2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction film, produced in 1968 as both a film (directed by Stanley Kubrick) and a novel (written by Arthur C. Clarke).

After deciding on Clarke's 1948 short story "The Sentinel" as the starting point, and with the themes of man's relationship with the universe in mind, Clarke sold Kubrick five more of his stories to use as background materials for the film.



I found the overall concept of the film very interesting, the concept was also fascinating- it was based on the philosophy that we as a human race have become too dependant on technology and have come to rely on it in every aspect our lives. This is even to the extent that it becomes so powerful that it will ultimately consume us.

Due to the fact that the whole philosophy is quite layered many people simply didn’t get it. Below is a link that leads to a flash animation that explains in great detail what the whole concept was about.

http://www.kubrick2001.com

One of the things that I really liked about this film was the relationship between the human and computer interactions. The spaceship computer “HAL” began to think that it was real and takes it upon himself to terminate the entire crew.

HAL 9000 (Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer) is a fictional computer with artificial intelligence, the sentient on-board computer of the spaceship Discovery. HAL is usually represented only as his television camera "eyes" that can be seen throughout the Discovery spaceship. (wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_9000)



There have been lots of references of the computer HAL in today’s media. One of the more memorable ones was in a Simpson’s episode where the computer took hold of the Simpson’s household. Once again the computer played an evil character that tried to seduce Marge and devour Homer Simpson.

Another memorable use of the computer “HAL” was in a 60-second Super Bowl advert promoting Macintosh computers. The camera zooms in slowly on the red light as HAL attempts to brainwash the user into thinking the all Macintosh programs are excellent.



I really like the whole concept of a spaceship with an almost organic personality. I think that this concept can be utilised in my solar system concept. The human computer division could be broken down with a simple voiceover.