When it comes to symbolism in films, whole books have been published by various authors on their speculations as to the meaning of the symbolism contained in Stanley Kubrick’s recondite, enigmatic, philosophical, science fiction epic 2001: A Space Odyssey. Most obviously from the title, much of the symbolism is derived from Homer’s The Illiad and The Odyssey. Other authors theorize that the film is an allegory to Arthur Clarke’s (novelist of the literary version of the film and co-writer of the script) theory that man and machine will someday fuse into a techno-human hybrid while others purport an allegory to the theories of a hyper-sexualized Sigmund Freud, dream-oriented Carl Jung, or “death be to God” Freidrich Nietzsche. Personally, I apt
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The whiteness of almost every element within the space ships is a symbol of cleanliness and sterilization. Kubrick envisions a future environment devoid of germs and garbage. It is a world of crisp, clean, antibacterial white walls, floors, and ceilings. Kubrick repeatedly uses red as a symbol of danger. Red lights flash within the ship during some of the most intense scenes of the film, such as the scene where Bowman (Kier Dullea) shuts down the ship’s computer, the HAL 9000. Red is also used for HAL 9000’s camera eye. This is one of many symbols alluding to Homer’s The Odyssey. Specifically, this is an allusion to the one-eyed Cyclops- one of Odysseus’ adversaries in The …show more content…
In the last segment of the film, “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite,” Dave Bowman ends up cohabitating a Renaissance-style furnished hotel room with an older version of himself. This aged copy of himself symbolizes cell division. Here, one Bowman becomes two, just as cells divide to grow and become more complex beings. This concept is fully realized in the symbol of the star-child fetus-in-space seen in the final frames of the film’s final reel. The star-child represents the new post-human being that the human Dave Bowman has evolved into. It is a symbol of the future potential of
The whiteness of almost every element within the space ships is a symbol of cleanliness and sterilization. Kubrick envisions a future environment devoid of germs and garbage. It is a world of crisp, clean, antibacterial white walls, floors, and ceilings. Kubrick repeatedly uses red as a symbol of danger. Red lights flash within the ship during some of the most intense scenes of the film, such as the scene where Bowman (Kier Dullea) shuts down the ship’s computer, the HAL 9000. Red is also used for HAL 9000’s camera eye. This is one of many symbols alluding to Homer’s The Odyssey. Specifically, this is an allusion to the one-eyed Cyclops- one of Odysseus’ adversaries in The …show more content…
In the last segment of the film, “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite,” Dave Bowman ends up cohabitating a Renaissance-style furnished hotel room with an older version of himself. This aged copy of himself symbolizes cell division. Here, one Bowman becomes two, just as cells divide to grow and become more complex beings. This concept is fully realized in the symbol of the star-child fetus-in-space seen in the final frames of the film’s final reel. The star-child represents the new post-human being that the human Dave Bowman has evolved into. It is a symbol of the future potential of