Greetings, and welcome to Earthling Cinema, where we examine the last remaining
artifacts of a once proud culture, and try
to understand what human lives were like before
their planet was destroyed.
I am your host, Garyx Wormuloid. This week's
film is 2001: A Space Odyssey, named after
the year 2001, when humans traveled into space
for the first time.
Considered a masterpiece, 2001 tells a familiar
narrative: ape meets ape, ape meets Monolith,
ape meets tool, tool meets ape, tool meets
spaceship, spaceship meets spaceship, spaceship
meets boy, boy meets supercomputer, boy meets
Stargate, baby meets planet. A classic story.
But what does it all mean?
In the first act, we see a group of early
humans chased off their land by another faction
of equally early humans. They soon discover
the Monolith, and, awed by its majesty, congregate
around it and touch it with their grimy fingers.
The Monolith grants them Reason, or at least
as close to reason as one can expect on a
Class 7 planet. Reason yields the invention
of the tool, and turns the ape-men into carnivores,
like how I used to be before I married a vegan.
The ape-man celebrates his newfound dominance
by throwing his bone into the air -- fellas,
you know what I'm talking about -- at which
point the filmmakers employ a match cut to
the spaceship.
This is the most famous cut in Earth's film
history, and an example of what Soviet filmmaking
pioneers called "Intellectual Montage." The
collision of two unrelated images creates
meaning. The spaceship, like the bone, is
a tool.
This new technology is the direct result of
four million years of using reason. Other
technological advancement include hats...
And a big, circular treadmill.
The Monolith appears again, this time on one of Earth's fifty-some odd moons. But when
the astronauts approach the Monolith, they
behave differently from their savvy ape forebears.
Whereas the apes approach it with reverence,
the humans, however, approach arrogantly,
as if they have discovered, and thus, conquered
it.
"Congratulations on your discovery. Which may well prove to be among the most significant in the history of science."
They even try to take a picture of themselves standing beside it using an enormous
cellular phone, probably a Samsung Galaxy Note.
They think of it as their "catch."
The Monolith is none too pleased.
Throughout the movie, the camera dwells on
images of technology, and the main characters
are "saturated" in the lights emitted by said
technology.
It may be a stretch to call it "technology," they haven't even developed a warp drive.
Nevertheless, earthlings have become
so dependent on technology that it has come
to define their stage of humanity.
And in deep space, humanity is out of its
element. Even with all those cute little gadgets
and gizmos, in the infinitive unknown, the
Earthlings are nothing but children -- or,
as Earthlings call them, tadpoles. Astronauts
have to relearn their basic bodily functions...
...and their food resembles baby food. For
anyone repulsed by the sight of human digestion,
please turn away now.
Indeed, with the humans infantilized, Hal
is the most dynamic character,
"The most reliable computer ever made."
not to mention the snappiest dresser.
Hal is frequently shot in closeup, as
the camera deliberately tries not to feature
human faces in most conversations. The astronauts
don't really have distinguishing characteristics,
other than their frail bodies and gangly limbs.
They are stoic and speak in banalities;
"Yeah, looks like you're right. I resign."
Hal is the only one to express anxiety or fear.
"I'm a prey."
In a sense, the humans are more robotic than
their robot counterpart, who is a robot.
But if Hal is the paragon of reason, the monolith
seeks to show Dr. Bowman what lies beyond
reason. Of course, his puny mind can't comprehend
the complexities of that realm, so he just
sees a bunch of pretty colors. For those of
us who know what it's really like, respect.
The film ends on an optimistic note. The Monolith
reveals itself to an elderly Dr. Bowman and
he is reborn as a giant space baby overlooking
the Earth, which was uncommon for humans of
that era. This sequence hints at the ideas
of renewal and evolution. If you watch the
movie high, this hints at every idea
you could ever imagine.
For Earthling Cinema, I am Garyx Wormuloid.
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