Okay… what just happened? I loved it but what did I just watch? The special effects, the shots, all of it was beautiful… but what was it about? I am talking about none other than Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Oddessy…Oddisey…Odisy…Odessy…Oddysi…Odd-iss-eee… Odizye…Odyssey? Odyssey. Wow, even the title is confusing. But, nevertheless, I loved it.

I don’t really understand art sometimes. I love paintings, but I get lost in the weird shapes and faces of a Picasso, and strange colors of a Matisse. But I still love it. I can’t really explain why, except for that art evokes certain feelings inside of me. The best way to describe 2001, for me at least, is as an abstract piece of art. People come out of a screening loving the film, but not knowing exactly why. You can say that it is a statement on the evolution of man, or on the craft of gods in our universe. Or you could say that it represents the struggles between man and machine, you can even say that it’s just aliens and leave it at that. But one thing that everyone can agree on is that 2001 is beautiful, shocking, dramatic, and most of all that it is a work of art.

So, I’m not really sure what happened, but I’m going to do my best to describe what I think I saw. In the beginning, there is an amazing shot of the sun rising over the earth, which is rising over the moon, accompanied by a dramatic and massive theme. You’ve probably seen it or at least heard it before, but you probably don’t know that it comes from this movie. After that, which is in my opinion the greatest opening shot of all time, it breaks down into chapters, one after another. The first chapter is titled, “The Dawn of Man.” It shows two groups of apes fighting over a pool of water…yeah, and this movie is called 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then one of the groups discovers a strange object, a tall, black monolith, so they touch it and make ape noises around it. This apparently does something because then an ape finds a bone and starts hitting other bones, which I can only assume as a representation of man’s discovery of tools. There’s a lot of symbolism in this movie, making it hard to follow sometimes, but it’s incredible to watch nonetheless. In the next chapter, set in the “future” year of 2001, we find people in a spaceship talking about a strange object, a monolith, that they found on the moon. They land on the moon and touch it, which apparently does something else because next we are in a spaceship on a mission to Jupiter…because why not? This is where the movie finally starts to feel like a movie and not a series of really well made nerdy student projects put together. Dave and his unimportant friend are aboard a spaceship controlled by the hyper-intelligent A.I. supercomputer, H.A.L. When Hal, as they call him, starts to have doubts about the mission’s objective, the struggle between man and machine begins. This super complex plot is somehow stitched together with the most complex, yet incredible transitions ever, but is somewhat made up for with its amazing directing talent and use of practical and special effects. The movie is really so philosophical, you can’t really take it at face value.

After that all happens, we reach the ending. It’s not really a spoiler because it doesn’t make any sense. First comes the stargate sequence, or what the internet has been calling, “the technicolor acid trip.” They’re not kidding. (Not that I would know, don’t do drugs kids,) It looks as if the movie is saying, “Look we have all these cool tricks! Now, watch as we use ALL of them in the MOST unconventional way possible.” For the most part in this movie, the effects are Star Wars levels a decade earlier. Kubrick’s use of practical effects to make realistic planets and spaceships is so convincing that some people even even think he faked the moon landing for NASA. They are incredibly impressive and beautiful, but sometimes they aren’t seen as impressive in today’s world of CGI and digital effects. Although, that might be because they are used in the weirdest ways, such as a giant space baby for example. Yeah, I just said “giant space baby.” This movie is really confusing, so good luck. You’d better hang on tight and try to pay attention to what happens, because it makes absolutely no sense.

The symbolism and poetry of 2001 is beyond me, and I like to think of it as Stanley Kubrick’s scene museum put together into a movie. But as it is with all movies, what you see on the screen is sometimes just a surface lining that can be scraped away to reveal a deeper, hidden meaning. The problem is that the plot points and symbols are so vague that any theory has credible evidence, and it all comes down to what people want it to be about. Stanley Kubrick himself is quoted as saying, “It is the pattern of a great deal of mythology, and that is what we were trying to suggest.” (Junichi Yaoi, The Shining - unseen interviews with Stanley Kubrick). This movie is about whatever you want it to be about. It is something that everyone understands just a little bit differently. As I said earlier 2001 can be a statement on the evolution of man, or on the craft of gods in our universe. Or you could say that it represents the struggles between man and machine, or even that it’s just aliens and leave it at that. For me, watching 2001 was an interesting experience. At first, it was confusing. Then, it made me think and my brain started to hurt. I had to watch it again, and was able to recognize and appreciate how beautiful and dramatic it is. Some even deem it as the best science-fiction film of all time. I disagree, but it cannot be denied that it is a good movie. The beauty and drama of the shots cement Kubrick as one of the greatest directors of all time. The effects are decades ahead of their time, and are really effective when used in the right ways. Although the plot is twisted and convoluted, while stitched together by complex transitions, it still feels great. It all ties back to my earlier descriptions of abstract art. Like art, you don’t have to understand it to love it, it just has to make you feel.