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2001: A Space Odyssey, Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Context: America 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
Structure
Plot
Characterisation
Setting
Additional notes on technique
Science fiction conventions in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Analysis of text and language in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Student activity
Bibliography/resources
Context : America 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey focuses more strongly on the hopes and dreams of humanity than on dire warnings of the consequences of the misuse of science and technology. Segregation between black and white American was a divisive issue and Martin Luther King’s assassination in April was followed by the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Already shocked by these politically charged events, America was concerned when 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops Russian troops invaded Czechoslovakia. Richard Nixon was elected in November and America looked forward to some stable, strong direction. In December America launched Apollo 8, the first piloted American mission to the moon. The Space program encouraged the wider society to see America as conquering the next great frontier, not as victims of social unrest.
Arthur C. Clarke is one of the giants of science fiction and his short story The Sentinel considerably modified in the process of collaboration between Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, the director of the film, formed the basis of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Clarke’s extensive knowledge of science and exhaustive research into space travel underpin the text which for that reason can be described as ‘hard science’ with strong elements of the ‘epic’ and ‘anti –utopia’. 2001: A Space Odyssey reflects his view that the ramifications of science and technology for humanity are positive. Clarke is optimistic in believing intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. The evolution of humanity and arguably its metamorphosis into something far more complex can be seen in many of his texts including his collaboration with Kubrick in the film with its enigmatic symbol of alien intelligence, the monolith.
The aim of 2001: A Space Odyssey is didactic and, as in hard science fiction, a detailed knowledge of science and technology dominates the text. The focus is not on the wonder of undiscovered frontiers but in confronting what is scientifically verifiable for the responder, even that which is external to the narrative.
However, as an anti-utopian writer who deems a perfect world is not viable or even desirable Clarke argues that the future of humanity lies in pursuing greater knowledge – a better future does not need to be a perfect society where all problems have been eliminated. Clarke was a firm believer in intelligent extraterrestrial life and that it was a matter of when, not if, we would encounter them. The responder is no longer encouraged to accept what is represented in the text at face value but rather to interrogate and re-interpret.
What premises are Clarke and Kubrick rejecting and how are they reflected in 2001: A Space Odyssey? It is true that the film does adopt a culturally specific notion common among Clarke, his contemporaries and arguably many Western and Eurocentric cultures that humanity will always pursue knowledge; paradoxically, this tends to assume the right to dominate new frontiers. Therefore, an appropriate future vision is the endless expansion of our horizons to dominate our solar system and beyond, not the elimination of poverty, disease and the pursuit of stability or equality. Certainly, the future as depicted in 2001: A Space Odyssey includes the expansion of spatial and technological horizons and adventure.
Humanities’ need for mystical and religious experience is a common trope 
among science fiction texts as is the role of religion and the missionary or messiah. In Huxley’s Brave New World, John the Savage’s role represents John the Baptist preaching morality and humanist values in a decadent totalitarian society.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Clarke, like Huxley and Herbert, is wary of humanity’s reliance on religious experience. The missionary protagonist in science fiction texts is the product of anthropology and the missionary movements of the 19th century. It is the history of the outsider, the archetypal adventurer, like the police, merchant, soldier and journalist. The function of this character is to ask questions and bring religion. Paradoxically, the missionary precipitates the destruction of faith because, unlike religion, the science fiction convention, a sense of wonder, seeks understanding not blind faith. All the composers in this study share the concern that scientists, political leaders and intellectuals are too weak to reject or expose the misleading and potentially dangerous influence of religion. Huxley’s Brave New World has technology and science harnessed to economic and political stability and Neuromancer’s world of cyber crime, multinationals and environmental degradation is the playground of technology untrammelled by any rules. Herbert’s Dune Trilogy goes further by demonstrating a symbiotic relationship between gods and humanity and the functionalist use of religion to challenge, obtain and maintain power.
Structure
The linear narrative structure re-enforces the importance of the journey of discovery and the pursuit of knowledge rather than the complexities of human relationships. The epic voyage of many early science fiction texts which grew out of mythology and utopian fantasy texts informs the narrative and iconography of Clarke’s text. However, the sense of wonder in early science fiction was maintained through the discovery of a new place or a new invention. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, the spacecraft itself, Hal and deep space meet this criterion. The sole survivor of the voyage, David Bowman, also conforms to the tropes of the protagonist who is unfamiliar with the phenomenon he encounters. The difference in this text is that he does not describe or explain the experience in the narrative to the viewer, because Kubrick sees this film as providing a non-verbal experience which appeals to the subconscious.
David Bowman conforms to the archetypal epic hero, the modern equivalent of Homer’s Odyssey . However, the dangers and difficulties that this hero faces are in the encounters with futuristic technology and the black monolith. The monolith provides the element of mystery and is a forerunner of an alien intelligence that first appears to the proto-humans and later orbits the planet Jupiter, seemingly, luring humans with the possibility of endless power and knowledge through a single Overmind.
