Ian Berdie

Media Studies 110

Kelley Conway

The film 2001: A Space Oddesy is an extremely complex film, both on a structural and metaphorical level. The film’s director, Stanley Kubrick, did a wonderful job leaving meanings to his film open to interpretation, and using different aspects of cinematography, including especially the long take, slow motion and repetitive images to skew any simple translations. Instead any interpretation of the film becomes an extremely personal view.

In this essay I will attempt to expose some of these possible translations and cinematic techniques Kubrick uses that support each of them. I am going to concentrate chiefly on the introductory segment of the movie, the Dawn of Man, and even more specifically, the shot sequence when Moonwatcher, the discovering man-ape, hits upon the first tool, and what this means. I will address this segment, along with another question raised by the film, why does the monolith appear in the first place? Then I will state several possible explanations to these segments, and show some of the elements of film Kubrick uses to support different possible theories.

Even the plot of the film is open to a seemingly infinite number of translations. For this reason I will provide a quick summary, taken from an interview with Stanley Kubrick.

We begin with an artifact [the monolith] left on earth four million years ago by extraterrestrial explorers who observed the behavior of the man-apes of the time and decided to influence their evolutionary progression. Then you have a second artifact buried on the lunar surface and programmed to signal word of man’s first baby steps into the universe – a kind of cosmic burglar alarm. And finally there’s a third artifact placed in orbit around Jupiter and waiting for the time when man has reached the outer rim of his own solar system.

When the surviving astronaut, Bowman, ultimately reaches Jupiter, this artifact sweeps him into a force field or star gate that hurls him on a journey through inner and outer space and finally transports him to another part of the galaxy, where he’s placed in a human zoo approximating a hospital terrestrial environment drawn from his own dreams and imagination. In a timeless state, his life passes from middle age to senescence to death. He is reborn, an enhanced being, an angel, a superman, if you like, and returns to earth prepared for the next leap forward of man’s evolutionary destiny.

I am going to begin my analysis by bringing up questions or theories as to possible translations of the film and discussing the cinematographical techniques used by Kubrick that support these theories. You may want to refer to the shot sequence I have constructed on page nine.

One of the most famous moments in all of film is the sequence when Moonwatcher discovers the first tool. What is it that is really happening here?

a.) The "Dawning of Man" from ape or animal; or,

b.) The birth of violence and turmoil; or,

c.) The beginning of technology;

The dawning of man idea is the most dramatic of the three presented above. It is clear that some sort of change or separation from ways of the past takes place here. After the sequence of Moonwatcher smashing the bones, the "new" man-apes become stronger, healthier (thanks to the new found food source) and more dominant as they are able to gain control of the water hole from the other group of apes. The new apes not only eat meat, but even their appearance seems to change. They walk more upright and seem to have a more intelligent look to their face and eyes. The costumes of the tool using apes are in fact different than those of the others.

Support is given that this is the incredible moment in history where ape becomes man, by both the cinematography of the shot and the musical score. As Moonwatcher is playing in the bones, he suddenly cocks his head to the side and the triumphant sounds of Also Sprach Zarathustra, "The World Riddle," begin to nondiegedically bellow (Shot G). Kubrick’s decision to use this classical music and not the music that was actually written for the movie was an incredible idea. Hearing this powerful music, coupled with the slow-motion of the sequence creates a feeling of an intense and momentous dramatic occurrence. The slow-motion, along with the framing of the shot give Moonwatcher a look of force, correlating with the newfound capability he has gained from his tool. As he is smashing the bones he is filmed from a low angle looking up, (shot J), making him look bigger, and more commanding than he was filmed up to that point in the movie. There are few things more momentous for anyone watching this film than the beginning of humanity. Weather it is seen by viewers as the process of evolution or the miraculous feat of a divine gift from God (or Monolith), the birth of man is a personally moving subject, on both an emotional and intellectual level. From science to faith, all aspects are covered and addressed simply by the music and camera work of this sequence. It is left open to the interpretation and beliefs of the viewer.

