Does anyone else enjoy Sci-Fi?. I have always been a fan of Arthur C Clarke's essays and always enjoyed reading the interpretations and opinions of the classic 2001. In the film adaptation with Kubrick, he intentionally left the symbolism open-ended and nebulous so as to give the viewer the option to read into it whatever he/she wished.
Whenever I see the film on the tube, my interest in the subject peaks up again and I recall the Philosophy of SciFi class I took as an undergrad that was pretty much devoted to this flick and it's symbolism.
It really takes a reading of his essays and the philosophical underpinnings in 'The Sentinel'( the work the movie was based on) to pick up on the imagery and themes:
- Primate Evolves.
- Primate develops tool use.
- Tool use assists in rapid evolutionary adaptation.
- The tools eventually become so complex and powerfully that the evolvee loses the ability to control them and becomes a redundant piece of the puzzle.
- Man ends up out of his element and in over his head.
- Man evolves into shop keeper for the tools; his life gets boring.
- Roles are reversed and the tool has no need for man.
- Man is required to rely on his primordial instincts rather than the intellect that propelled him to his current state to overcome the tool.
The Obelisk represents a symbol for an Intelligence keeping tabs on the evolutionary development of species and also acts as a catalyst to such change. In the book, the outside intelligence offers up a series of tests to coax man along the path of change.
At the end of the flick, the shattered glass represents man shedding the vessel of the body - the glass breaks but the wine remains intact. Sentience no longer needs the vessel of the body and can 'evolve' into another form of conscious experience - the 'Star Child' is born.
Pretty fanciful stuff, but there is a lot of food for thought in his works. I always get a kick out of watching the flick. It's one of those rare films where you an let your imagination run wild.
Anyway's, just killing a few moments and thought I would add a coffee house post for discussion if anyone is so inclined. The one thing I always found appealing with SciFi is you can break free of facts and figures and just stimulate the imagination.