Plot
The prehistory of humanity and proto-humans is subjected to the intervention of external forces represented by a point of light. A device to observe and educate these early humans is the monolith. It causes the main proto-human, Moon-watcher, to use an implement as a weapon, introducing technology to the world. A hundred thousand generations into the future, the space craft Discovery journeys from the Earth to Saturn on a mission to investigate the extraterrestrial artefact discovered by Dr Heywood Floyd on a previous mission. Knowledge of the strong signal emitted by TMA-1 after its discovery is deliberately withheld from the active crew members, David Bowman and Frank Poole. The active third member of the crew, the supercomputer HAL, has been pre-programmed to run the ship with minimal human intervention. It has also been programmed to perform a secret mission. HAL becomes a victim of conflicting functions. He has to tell the truth and to kill his human cargo. HAL malfunctions destroying all but Bowman who then destroys HAL. The enigmatic ending sees Bowman transformed into the Star Child.
Characterisation
Bowman
Bowman’s character is even more two dimensional than his science fiction counterparts and less empathic. Humanity is shown to be cold and ruthless. Nominally the hero, a future Odyssey, Bowman is the lonely hero of science fiction conventions. He too struggles against seemingly insuperable odds: deep space, a conspiracy by the voyage’s mastermind Dr Heywood Floyd’s plot to destroy him and Poole, employ their frozen teammates and the malfunctioning and murderous master computer. Bowman survives albeit metamorphosed, facing an imploded vision of past, present and future.
HAL – villain?
The master computer whose brain controls the spacecraft is variously described as uber-villain and victim. Ironically, compared with Mond in Brave New World and Neuromancer and Wintermute in Neuromancer, HAL is represented as a sympathetic character especially through the monologue during his death. ‘I’m afraid.... ‘I’m afraid..... ‘I’m afraid.....Dave.... Dave...my mind is going .... I can feel it...I can feel it.....my mind is going. ...there is no question about it. ...I can feel it....’
The gradual breakdown of HAL’s mind, his fear of being incapacitated and disempowered are expressed in very human language. His ‘death’ is the only representation of emotion in the text and perhaps suggests that humanity has less to fear from artificial intelligence than from corrupt human megalomaniacs and our alienation.
Minor supporting characters
They are plot devices not required for the thesis that informs the text and remain two dimensional.
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Setting
Pre history
The brief episode in prehistory introduces the monolith and warns of humanity’s capacity for violence as symbolically represented by the bone flung by the empowered proto-human transforming into a spacecraft.
Deep Space
The film’s setting in deep space, circuiting the moons of Jupiter, through the universe and within the spacecraft are its distinguishing characteristics.
Responders share the crafts careening though galactic and planetary systems in a visual tour de force. Therefore the sense of wonder is evoked by science, technology and the universe itself.
Interior of Space craft
Kubrick and Clarke’s attention to detail provide verisimilitude, as do the impatient, frustrated and occasionally bored responses of the astronauts.
Additional notes on technique
Style
The film’s epic narrative, archetypal characters, minimal dialogue and intensely visual and aural style reflect the belief that it is the destiny of humanity to transcend the limitations of the present through the pursuit of infinite knowledge.
Consider:
- contextual concerns and Clarke’s belief in intelligent extraterrestrial life and the representation of cultural, political or scientific events in the text.
- intertextuality, especially in the use of music including the sound track as it positions the responder’s responses, establishes mood and atmosphere.
- the Epic and the Western genre in the characters, plot and setting. The sub genres of anti utopian and hard science fiction in the film’s narrative
- the narrative structure of frame-story, flash back, contrasting perspectives and voices including the narrator and the voice over, withheld information
- characterisation, use of costume and colour in creating empathy or alienating the responder
- symbolic use of colour including black and white film to influence the mood and focus the audience’s attention on aspects of character, mise- en-scene , themes and mood.
Film techniques:
- lighting and camera angles
- high, level and low angled shots
- distance, mid, close up and extreme close up shots
- wide, establishing shots
- panning shots following the action
- zoom - the camera moves in or out focus and tension
- editing and the juxtaposition of scenes to comment on themes and contextual concerns
Language
Dialogue is minimal, often banal but consistently accurate in terms of the science informing the text.
