Here-s another of
my movie reviews that - given my total absence of anything to do all day long
– makes me want to say this about the
movie that most has fascinated me and that goes in the face of the woman I’m
still married to.
2001: A
Space Odyssey is one my favorite sci-fi
of all time, I’ve committed far too many hours of my life watching it and I’m
now here to share my thoughts on what the ending means. 2001 has been puzzling
viewers since the day it came out and probably will forever continue to puzzle
people until humans are so advanced that we’ll become “Starchildren” like Dave
himself (if that’s possible anyway).
There are many
questions surrounding 2001 that have to be answered to figure out the ending
like, what is the monolith? Why did it appear in every step of human evolution?
What in the world even happened in the last 30 minutes of the film? Luckily for
you, I’m here to – hopefully – answer all of those questions and more with this
article.
I’ll start with
the monolith. With all of the evidence the film gives to us it, suggests that
the monolith is some sort of tool that a highly advanced alien civilization has
sent to Earth to progress the evolution of humans. Stanley Kubrick uses the
song ‘Requiem’ by Gregory Ligeti to not only create a chilling mood but also
give the monolith a voice. The sounds of ‘Requiem’ can be heard in five parts
of the film: the black screen before the movie starts, the Dawn of Man
sequence, the sequence with the astronauts on the moon, the ending of the
mission to Jupiter and the ending of the film itself when Dave is on the bed
with the monolith towering over him.
This music is the
monolith’s voice speaking to whoever it is facing. By having ‘Requiem’ play
over the black screen at the beginning of the film Kubrick is actually showing
us the first monolith even though it is too close for you to actually see the
shape. Think about it. Doesn’t the black screen go on for a little too long?
That was done intentionally by Kubrick. This is the monolith speaking to the
audience themselves which suggest that we’re about to witness a film so grand
and so magnificent that it will open up our eyes to things we’ve never even
thought possible. I know that all seems fairly pretentious and it would be, if
it wasn’t true but such is the genius of Stanley Kubrick.
All right, now
that I’ve explained the monolith and what its purpose serves I can explain the
ending in detail. 2001 is the story of human evolution itself from the
beginning (or monkeys, as per MY M. )
to the end and the ending of the film is Kubrick’s version of what the next
step of human evolution looks like (too bad he didn’t live to see the actual
2001). The part of the movie that people start to get confused at, is the “Stargate” sequence right after Dave
defeats HAL and learns of the reason he’s been sent to Jupiter. This is where
the monolith appears to him and the “Stargate” sequence begins.
What is actually
happening in this scene is Dave is being transported to what is basically a zoo
for all the different forms of life that the monolith has come in contact with
and is advancing (more on this in a minute). As Dave is being transported light
years into the universe the monolith shows to him things that he’s never even
had the ability to see for himself. He sees other planets and cosmic phenomena
that mankind had no idea even existed. There’s even one scene during the
“Stargate” sequence which appears like it could even be the monolith showing to
Dave the big bang.
The whole sequence
is also contrasted by Dave’s eye as it continues to blink and change colors
emphasizing this new wave of knowledge(Ui).
Once Dave has been
through the “Stargate” and has made his way into the alien’s zoo like
containment suite for him, he begins to age. The reason I call where he is, a
zoo is because there are subtle hints that suggest this, like the noises in the
background from strange creatures and his location in general. The room Dave is
in, looks like a mix of Victorian
furniture but with a very sterile modern look to it as well. This is because
the aliens have designed the room to look familiar to Dave so he feels as
comfortable as possible. This is the same thing we do with the animals in zoos
all around the world.
It was a genius
decision on Kubrick’s part to never actually show the aliens form because, for
all we know, they are so advanced that they probably don’t have any resemblance
to humans at all. By not showing the aliens Kubrick allows the monolith to be
our gateway to them when it appears to Dave on his death bed in his suite. The
whole time Dave has been here he’s been aging and learning.
Right before he
dies he points to the monolith is the same fashion that Adam is pointing to God
in da Vinci’s The Creation of Adam Sistine Chapel painting. This is done on
purpose to make the connection that, in the world of 2001, there is no God and
the aliens are the highest form of being (to Iacopo's and to my wife's satisfaction).
This is where most
viewers, myself included, really get lost in the film on the first viewing.
After Dave points to the monolith he is transformed into the “Starchild” which
is a glowing fetus like being but also has the appearance of a man in the face.
After this scene Dave is sent back to Earth by the monolith and the film ends as
Dave, -now the “Starchild" - looks on at our planet.
The reason the
“Starchild” was sent back to Earth is because the monolith has completed its
duty of advancing human life to its evolutionary limits so it sent the
“Starchild” back to continue its work. In the last 30 minutes of the film Dave
is given all the knowledge of the universe (cumulative) and has been transformed into an
immortal, all knowing being. Dave is now the film’s version of God sent back to
advance our race further than we ever could have by ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment