Korova Multimedia § 2001 FAQ additions

Date: Mon, 19 Jan 1998 15:15:20 -0800 From: David Spalding To: Barry Krusch Subject: alt.movies.kubrick FAQ: 2001 suggestions RE: http://www.krusch.com/kubrick/faq.html Hi, Barry. I'm spending some time reading your FAQ, particularly the 2001 portion (is this the most current version?). It's great, has some wonderful ideas throughout! I'd like to offer some corrections and additions, based on my studies of the film. If this is more appropriate to post to the newsgroup for discussion, let me know. Thanks. ____________ DAWN OF MAN "-- Existence of the bone guarantees that chimps must now divide into separate, rival groups:" Actually there are already groups. They have a "fight" over the water before the Monolith appears. "-- Is the chimp who touched the Monolith the same one who wielded the bone? " Yep. He's Moonwatcher. He may be the most advanced, too; he walks semi-upright before the others (after killing the other leader). Remember also the parallel of his tentative touching of the monolith, mirrored by his counterpart, Dr. Floyd. "-- Stewardess returns Poole's pen ..." Oops. Dr. HEYWOOD FLOYD's pen. I've always loved the juxtaposition of the bone, nuclear satellites, Pan Am clipper and finally the pen as a direct tie between Moonwatcher and Floyd. What Moonwatcher did with a bone, Floyd (civilized, technologically advanced man of power) now does with a pen. ("The council has requested formal security oaths from anyone who has any knowledge of this event....") The cut takes us up, up higher, out, then back in, further in, and there's the doppelganger character, snoozing in a spacecraft. (BTW, his hand is outstretched, further reinforcement, as if we didn't have enough, that he'd been using the pen for something, then "lost" it.) "-- Banality of dialogue matches quality of food." The dialogue is anything but banal. Most lines have a direct purpose. The initial lines, at the least, indicate that Floyd is one hell of a VIP. (As mentioned elsewhere, he's separate from the group, riding alone in the Clipper.) I've found that as the film progresses, the dialogue is rich in indications of what we may not see clearly in the plot. Seen silently, the film is rather cryptic -- why the heck is an astronaut killed by a machine? why does another have to make an emergency disconnection of the super- computer? If Floyd's such an important person, travelling to Clavius "to be here with us today," why doesn't anyone other than a base administrator ask any questions? "-- Hypothesis: World finally achieved cooperation..." I disagree. Floyd's confrontation and verbal jousting with [Leonard Rossiter] is anything but cooperative. He's gently interrogated on a classified matter, and Floyd cannily lies to him. Note also that when they all sit down at the lounge, [Rossiter] very sneakily slides his "drink" away from Floyd, while continuing to invite him to "join us in a drink." Floyd, of course, consistently declines ("I'm meeting someone for breakfast..."). The whole contest about "drinking" has continued for 4 million years! Of course, Floyd's pep talk on "absolute security in this matter" on Clavius doesn't have to mean that they're protecting the public. The scientists and administrators on Clavius are involuntarily involved in keeping the secret from the Russians. It's made very clear that the Russians (Soviets) and Americans have separate bases. ("One of our moonbuses was denied an emergency landing...") This indicates a continuing era of detente, at best. ("Did the crew get back all right?" Back where, Heywood? Back to "their side" of the moon?) Drinking as a reference to man's first topic of conflict continues throughout the film. On the Aries, the crew and Floyd "sip" their meals. There's water jugs and glasses all around the conference table at Clavius. And finally, Bowman makes a quite a fuss over his water in The Room At the End (RATE). Intriguing aside: in 2010, Clarke has the ETI focus on a frozen moon which, with a new sun nearby, would host new lifeforms. "-- "You know, that was an excellent speech you gave us, Heywood..."" I personally interpret that Floyd is being only a little less than dishonest with the Clavius personnel than with the Russians. (Are they department heads?) He's passing on some gladhanding from the Council, but also enforcing security issues (which is sort of what Moonwatcher was doing with the pool of water). He continues in this vein throughout the film. He evades the one question he's asked, and then punctuates his "closing" with a rather threatening demand for "formal security oaths" (whatever that could be). His chuckling and smiling is about as strong an example of Kubrick's sarcastic irony as I've seen. THE SHINING has yet more. There's Floyd's offer to include anyone's comments in his formal report ("in private, if you like").... Come on. Considering all that Floyd says and does in this film, can we take him at his word? In fact, is there any indication that he does anything for the Council OTHER than administer security issues? "-- Note: food is getting blander and blander, " There's also the rather unappetizing liquid meals on the Aries 1B. Cute pictures of what the liquid is supposed to be wouldn't entice me any more (pureed