A Progressive Analysis of 2001
by Sandra Venturini
The first time I saw 2001, I couldn't tell the astronauts apart, let alone understand what the final sequence was all about. The first insights into the film I got later, from a book on Kubrick's work by Alexander Walker and from talks with a genuine mystic, Tony Fairburn of Gosford, NSW, Australia. With their preparation, I've seen the film dozens of times over the past 25 years and managed to elaborate some other ideas.
Of course, 2001 is open to many interpretations and probably even Kubrick couldn't provide the "correct" one. The film is, apparently, very different from the |
book (which I have the advantage of not having read) and, in production, Kubrick reduced the original script to its bare essentials.
But what are the "essentials"? The best we can hope for in interpreting 2001 is to find a coherent thread that runs through the whole work without becoming hopelessly entangled in the last 20 minutes, the part many viewers find totally baffling. For me, the thread is man's evolution and the fact that, to continue evolving in space, he needs to get rid of his body. It's the old matter vs. spirit story.
(Please note that the thread I'm proposing still has a few knots in it, the main one being tied around this point: Did HAL make a genuine error, and thus find |
himself dragged unwillingly into a mortal conflict with the Jupiter mission crew, or was the "mistake" part of a deliberate plot by HAL to isolate, divide and destroy them? Unfortunately, both interpretations find confirmation in the film. It remains a complete mystery...)
So here is The Definitive Explanation of 2001, with pointers to key scenes and clever cross-references...
1. The theme of 2001 is man's evolution, from ape through Earthman to astral being.
2. In the beginning, the ape has what it takes to make the first evolutionary leap. Presented with
>> Weiter >> |
