Just thinking at a late hour
I popped in 2001, not for a serious engaged viewing but rather for a review session of sorts. I think one of the more fucked up scenes in this movie is when Frank gets the birthday message from his parents.
As those of us who understand the move know: the key to 2001 isn't what's happening on the screen but why what's happening on the screen is absurd/odd/strange/weird. In other words, the general engagement of the viewer's critical thinking.
The birthday message is painful to view because on the surface it's a simple greeting of good will, but when viewed critically it is shallow and futile.
At this point in the film the characters are seven light minutes from Earth, ergo direct communication is impossible. In one short burst, in under a minute, Frank's parents spit out everything they have to say and disappear while Frank looks at the message with the same ecstasy one usually reserves for clocks or walls. Within this simple frame Kubrick's brilliance shines (yet again).
It's all such a sham. Such a painful, unnecessary, oh-so-human sham. Frank doesn't care. He's lounging on a chair, passing the years a journey to Jupiter requires. His parents don't care. They're busy running their own lives. The concept of a birthday in one's thirties is just a gimmick, an excuse to hang out. All the rites of passage and milestones are part of the past.
Yet all the players in this absurd melodrama come together to send an apathetic and inconsequential birthday greeting.
Along, these same lines, and while I'm on the topic, human contact as a whole is placed on the autopsy table for Kubrick to rip apart and examine. Is communication with HAL human contact or is time delayed messages with the Earthbound?
When engaged with HAL, the astronauts of the Discovery are involved in intellectual discourse. They discuss issues of their lives. They entertain each other. They expound upon feelings and suspicions. When the astronauts receive a message from Earth, it is mechanical. The above example illustrates this. I also point to the scenes with Mission Control messages; short, to the point with no interaction. or reciprocation. Just orders requests and permission to grant them.
In sense, the astronauts have become the machines, HAL is the person. My evidence for this assertion is as follows. First of all, HAL is the most developed character in the movie. He has the detailed back story and the most interesting choices. The humans don't choose to kill anyone, HAL does. The humans don't run the ship, the computer does. We barely know Kaminsky, Hunter, Kimbal, Bowman, Poole or Floyd except their education. Kubrick never reveals their marital status, area of expertise, motivations for leaving Earth or where they grew up. We know HAL is the latest in artificial intelligence. We know there is a philosophical debate about his identity ("The latest generation of computers to reproduce, although some experts prefer to say mimic, all the functions of the human brain") and he has never made an error. Most importantly, HAL feels "a certain pride in his work." The human perform with apathy and indifference.
In conclusion, I have too much time on my hands and don't like to sleep. My various assertions on 2001 are supported by evidence and it is unlikely anyone reading this blog will read this far to see my self-depreciation. Anyone who read this far should add to my conversation in comments or on their blog, leaving me a link in comments. I am curious to see what others think about this movie, which admittedly, a single-minded passion of mine.
As those of us who understand the move know: the key to 2001 isn't what's happening on the screen but why what's happening on the screen is absurd/odd/strange/weird. In other words, the general engagement of the viewer's critical thinking.
The birthday message is painful to view because on the surface it's a simple greeting of good will, but when viewed critically it is shallow and futile.
At this point in the film the characters are seven light minutes from Earth, ergo direct communication is impossible. In one short burst, in under a minute, Frank's parents spit out everything they have to say and disappear while Frank looks at the message with the same ecstasy one usually reserves for clocks or walls. Within this simple frame Kubrick's brilliance shines (yet again).
It's all such a sham. Such a painful, unnecessary, oh-so-human sham. Frank doesn't care. He's lounging on a chair, passing the years a journey to Jupiter requires. His parents don't care. They're busy running their own lives. The concept of a birthday in one's thirties is just a gimmick, an excuse to hang out. All the rites of passage and milestones are part of the past.
Yet all the players in this absurd melodrama come together to send an apathetic and inconsequential birthday greeting.
Along, these same lines, and while I'm on the topic, human contact as a whole is placed on the autopsy table for Kubrick to rip apart and examine. Is communication with HAL human contact or is time delayed messages with the Earthbound?
When engaged with HAL, the astronauts of the Discovery are involved in intellectual discourse. They discuss issues of their lives. They entertain each other. They expound upon feelings and suspicions. When the astronauts receive a message from Earth, it is mechanical. The above example illustrates this. I also point to the scenes with Mission Control messages; short, to the point with no interaction. or reciprocation. Just orders requests and permission to grant them.
In sense, the astronauts have become the machines, HAL is the person. My evidence for this assertion is as follows. First of all, HAL is the most developed character in the movie. He has the detailed back story and the most interesting choices. The humans don't choose to kill anyone, HAL does. The humans don't run the ship, the computer does. We barely know Kaminsky, Hunter, Kimbal, Bowman, Poole or Floyd except their education. Kubrick never reveals their marital status, area of expertise, motivations for leaving Earth or where they grew up. We know HAL is the latest in artificial intelligence. We know there is a philosophical debate about his identity ("The latest generation of computers to reproduce, although some experts prefer to say mimic, all the functions of the human brain") and he has never made an error. Most importantly, HAL feels "a certain pride in his work." The human perform with apathy and indifference.
In conclusion, I have too much time on my hands and don't like to sleep. My various assertions on 2001 are supported by evidence and it is unlikely anyone reading this blog will read this far to see my self-depreciation. Anyone who read this far should add to my conversation in comments or on their blog, leaving me a link in comments. I am curious to see what others think about this movie, which admittedly, a single-minded passion of mine.
posted by Dan at
3:04 AM
1 Comments:
The lack of biological and environmental factors deprives the humans of independent will and agency , the only thing that would seperate them from the machines, while HAL himself is "perfected" by a total lack of sentiment, perhaps he is so well developed because he is a stand-in for Kubrick himself.
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