"2001: A Space Odyssey" is the second and most important of three Kubrick films to philosophize about the future, the other two being Dr. Strangelove (1963) and "Dr. Strangelove" (1963). A Clockwork Orange (1971). These three films are the famous trilogy of his creative peak, and also the three representative works of his artistic achievements.
What's the future like? It is a sharp question raised by Kubrick in this film, and it is also a major issue of universal concern to mankind. At the same time, it is a meaningful, philosophical and thought-provoking question.
The British utopian socialist Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) described a best ideal society in his famous book Utopia (1516). In this society, communist public ownership is practiced, education is universal regardless of gender, religious belief is absolutely free, and people live a happy life. He called this kind of society "Utopia," meaning a place without it. This utopian literature can be traced back to the work of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC), The Republic. The common feature of all utopian literature is to depict an ideal and perfect world for readers, characterized by purity, reason and order. In the 20th century, due to the rise of dystopian literature, the future world model created by utopian literature also disappeared. However, it is strange that this pattern not only exists in movies, especially in science fiction movies, but also manifests in different forms. The reason, perhaps, is that repetition is much easier than innovation in filmmaking.
Traditional sci-fi films of the 1950s and before were characterized by cleanliness, spaciousness and order in the design of images depicting the future of mankind or in depicting "advanced" alien civilizations. Metal, glass, and plastic constitute the material entities of the future world. Efficiency and progress are the hallmarks of this society. We don't see anything wooden in these videos. Clothing is uniform, neat, and tight-fitting. Human settlements are spacious, bright and orderly. In addition to depicting the vast and boundless outer space, dark tones are rarely used, and high-key pictures are used extensively, giving people a clear and pure feeling. In short, traditional sci-fi films paint us a beautiful picture of the future world like utopian literature.
In this film, Kubrick deviates from the mode of traditional sci-fi films, makes a different interpretation of the future society, and draws a pessimistic conclusion. In this film, from the appearance point of view, the "Orion" spacecraft is spacious, bright and orderly, and there is no wooden thing in sight. The astronauts dress uniformly, tight and spotless, which is no different from traditional sci-fi films. But from the point of view of ideological connotation, they are fundamentally different. This is not an ordinary space exploration film that simply pursues box office value, but a philosophical film that explores the future and destiny of mankind.
Kubrick examined the entire process of human evolution, from the origin of human beings to space exploration, searching for the right place for human beings in the vast universe. As a result, with the birth of a new species - the fetus of the universe - the old species - the earth Man - to perish. Here, Kubrick sounded the alarm to human beings: Although the earthlings have made themselves highly material civilization, spiritual civilization and scientific and technological power in the long historical development process, even though David, as an excellent representative of earthlings, is in the The HAL-9000 intelligent computer was victorious in the battle, but mankind, along with the spaceship, the highest achievement of modern technology, was smashed into the depths of the universe by an irresistible black slate "like God" and disappeared. It can be seen that, in Kubrick's view, human beings will face serious challenges in the evolution of species in the future, and in this challenge, the earthlings as the old species will inevitably be defeated by the cosmic humans as the new species. This is a historical development. The inevitable trend is the inevitable result that does not depend on people's will.
Kubrick's concern for the future destiny of mankind is reflected in the three famous films he created to philosophize about the future. In "Dr. Strangelove", the oval war room of the Pentagon, the huge map controlled by the computer, the huge B-52 strategic bomber, and the advanced air force base are the appearance of modern society's efficiency and progress, but at the same time it is out of control and a symbol of insanity. In other words, this efficient structure that symbolizes social progress becomes an efficient machine for producing death.
In "2001: Space Travel", the material civilization and technological power of human beings have developed to the stage of space exploration, but as a result, human beings die helplessly in the face of mysterious forces. In "A Clockwork Orange", Kubrick specifically shows us the terrible scene of the future society through the image of Alex, explaining that pornography and violence are two cancers that the future society cannot get rid of. developing.