carrots, anyone?). Also note that the head honcho on the moonbus mentions that the sandwiches "all taste the same, anyway." "-- Poole jogging: hamster in the exercise wheel." He's shadow-boxing. Fighting. His name is "Poole," a play on the metaphor of the pool of water. He rather forcefully proposes the solution of disconnecting HAL (killing him) if the failure mode analysis indicates the computer ("sixth crewmember") is screwing up. "-- HAL's view is, literally, "warped."" HAL's vision is a fish-eye lens. Literally, all-encompassing. I'm not sure I'd say it's warped. "-- HAL: "There can be no question about it."" Two possibilities. HAL has learned (or been corrupted) to tell lies, and maintain secrets. Or HAL cannot handle the idea of a mystery, as Moonwatcher, Floyd and Bowman try to. Note Floyd's reaction to the assessment that the second monolith was deliberately buried. He repeats the statement, and just chuckles incredulously, shaking his head. "-- HAL knew what was on Jupiter." It's established that HAL is "one of the guys," just another crewmember; whether he even has feelings is open to debate. His core value is the faithful processing of information, but Floyd (or other authority) have also forced him to hide the true meaning of their mission. When he baits Bowman with the "odd rumors floating about," and Bowman catches him in the deception ("You're working up your crew psych profiles, aren't you?"), HAL lies about some equipment malfunction. The conflict between HAL's instructed behavior and his core value results in a homicidal dementia. Something not unknown to the first "advanced" human entity we meet -- Moonwatcher. Since it's been established (the BBC-12 program) that HAL is designed to behave just like a human, and, gee whiz, he might actually have real feelings, his extreme actions to cover up the "big secret" of the Discovery's mission aren't inconsistent with other leaders in the film. What IS inconsistent is that Bowman is alleged to be the Mission Commander ... yet HAL seems to be in charge. Moonwatcher has become Floyd has become HAL. Bowman's reaction to all this is the preamble to his final transformation into the Star Child. I seem to recall that in the book, Clarke said that observatories on earth could detect a floating monolith orbiting Jupiter (or was that 2010?). If so, perhaps HAL also had this data to keep secret, aside from Floyd's pre-recorded briefing. Further topics for inquiry: the "conflict" between HAL and the "twin 9000" computer back home at earth. The continual curiosity (quest for secrets) demonstrated when HAL inquires about Bowman's drawings, and eavesdropping on Poole and Bowman's very melodramatic attempt at privacy. "H.A.L." was some kind of "self-programming" or learning design ... so HAL is perhaps a computer who inquires about mysteries just as humans do. "-- Careening pod: HAL throwing away the murder weapon." The floating weapon/tool metaphor reappears. The pod is flying through space. And later, at Jupiter, the Stargate monolith is floating about, representing the unknown, and what is now clearly established as a sort of "tool" for the aliens. Note also that Bowman uses a small tool to "punch out" HAL's higher logic circuits. Kubrick could just as easily had him press buttons and flick switches. The use of a tool to "kill" HAL carries on the theme. o Moonwatcher: that darn bone. o Floyd: his pen. A portfolio (space station). o HAL: an EVA pod. o Bowman: a clipboard (first shot in centrifuge hub). A pen (charcoal?) for drawing. Test bench probe (AE-35). A small tool for working in HAL's logic center. "-- Bowman has to let go of death for life. " Echoing an earlier note, Bowman has to separate himself from his fellow man (his second-in-command, really) in order to survive and continue on. Rather than just "parking" the body next to the air lock, he literally throws Poole away. Many metaphors can be derived from this action; who/what does Poole represent? and why would the artistically-inclined Bowman throw him away? "-- 2001 "breaks" at the literal level here: HAL could have killed Bowman quickly by depressurizing Discovery; Bowman wouldn't have had time to put his suit on. " There's a spacesuit in the emergency airlock. That's why he's wearing a mismatched helmet when we dissolve to Bowman walking out of the airlock to HAL's logic center. Also: HAL is not thinking according to his programming. He malfunctions. So one can't expect him to commit the perfect crime. It's new to him. NOTE: If this FAQ is related to HAL depressurizing the ship *before* Bowman leaves on his rescue effort ... never mind. Yes, HAL could've done that. But this a mythic story, not a whodunnit in space. "-- HAL's brain: tiny monoliths (many, broken up, not unified). " And they're clear, not black and mysterious. On color: many of the sets are white, even white backlit walls. The Discovery features for some black insets and accomodations within the greater white decor, inside (naturally) a white spacecraft which resembles a bone. Also intriguing: the Room At the End is decorated in a similar motif, though the white walls contain furniture which matches the unappetizing green stuff which Bowman had been eating. "-- That psychedelically colored, blinking, astounded eye