Visions of space, time, and technological progress
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey relies on simple editing and sound to create an epic story of space, time, and technological progress. Kubrick sets the film in three different places: the African desert, inside a space station in orbit, and in space itself. When Dr. Heywood Floyd reaches the outpost station on the moon, Kubrick uses a wide angle lens to exploit the distortion of the lines. Such distortions make the station appear claustrophobic and serves as a reminder that the characters and we, as viewers, are in space.
In the scene where Bowman appears to be climbing a ladder, he seems to descend the ladder from the ceiling, then proceeds to walk on the walls, and then on the …show more content…
Kubrick uses match-cut shots to link this initial scene of man’s advancement as a species to the shot of the space shuttle revolving in a similar manner (Chion, 135). These two shots exist in completely different contexts, yet because both the bone and the space shuttle travel in the same movement, viewers connect the two in a seamless way. Through this cut, Kubrick erases everything the audience knows about mankind’s history and the millions of years that have passed; all that man has achieved in the past and in the present is insignificant. 2001: A Space Odyssey takes a radical departure from the use of sound in science fiction films. In climatic scenes where most filmmakers would normally exploit the scene with tensional music or sound, Kubrick fills the scene with silence instead. Such a technique is glaringly apparent when HAL kills Dr. Franke Poole. As Poole attempts to reinstall the “faulty” component, Kubrick decides that only Poole’s breathing should be heard. Yet when the scene cuts to HAL severing Poole’s oxygen supply, there is silence. Kubrick turns a climactic scene of homicide into a scene of silence, emphasizing the naturalism of …show more content…
Klaatu’s advanced space ship lands in the heart of the United States: its capital, Washington, D.C. The setting is all too familiar: the viewer recognizes the national monuments, the people, and the technology present in the film. The introduction of Klaatu is even done realistically. Klaatu’s ship is surrounded by flocks of civilian spectators and military men ready to defend themselves at all costs. Shot in black and white in documentary-style, Wise presents Klaatu’s arrival as people in the 1950s would have experienced it. When the spectators first see Klaatu, they are initially curious because of his human-like form. The appearance of Gort causes the public to shrink back in fear due to its imposing and unfamiliar figure, thus being the embodiment of the
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey relies on simple editing and sound to create an epic story of space, time, and technological progress. Kubrick sets the film in three different places: the African desert, inside a space station in orbit, and in space itself. When Dr. Heywood Floyd reaches the outpost station on the moon, Kubrick uses a wide angle lens to exploit the distortion of the lines. Such distortions make the station appear claustrophobic and serves as a reminder that the characters and we, as viewers, are in space.
In the scene where Bowman appears to be climbing a ladder, he seems to descend the ladder from the ceiling, then proceeds to walk on the walls, and then on the …show more content…
Kubrick uses match-cut shots to link this initial scene of man’s advancement as a species to the shot of the space shuttle revolving in a similar manner (Chion, 135). These two shots exist in completely different contexts, yet because both the bone and the space shuttle travel in the same movement, viewers connect the two in a seamless way. Through this cut, Kubrick erases everything the audience knows about mankind’s history and the millions of years that have passed; all that man has achieved in the past and in the present is insignificant. 2001: A Space Odyssey takes a radical departure from the use of sound in science fiction films. In climatic scenes where most filmmakers would normally exploit the scene with tensional music or sound, Kubrick fills the scene with silence instead. Such a technique is glaringly apparent when HAL kills Dr. Franke Poole. As Poole attempts to reinstall the “faulty” component, Kubrick decides that only Poole’s breathing should be heard. Yet when the scene cuts to HAL severing Poole’s oxygen supply, there is silence. Kubrick turns a climactic scene of homicide into a scene of silence, emphasizing the naturalism of …show more content…
Klaatu’s advanced space ship lands in the heart of the United States: its capital, Washington, D.C. The setting is all too familiar: the viewer recognizes the national monuments, the people, and the technology present in the film. The introduction of Klaatu is even done realistically. Klaatu’s ship is surrounded by flocks of civilian spectators and military men ready to defend themselves at all costs. Shot in black and white in documentary-style, Wise presents Klaatu’s arrival as people in the 1950s would have experienced it. When the spectators first see Klaatu, they are initially curious because of his human-like form. The appearance of Gort causes the public to shrink back in fear due to its imposing and unfamiliar figure, thus being the embodiment of the