In the film, the embodiment of mysticism is the symbolic black slate. This slate has an irresistible power like a god, and the course of history is at the mercy of it. It taught our ancestors - the great apes - how to use tools to survive and how to use weapons to kill, it guided humans into a technologically perfect world, and it took Earthlings to an infinite space beyond the human and the universe. Since the course of history is completely controlled by this supernatural force, human beings are left in a passive state at the mercy of it. Human beings are intelligent, extremely clever, and can create intelligent computers like Hal-9000 and defeat them if they get out of control, but they are powerless in the face of mysterious forces, and as a result, they are replaced by higher species.
The mysterious black slate itself is the embodiment of contradiction, it is not only the driving force for social progress, but also the resistance that hinders the progress of society. The apes touch it and learn to use animal bones as tools, which is of course a symbol of progress, but the first contact learns to kill with bones, which is the beginning of destruction again. Several close-ups in the film have a giant forearm of the great ape occupying the frame, holding bones and smashing bones and other animals on the ground, heralding the arrival of human barbarism. In order to allay people's distaste for the barbaric behavior of apes, Kubrick specially arranged for them to be attacked and forced to defend themselves. But the next shot depicts the apes fighting each other for territory, a metaphor for the murderous nature of human beings. The future society will be a society full of violence that seeks pleasure from slaughter.
In the process of cannibalism, a beast bone was thrown into the sky and immediately turned into a spaceship. Humans entered space civilization from the barbaric era at once, and made the most concise overview of the historical process, which constitutes a very special period in the history of film. famous clip. But this leap hastened the demise of humanity. If the apes cheered and excited to learn to use animal bones as weapons, and expressed their joy in the most primitive way, then in the spaceship that integrates human technology, we cannot see the joy and excitement of astronauts , they just passively accept all kinds of information and data from the screen, and even the family greetings from the earth did not bring a smile on their faces. Kubrick deliberately arranged this, because in his conception, human beings are going to die in advanced spaceships, and of course there is no joy at all.
In the film, the mysterious black slate always appears at a critical moment in human development. The second appearance of the giant slate was on the moon. The five astronauts left the spacecraft and walked to the black slate. When Dr. Haywood Floyd tapped the slate with his hand, he moved exactly as an ape would touch the slate. Obviously, here, Kubrick tells us through metaphor that the development of mankind is still under the control of the mysterious slate. At this time, the words "Jupiter Mission" and "18 months later" appeared on the screen. Then, the "Orion" spacecraft has already flown in the direction of Jupiter. However, human beings are not flying to a better future, on the contrary, human beings are heading for death.
The first challenge to human beings is the central nervous system of the spacecraft and the HAL-9000 intelligent computer made by human beings. It is this computer that is the safest, most reliable, the most advanced, and the best cooperating with humans that rises up against the control of human beings, instead of killing humans and then quickly. It first kills astronauts who have entered hibernation during scientific experiments. Then kills Frank and tries to keep David in space forever. However, in the fierce man-machine confrontation, man is the victor in the end. And when the winner David drove the spacecraft to appear near Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system, suddenly the black slate appeared again. With the third mysterious appearance of the slate, the end of mankind has finally come.
It is intriguing that Kubrick arranged such a philosophical ending. David aged rapidly in the ever-changing space, and then the cosmic fetus was born, implying the resurrection of man after death, but it is not a simple regeneration, but an announcement that the old species of man has gone through the evolutionary process of dawn-aging-death. No longer exists, a whole new species takes its place, allowing life in the universe to continue. Now, the cosmic fetus is roaming in space after human beings. The difference is that he is not hindered by any object or influenced by any environment. He is free to fly at will, but at the same time he is extremely lonely and has no power. We can't help but ask: Why did he soar in space? Who will guide him? The question goes back to where it came from: Apparently, a supernatural intelligent force is manipulating the fate of our humans and the fetus of the universe. But whether the intelligent power that manipulates the fetus of the universe still comes from that mysterious black slate, or something else.
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