The birth of technology is supported primarily by a cut, one that has been described as "the longest flash forward in movie history." Moonwatcher and his tribe chase off the others and gain control of the water hole. Immediately Moonwatcher throws his tool into the air to rejoice. Again in slow-motion, which adds weight and importance to the shot, it twirls end over end. It reaches it’s peak and as it begins to descend, the view cuts to that of a space ship peacefully floating through space. This connection between the first tool and what it has evolved to is made apparent by the similarity of their speed, and motions. The use of slow-motion to film the bone not only make the viewer pay more attention to it, but ties its speed and course into that of the spaceship. Also in support of this idea, is when the monolith is next discovered. This time it is found in correlation with the founding of HAL, "One of the most important technological breakthroughs in the history of science," quotes one of the characters in the film.

The birth of violence theory is supported primarily by some subtleties in the narrative, and certain cinematographical aspects. As Moonwatcher is playing in the bones, he begins by simply tapping the pile with his club in a playful and childish manner.(shot H) He strikes the pile of bones progressively harder, then an isolated shot of only his arm being raised. (shot I)

This is where the slow-motion begins; showing us there is something different between this action and the playful tapping of the bones a moment ago. From this shot of his arm, then we are taken to the low angle (shot J), and it is in this camera frame that we watch Moonwatcher’s force increase dramatically. He is now smashing the bones with obvious intentional destructive force. One, two, three blows, and on the forth he goes after the skull of the skeleton, crushing it to fragments. It is this forth blow when Moonwatcher grasps the club with two hands instead of one, emphasizing the power and destructive force of this killing stroke. The next shot is one of a pig dropping to the ground (shot K). We see the swine’s flesh shudder from the impact of the ground and the link between the first tool and violence is made. The next shot is an extreme close-up of Moonwatcher’s face, and for the first time in the sequence, his teeth are bared in a vicious snarl (shot L). As the spit flies from his mouth, he smashes the skull again. The skull is crushed six times during the sequence. This is significant because it is not simply violence to kill the pig and eat it, but violence for the sake of violence. After the skull is destroyed, the pig is dead and ready to be eaten, but the beating continues, the act of hitting is more important than the result. Again we see the pig fall, this time from the other side, a violation of the 180 degree rule (shot X). This adds to the disturbing feeling being given off by the scene.

Later in the encounter at the water hole, Moonwatcher strikes the other man-ape (holding the club with two hands to do so). At this point several of Moonwatcher’s tribe join in and a mob beating ensues. This is the birth of violence. When this is finished, and Moonwatcher throws his club into the air, we are flash-forwarded to a space ship. Interesting that this particular ship is carrying nuclear weapons, a continuation of the violence that originally stemmed from the simple humorous bone.

2.) Why does the monolith appear?

It is clear the monolith appears and provides the man-apes with the knowledge necessary to create tools, but why does it appear, and why does it choose that particular moment in time to make itself present?

There are several ideas as to why the monolith appears and gives it’s divine inspiration when it does. The inspiration is given:

a.) When men (apes) need it; or,

b.) When they seek it; or,(Stackhouse p. 1)

e.) It was always there, and was just discovered

Kubrick makes it abundantly clear that the apes are in dire need of help. He does this by using certain types of cuts. They are starving and unable to defend themselves. Images of how little control the man-apes have over their environment fill the early stages of the film. One of the first images Kubrick presents to us is an ape skeleton. From there we see the monkeys squabble with the tapers who also reside in the African pains over the limited shrubbery available for consumption. At one point one of the man-apes is attacked by a leopard. His companions do nothing to help him, but in fact run away, showing the harshness of the environment. As the man-ape is being eaten, the cut is a fade to black. Kubrick’s choice of a fade to black emphasizes finality of the situation. There is nothing else to see, no follow-up shot of the ape struggling or being eaten, simply a fade to the next day. This is all there is to the ape’s lives, a fight for survival against starvation and the elements, and often they do not make it. At night they even fight amongst themselves over who will eat who’s bugs. All this shows the apes need help, it will be only a matter of time before they die out if a miracle does not occur. Luckily for them it does.

The idea of the monolith arriving because the man-apes were seeking it is substantiated primarily by aspects of the narration and some shot composition. As I explained earlier, it has gotten to the point where the man-apes are treading a thin line between survival and extinction. Although they are not intelligent enough to do anything about this, they do appear intelligent enough to realize what is going to happen to them if they do not get some help.

