2001: A Space Odyssey: The Dawn Of Man

As the human race makes life-changing discoveries, it is made apparent that there is always more to learn as the universe, instead of becoming familiar, is becoming absurd. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams, as well as the 2005 film adaption, portrays absurdity to be an all-encompassing system in the universe. Through the introduction and attempt to understand lack of reason, the narration of important elements and the human perception of the universe, the novel is as a whole, more complete than the film. With these points it is irrefutable that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy develops the theme of absurdity with greater prowess than the film, resulting in a deeper

     The discussion about science leads into the second point of monoliths and technology. www.dictionary.com defines a monolith as something, such as a column or monument, made from one large block of stone. This is first portrayed in the first couple of scenes in the movie. As the gorilla finds the monolith, picks it up and uses it as a weapon to kill prey. Next, when the gorilla throws the bone up in to the air, it becomes a space ship over Earth. As I researched, this was the longest time change in history of all the movies. Considering the bone became the spaceship just shows that even though technologically people have progressed, the minds still stayed relatively the same with the same goals. As a saying my mother once told me, Men are like children, but when they get older they change their toys. I find this to be relevant in “2001” as the time change only portrays a different time period but more or less the same content. Because the movie is very slow paced, in my opinion, it gives the viewer a lot of time to question everything that is happening and make sure to understand everything. There is not much conversation there either which is not serving as another distraction. Makes the theme of the movie very clear. Stanley Kubrick also includes the

The Space Race was a competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space. From 1955 until 1975, both sides battled it out to be the leader in the competition. Fueled by the Cold War and other causes of the beginning of the race, the Soviet Union and the United States fought for authority in a very public manner through the media. There were many achievements at this time and it led the way for many great things to come afterwards.

The novel 2001: A Space Odyssey written by Arthur C. Clarke applies many literary devices and stylistic features to humanise one of the main characters, Hal. Some examples of the literary devices and stylistic features used in the novel are the atmosphere and mood, characterisation, dialogue and diction, repetition, analogy, the point of view and the overall plot of the story. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a story of evolution, the future of mankind, space exploration and the thirst for knowledge, technology and Utopian society. The novel was originally written as a film script, however in the 1960s it was adapted into a novel.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, USA 1981) Harrison Ford stars in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark as a character called Indiana Jones. The opening sequence has left Indiana’s character mysterious to the audience but throughout this sequence we understand his character as bold, cool, calm and a collected leader, but as the sequence develops and the scene changes we see another side to Indiana, an intellectual man who dresses smartly and doesn’t seem cool anymore. From the opening sequence we know that this film is an action/adventure because it is packed with excitement, violence and close encounters with death. The mise en scene or what the audience see and hear plays

“2001: A space Odyssey” opens in the African Rift Valley, where a tribe of hominids encounter a stone monument which has obstructed on their domain. This stone monument transmits radio waves that end up expanding their IQ 's, teaching them weaponry and other tool uses to help them live, as they proceed to defeat a rival tribe. Four million years later, we see the luxurious space travel that the vintage science fiction of the 1960’s, with space stations for air terminals and such. Dr. Heywood Floyd is heading to Clavius Base, a United States lunar station. Along the way, he finds out about gossipy tidbits about an unidentifiable disease going around on the Clavius Base and his responsibility to study a four-million-year-old structure. Floyd

Around the globe, each nation’s culture defines us while social factors impact our lifestyle causing us to be feel far from one another while constructs that rule our behaviors are much the same. The novels, 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline have more in common than both being predicted outcomes of America's future later documented on the big screen. Both of these science fiction stories include the psychology behind social and cultural expectations seen throughout their multiple states of reality, surge in technological usage, and companionship.

     The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, is a science-fiction book and was written in 1946. This major work by Bradbury is a collection of short stories relating to Mars or Martians. Bradbury had a clear vision of the Mars in which these stories are set. His vision was one of a fantasy world from the Martians point of view. In this work, the humans from Earth are the aliens from outer space. Bradbury has won many awards including the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award, the Aviation-Space Writers Association Award, the World Fantasy Award for lifetime achievement, and the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. Bradbury supported his awards

The first topic addressed in this book that I will focus on is the social behavior of apes, specifically on courting rituals and mating behavior, such as the love dance performed by the “humans” in the novel. The second topic is the (in)capability of apes to produce human speech. In the novel, the apes all speak human language, but in reality, this is not a likely possibility.

Recently, our class read the book and watched the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The book is written by Arthur C. Clarke and the movie was directed by Stanley Kubrick. The book was written as a framework for the movie, so the two are mostly the same. But, while there were similarities, there were also some major differences.

The Dawn of Man. Four simple words introduced what is remarked as one of the greatest films of all time. There is no spoken dialogue within the first 25 minutes and the last 23 minutes of the film. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is an ambiguous film. The broad range of audience captures various interpretations of the film. The main theme seems to be about the evolutionary process of mankind interwoven with elements of a higher or extraterrestrial entity guiding this evolution. There are some film theories that suggest this movie was all propaganda used in conjunction with the space race that occurred during World War 2. Some even go as far as to say that the same set used in “2001: A Space Odyssey” was used to fake the moon landing of 1969. However, theories with more evidence suggest that the iconic monolith doesn’t represent aliens or “God”, but instead represents the cinema screen of which we are viewing. The artistic importance of “2001: A Space Odyssey” is derived from its ability procure various conclusions.

Even in space, the encounter with the monolith opens up another part to evolution, represented by Dave as he experiences the evolution. Kubrick uses the monolith in each part as a sign of a new chapter in life. Overall, the successes of human achievement are consistent by the appearance of a façade structure known as “the monolith” which adds on to the evolution of exposing new spices and exposing the avant-garde generation.

2001: A Space Odyssey was released 1968; a year before Neil Armstrong was the first man on the moon in 1969. While fictional astronaut, David Bowman drank peas through a straw, Neil Armstrong ate freeze-dried peaches. With some science accurate and some false, how much science did Stanley Kubrick’s 11th film get right? We can look at the areas of, spaceship design, communication, food, and sound to compare the science in 2001: A Space Odyssey to actual science.

The gorilla, fighting after the manner of its kind, struck terrific blows with its open hand, and tore the flesh at the boy’s throat and chest with its mighty tusks.” – Burroughs, p. 42

2001: A Space Odyssey is just that: a long wandering voyage of the body and mind. Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clark collaborated brilliantly. In examining both works, the film and the novel, there are certainly differences, yet the theme and overall idea coincide thoroughly. That this was made in the 1960's augments both accomplishments. The visuals, seen in 2004, are still captivating. What they must've seemed like in 1968! I flout those who received this movie poorly in those days. Would I have received it as well without having a preconceived idea of its greatness? I can only hope I would have known what I was watching.