Music
Kubrick uses the musical score to facilitate the creation of a metaphysical experience for viewers. The opening sequence to Richard Strauss’ Thus Spake Zarathusa creates the mood for the prehistoric Dawn of Man sequence set in Africa. This music also intensifies the moment at the end of the sequence when Moon-Watcher seems to comprehend the potential power of weapons represented by the bone he holds. The three million year flash forward to the space ship in flight foreshadows humanity’s future. Herbert von Karajan’s interpretation of Johann Strauss’s waltz The Blue Danube emphasised the grace and beauty of weightlessness as a sound track for the evolutionary jump into the vista of the space station. Humanity will decide if technology and science are to be benign or destructive. The music of Felix Mendelssohn and Vaughan Williams overlaid over the scenes of weightlessness, the lunar excavation and special effects in the Star Gate Journey intensified the sense of wonder and the metaphysical elements of the film.
Colour
Against the backdrop of deep space the astronauts’ suits are in contrasting primary colours, the bright yellow and red of Poole and Bowman’s suits resembling the carapaces of monstrous insects, a metaphor extended by the helmets that further dehumanise them. The bright lights on the control panels represent the power of the machine as does the antiseptic, claustrophobic interior of the craft, including the sealed coffin-beds of the doomed sleeping astronauts.
HAL’s power dominates the visual imagery, the glowing red eye has connotations of an omniscient, and omnipotent force. The eye also has connotations of sight and blindness, a motif used in canonical texts from Oedipus Rex to King Lear. The symbolic function of the eye is to only to question or warn against the power of the machine but to draw our attention to our own refusal to see the consequences of our actions, personal and political. In keeping with the contemporary American ideology and the prototypical Western hero, Bowman prevails over HAL, the threat to the status quo unlike the Savage and Leto who die. Or, Case who survives only to accomplish the plans of Wintermute and Neuromancer, David Bowman pilots a pod to continue his mission of discovery.
Here Clarke warns of the consequences of our efforts to conquer space and ignore the possibility of intelligent alien life forms. The ambiguous concluding sequences leave the responder to form their own conclusions. The traditional definition of romance, even to the extent that it exists in Neuromancer or Brave New World is absent from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The romance that exists is between the protagonist (and our) relationship with the universe.
Science Fiction conventions in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Sense of wonder:
- the universe itself
- moons of Jupiter
- galaxies and planets
- the space craft
- the master computer HAL
- the monolith,the hibernaculum in which the astronauts slept.
The underlying concept is of intelligent but non organic extra-terrestrials – perhaps spaceship themselves.
Verisimilitude, Alienation:
- the means of communication,
- the scientific facts represented in the sets, costumes, props and mise-en-scene. NASA, IBM, and GE were consulted to ensure the scientific integrity of the film.
- the isolated astronauts, the malfunctioning computer.
Cognitive estrangement – (See sense of wonder). The embedding of the text with invented lexicon which is much less so than the other texts.
Invented lexicon – see above.
Seeding the text
The building up of meaning gradually where scientific phenomenon is explained through an accumulation of details, including characterisations.
Info dump
The text relies on the mystery and the visceral response of the audience rather than explanations or rhetorical passages to further the thesis.
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Analysis of Text and Language in 2001: A Space Odyssey
Remember that the ‘how’ of the language must be integrated into your comments on the relevant aspects of the text: characterisations, mood, theme, pace, tension etc.
In your responses make sure to comment on:
- alternation of settings and perspectives – as during HAL’s murder of Poole, interior with Bowman’s perspective and HAL’s of deep space
- restricted characterisation – Bowman the protagonist, emotionless, unaware, confused or powerless. Finally Bowman defies HAL the antagonist, and takes control
- style - amalgam of stylistic modes
- epic – Odyssey
- anti-utopian
- hard science
- language – minimal dialogue-mixture of technical and banal dialogue, music, silence and visual imagery instead
- use of musical score and silence
- enigmatic ending – question of self and the world unresolved
- questioning of nature, of humanity and the universe, prophesy of intelligent perhaps non organic extra terrestrial life, not a warning of drastic human consequences due to technological developments.
When studying 2001 Space Odyssey
Analysis is just one component, a creative response is equally important. Science Fiction has been influenced by a variety of other genres reflecting the social, philosophical and theatrical context in which the texts were developed. In planning your responses, take into account the HSC markers’ comments, refer to the rubric in the Syllabus and the Prescriptions.
Student activity
Critical Response
How is the potential of space travel used to reassure society and combat the negative consequences of political assassinations and the cold war in the 1960’s in 2001: A Space Odyssey?
Creative response
Research a possible setting for an alien life form, remembering Clarke’s contention that such a form may not be organic. Use your setting and the potential encounter to explore some of humanities hopes in the 21st century. Choose your text type remembering to ensure the text reflects your understanding and knowledge of Science Fiction.
Bibliography/resources
- Edward, J & Mendlesohn, F.(ed) 2003 Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. Cambridge University Press
- Hartwell, D. G. Hard Science Fiction. Hartwell & Cramer, (eds), The Ascent of Wonder.
- McAleer. N.(1992 ). Odyssey. The Authorised Biography of Arthur C. Clarke. Victor Gollancz Ltd. Great Britain
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