of Bowman's, so much in contrast to the eye of HAL . . ." Many, many of the images in 2001 are orbs, circular, perhaps echoing the "cycle" theme of the film: birth/death, discovery/ secrecy, exploring/hiding (secluding). The planets are orbs, HAL's "eye" (his visual characteristic) is an orb (looks like Mars, actually, the god of war), the Discovery is an orb on the end of a bone-like apparatus, the pods are orbs, the living quarters are a circle within the globe, the viewports on the pods are egg-shaped, the Aries was an orb, the space station was a circle.... And on and on. (You can watch the film just to trace Kubrick's use of the circle as a symbol throughout the film.) In stark contrast, the monoliths are clearly inorganic, made by an intelligence, and have nothing natural about them at all. They're an "anomaly" in the natural scheme of things, and in fact continually tamper with the normal progression of events. "Its origin and purpose remain a total mystery." ** Separation from others. The will to go alone. As mentioned, the "leadership" characters in 2001 break off from the group to advance a cause. Moonwatcher, clearly the leader of his tribe, is the first to touch the monolith. Discovers the use of tools, while set apart from the others. The first to kill (implied). The first to start walking upright. The first to murder (setting an example that's immediately mimicked, almost comically, by others.) Floyd rides the clipper alone. Is treated with obvious deference by all other characters. Sits at the head of the conference table. In all four shots while he's addressing the briefing, the framing reinforces him as set apart from the group. When they eat lunch on the moonbus, Floyd is subtly given the first pick of the sandwiches, and first crack at the coffee thermos. When the group approaches TMA-1, it appears that Floyd looks (speaks?) to Bill, then Ralph, then leads the way into the pit. Steps away from the astronauts to touch the monolith by himself. Poole and Bowman leave earth on a long, lonely trip. Are first shown by themselves, either exercising (boxing) or working. When they come together, they are silent. (Could there be unspoken dislike between the two, or are they conserving oxygen by limiting chit chat? I've always wondered.) Poole has left his folks behind on earth,... but keeps in contact about trivial things like pay issues and what to get friends for their ... marriage? anniversary? newborn? No such information is yielded about Bowman. For all we know, he's a bachelor orphan. He behaves shy and introspective; in fact, he's the closest we get to a self-conscious, introspective character in this film. Bowman is alone, with HAL, after Poole and the hibernating survey scientists are killed. HAL rejects him. Bowman discards Poole with obvious regret. He then "kills" HAL, leaving himself alone. Finally, he "leaves" the safe confines of Discovery ("home away from home") to investigate the Jupiter monolith. He "leaves" the pod to investigate the Room At the End (and loses the pod). He "leaves" his spacesuit. He loses his drinking water. Finally, about to leave his body(?), he reaches out to the last monolith. And is reborn as a Starchild. (It can be argued that he doesn't leave his body....) Finally ... he returns home, completing the odyssey reference. Bowman's actions continually reinforce the theme of separation, leaving behind others. ** Why does HAL sing "Bicycle Built For Two?" I understood that, at the time, the song was used for early voice synthesis demonstrations, since it includes every note in an octave. (I heard this decades ago, as a schoolboy.) I recall a film of an early prototype, in which a "vocoder" sings the song. [Found elsewhere on the World Wide Wiggly: "In 1961, this performance ["Daisy"] was generated on an IBM 7094 computer at Bell Labs. The vocal was programmed by John Kelly and Carol Lockbaum. The accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews."] A daisy can also represent innocence. Thus, HAL is "crying" for his lost innocence; he was corrupted by Floyd's introduction of the secret, true mission of the Discovery, which leads to HAL's psychosis. As he's dying, he recalls his birth, his programmer ("daddy") and a song which represents his loss. He regresses to childhood, while Bowman later PROgresses into a new Starchild. The lyrics are wonderfully fitting: "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer true I'm half crazy over the love of you It won't be a stylish marriage I can't afford a carriage But you look sweet, upon the seat Of a bicycle built for two" In light of HAL's actions on the Discovery, the song's foreshadowing is creepy. ____________ I wrote an article a while back that explores my ideas of how 2001 may've influenced the subsequent development of ambient, or "space" music. I'd be flattered if you listed the URL in your FAQ, or wished to paraphrase any sections; with proper reference and attribution, of course. In the past year, it's become rather popular (lots of "hits"). http://www.korova.com/kmr95/kmr5025.htm Yours, David Spalding http://www.korova.com/whois/david/

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2001: a space odyssey FAQ additions

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