this is the future.

I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey on Netflix. It is also available on Amazon Prime and for sale, I'm sure, at your local video store.