What is the meaning of 2001: A Space Odyssey?

[KellisJ2003]

After just finishing watching 2001: A Space Odyssey yet again, I am still dumbfounded by the films meaning. As Dave ventures through space and the infinite, he ends up in a classical looking room which is obviously highly futuristic still, and goes through the rest of the stages of his life followed by the black monolith showing up as the dying Dave points to it. Then, the infamous "star child" is seen, then is seen again right outside of the planet Earth followed by the end of the film. I cannot begin to understand this film on my own. I was wondering if anyone here who has seen the film has any insight to the meaning of this spectacular film, and what they think is this meaning of it. And if you have not seen the film, go out and rent it or buy it and describe to me what you think the meaning is. It is one of the best films ever made in my opinion because of the cinematography, and the musical score, but I know there are meanings to this film, and I am just trying to figure them out.

[GTC21]

I've never seen that but I've seen '2001 a SEX odyssey'.

[mellow mood]

ive seen sesame streets

[ermitonto]

I think the point of the movie was that all of mankind exists just so that some dude will be able to have an acid trip near Jupiter in the future.

(Yeah, it confused the hell out of me too)

[GHoSToKeR]

I used to know the meaning of it, but I forget... I think it had something to do with the square root of a chicken sandwich.

[4252]

Well, yeah, maybe it really is about some dude near Jupiter....

I had the same sort of questions. That was one hell of a movie, by the standards of the times. But most people never seemed to get past the knockout audio visual side of the thing, which was pretty splendid I think.

If you read the books, Clarke explains a lot of things which the movie doesn't. For example, he details the scenes with the apes, from their perspective. They learn to do all sorts of things after encountering the first monolith. There's a lot more about this in the book, beyond one ape killing another with an old bone.

There was a sequel, both a book and a movie; 2010. They pretty much complete the story, and add some more of what the first book/movie was about. Also, there was a "Making of" 2001 book that went into detail about the cinematography, models, effects, monkey suits, and so on.

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[4252]

By the way, I didn't want to give away much of the plot, in case you or anyone reading this wanted to discover it on their own.

But I think it's safe to say, that the last thing they heard from Bowman was "My God, it's full of stars".

42

[burgess367]

that movie is pretty good but i have no idea what it means. i bet i'd like more if i knew what it meant

[Dick Justice]

I happen to love this movie. Takes a second or third viewing, though.

It's about human fascination with the unknown and the unattainable. I think so, anyway. The monolith's appearances represent landmarks in human evolution, starting with the development of tools by apes. Then, when it goes forward to "2001," (via 1969) it shows man being pretty helpless in outer space. Especially the sequence on the space station that shows people eating liquid food like babies, or having to follow instructions to use the antigravity toilet, also like babies being potty trained.

HAL represents man outbuilding himself, and exhausting the use for technology. So when Dave follows the monolith out to Jupiter and goes into the white room (cue Cream) he's learning to transcend conventional human limitations--aka time-space continuum. He watches himself aging as if time were a solid, instead of a system of events that happen and extinguish into the past. So when he dies and is reborn as the foetus in space, it shows man evolving beyond the earth and all its constraints. It's basically about how evolution is inevitable, and how people will always be fascinated by the process, but will never reach a set, final end--since each end is a new beginning, a la the new space child.

But maybe that's just the acid talking.

[Edgar]

I think the point of the movie was that all of mankind exists just so that some dude will be able to have an acid trip near Jupiter in the future.

lmfao


HAL represents man outbuilding himself, and exhausting the use for technology.

I thought it was man outbuilding himself, and exhausting the use for man =P

but what do i know? I've only seen it once. I think i'll have to see it a few more times to fully appreciate it.

It seems like alot of the purpose of all kubricks movies is to get people to think about deep topics without giving them alot of direction so they can come to their own conclusions.

[ermitonto]

Hey Edgar, that was your 420th post.

[Edgar]

lol, thnx i almost missed that =)

[Hydrizzle]

All I know is, that is what I watched the first time i had hydroponic shrooms, and dude it is the trippiest shit i can imagine. It still trips me out just to think about it. The monkeys.... the monkeys.... ARGGGHHHH!!