The man-apes are filmed in a series of close up shots, showing them in a family setting, sitting together holding and grooming each other. One shot shows a mother, father and child. This makes us see them in more of a human light, and gives off the impression that they are more intelligent than they have been depicted up to this point. They certainly appear intelligent enough to be able to ask for something. Several of the man-apes are shown gazing into the sky, shots of them looking up, followed by shots of the sky. There is an extreme close-up of Moonwatcher’s eyes. They are obviously humanistic, intelligent and in pain. They search the sky for some kind of hope, and it comes in the form of the monolith. The other tribe of monkeys never sought out or asked for help, and they didn’t receive any.

Another possibility as to the monolith’s appearance is that it in fact represents the idea, or the knowledge, and that it was already there, simply waiting to be discovered. Like the man-apes are just now seeing the light. It could be the monolith is always present, but is invisible to those who don’t wish to see it or to whom it does not wish to be visible (Stackhouse p. 1).

Kubrick substantiates this theory with a couple of techniques. At the opening of this segment of the movie, the inter-titles appear across the screen. "The Dawn of Man." This could represent the dawning of an idea, or the dawning of a new way of life, not just the dawn as the beginning.

Twice we see the monolith in alignment with the sun, when it first appears, and when Moonwatcher is recognizing what could be accomplished with use of the bones. This alignment with the sun quickly becomes Kubrick's way of showing us the man-apes are finally seeing the light.

Again the music is used as a powerful emphasis. The shot of the monolith is followed by Moonwatcher cocking his head in curiosity and at that instant the famous music booms, showing the importance of what is occurring. Because we do not see the image of the pig dropping until Moonwatcher has begun smashing the bones, we can assume it is he who has recognized what he can do with the bones, and not the monolith instructing him. His recognition is growing, he uses the bones to hit, hit, hit, and finally kill, then the flash to the pig and food. It is not an immediate gift from the monolith saying, "use the bones to get food". If this were so the shot sequence would be: monolith, pig, Moonwatcher, but instead a gradual developmental evolution takes place. The possibility has always been there, simply never exercised. This is also emphasized by the number of shots Kubrick has incorporating the man-apes and the tapers together, showing the food supply has always been there, simply never tapped.

We go on to see the man-apes eating meat for several shots, and finally a shot of where the monolith first appeared, now no longer there. Once the discovery of the technology has been established and incorporated into every day life (this is shown by Kubrick's use of lighting. He shows the man-apes eating meat in several different lights and sets, showing they now eat meat every day), "it is no longer sought -- apes (men) consider themselves masters now and try to continue their own energies after the initial impulse" (Stackhouse p. 1).

I hope I have clearly demonstrated some of the techniques Kubrick used in the making of 2001 to support a countless number of interpretations, hinting at some possibilities, keeping the details vague enough to leave his film open to interpretation by the viewer.

Here is a breakdown of the shot sequence in which Moonwatcher discovers the first tool.

A. The man-apes gather around monolith (several shots)

B. Shot looking up at the monolith, aligned with sun and moon

C. Scenery (three shots)
D. Man-apes in area with bones, looking for shrubs

E. Isolated shot of Moonwatcher, digging in pile of bones, suddenly looks up

F. Shot B

G. Moonwatcher looks at bones, cocks head in curiosity. Music begins

H. Picks up a bone and taps other bones progressively harder

I. Close-up of arm, raising fully. Slow-motion begins

J. Strikes bones one, two, three times, forth blow he crushes the skull

K. Cut to pig dropping

L. Close up of Moonwatcher’s face, snarling, teeth bared, spittle flying

M. Shot I

N. Skull smashed again

O. Shot I

P. Already broken skull is smashed

Q. Shot of bones being smashed

R. Shot P

S. Shot Q

T. Shot P

U. Shot Q

V. Shot Q repeated

W. Shot O (whole skull smashed again)

X. Shot of pig dropping again, this time on the other side of 180 degree line

Y. Moonwatcher throws bones into the air, raises arms in exuberant triumphancy

Works Cited

Margaret Stackhouse. Untitled: philosophical analysis of the movie 2001

Published in "The Making of Kubrick’s 2001"