Author: Kira Kyselova
Stanley Kubrick’s Space Odyssey, based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, is one of the most influential science fiction films in the history of cinema. It was filmed back in 1968, but to this day it stands as a cult piece of science fiction. This film contains all the basic ideas of space films: it explores various aspects of space travel, artificial intelligence and human interaction with unknown life forms.
After the film’s release, critics’ reviews were very different: they ranged from enthusiastic to devastating articles and ridicule. Some called it a “monumentally incredible movie,” while others were of the opinion that it was “somewhere between hypnotic and incredibly boring.” After watching the movie, everyone usually has their own opinion, but it is worth noting that today 2001: A Space Odyssey is considered one of the major works of art of the 20th century.
The plot and the evolutionary journey
The film tells the story of a series of encounters between humanity and mysterious black monoliths that influence the development of human civilization. The first encounter took place at the dawn of history, when primitive people found the monolith. The next encounter took place in the era of space exploration, when people discovered a monolith on the Moon. This monolith emitted a powerful signal towards Jupiter, after which the space committee decided to send an expedition to this planet. The expedition is led by two astronauts, Poole and Bowman, as well as the super-intelligent computer HAL 9000, endowed with human traits and almost complete control over the ship. During the journey, the team faces unpredictable actions of HAL 9000. In the movie’s finale, we witness the resolution of the conflict and the transition of humanity to a new level of evolution — the “Star Child”.
A still from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey
Scientific basis for a cinematic masterpiece
While filming and writing the script together with Arthur C. Clarke, Stanley Kubrick sought to convey scientific ideas and principles as accurately as possible. This accuracy was an important part of his desire to create a movie that would reflect his grand vision of humanity in the universe. At the time, NASA was working on sending men to the Moon, which further motivated Kubrick to make the movie as accurate as possible. He was afraid that if he didn’t portray futuristic technologies authentically, NASA’s successes might make his movie obsolete. This decision turned out to be a good one, as a year later, in 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin actually set foot on the Moon, and Space Odyssey remains relevant and scientifically sound even in modern cinema.
After conducting a huge amount of research, the director and his team created sets and props that amazed the audience with their realism and were based on NASA’s achievements. How did they achieve this in the 1960s? They had help from scientific consultants, former NASA employees, and famous astronomers. They worked on the actual design of the spaceships and did an incredible amount of research to ensure that the props and sets were realistic.
The design of the Discovery One spacecraft, which carried astronauts to Jupiter, was based on a 1962 NASA project called EMPIRE (Early Manned Planetary-Interplanetary Round Trip Expeditions). The EMPIRE project envisioned sending eight people to Mars using a nuclear-powered ship that would travel to Mars in 15 months. Discovery One received nuclear rocket engines and other parts from the EMPIRE project.
The gravity on board Discovery One was created by a rotating sphere that simulated gravity using centrifugal force. It took six months and millions of dollars to design and build this system. Thanks to these efforts, the director was able to realistically depict scenes in zero gravity, which were highly praised by many experts.
Another feature of the film is the absence of sound in outer space — you won’t hear any noise from explosions or collisions of objects, because space is silent. Also, due to the great distance, it takes astronauts years to reach Jupiter, and the data transfer back and forth takes 10 minutes, which also corresponds to the laws of physics. The creators of the movie took these facts into account.
As for the astronauts aboard the ship, they are not flamboyant or eccentric characters. Instead, they are calm, methodical, and mission-oriented, which better reflects the real hardworking and intelligent astronauts than in most movies.
The HAL 9000 is probably the most memorable crew member on board (do you even remember the astronauts’ names?) and one of the most interesting technological units in the movie. After the computer gives false data about a breakdown on the ship, the astronauts are forced to turn off HAL’s analytical thinking units. As a result, he reads their lips and becomes prone to murder. Certain elements of his program make it decide that it must kill the astronauts for the good of the mission. If no one is on the crew, then no one will have to lie. This is the real dilemma facing scientists today who are trying to figure out how to program a general-purpose AI that can solve all kinds of problems (without becoming a killer).
When HAL shuts down (or dies), its higher brain functions shut down first, and it eventually regresses to a more primitive state. He starts singing the song “Daisy Bell”, a reference to the very first song ever performed by a computer — you can even listen to it right here, it’s quite charming and far from as sinister as in the movie.
In the film’s finale, we can see the monolith again — a representative of extraterrestrial intelligence that helps humanity evolve again. Initially, the alien humanoids were supposed to be played by ordinary actors, but the director turned to astronomer Carl Sagan for advice. He was convinced that alien life forms are unlikely to resemble life on Earth, and such a portrayal would add an element of falsity to the film. Sagan suggested that the existence of extraterrestrial intelligence should only be indicated, but not explicitly depicted. Kubrick hinted at the existence of an invisible alien race in the film, suggesting in a 1968 interview that, after millions of years of evolution, these humanoid alien races became immortal machines and then beings of “pure energy and spirit.”
The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey has influenced the way space travel has been portrayed in science fiction films and television for decades. The main fail of 2001: A Space Odyssey making it farther from reality is the timing of space exploration. Twenty-three years have passed since the year mentioned in the title, and we are still no closer to sending manned missions to Mars, let alone Jupiter. We haven’t set foot on the Moon since 1972. The fault, dear Kubrick, was not with the stars, but with ourselves.
The author: Kira Kiseleva
Journalist A science enthusiast who loves to share her knowledge with the world. By day she teaches physics and math, and by night she writes about the fascinating expanses of science and the beauty of the starry sky. She hopes that her articles will become a source of inspiration and new knowledge!
