Posted on 11/20/2015 10:59:53 AM PST by Mellonkronos
[If you're into science fiction or into a lot of the new scientific breakthroughs, you'll probably find this interesting!]
On Viewing 2001: The First Transhumanist Film
By Edward Hudgins
I recently saw 2001: A Space Odyssey again on the big screen. That's the best way to see this visually stunning cinematic poem, like I saw it during its premiere run in 1968. The film's star, Keir Dullea, attended that recent screening and afterward offered thoughts on director Stanley Kubrick's awe-inspiring opus.
He and many others have discussed the visions offered in the film. Some have come to pass: video phone calls and iPad tablets, for example. Others, sadly, haven't: regularly scheduled commercial flights to orbiting space stations and Moon bases.
But what should engage our attention is that the film's enigmatic central theme of transformation is itself transforming from science fiction to science fact.
From apes to man
The film's story came from a collaboration between Kubrick and sci-fi great Arthur C. Clarke. If you're familiar with Clarke's pre-2001 novel Childhood's End and his short story “The Sentinel†you'll recognize themes in the film.
In the film we see a pre-human species on the brink of starvation, struggling to survive. An alien monolith appears and implants in the brain of one of the more curious man-apes, Moonwatcher, an idea. He picks up a bone and bashes in the skull of one of a herd of pigs roaming the landscape. Now he and his tribe will have all the food they need.
We know from Clarke's novel, written in conjunction with the film script, that the aliens actually alter Moonwatcher's brain, giving it the capacity for imagination and implanting a vision of him and his tribe filled with food. He sees that there is an alternative to starvation and acts accordingly. The aliens had....
(Excerpt) Read more at atlassociety.org ...
I can think of one exception: an Obama speech.
“The trip to Jupiter with “Hal” is a bore.”
That’s my favorite part, where HAL is getting the lobotomy. Stop, Dave. My mind is going. I can feel it...Daisy, Daisy....
Serious plots, spectacular special effects, outstanding musical scores ("Forbidden Planet" had trailblazing "electronic tonalities," while "The Day the Earth Stood Still" had a score by the genius Bernard Herrmann.)
"Forbidden Planet" was from Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
Yeah, about half of the 500 movie reviews about "Forbidden Planet" that I have read mention that little tidbit. Caliban = Robbie, Prospero = Morbius, Miranda = Altaira, etc.
Less widely known: The classic Star Trek episode "Requiem for Methuselah" was likewise a rehash. (Roddenberry half-way acknowledged cribbing.)
The remake of "Day" was really leftist nonsense.
Agreed! Though I've never seen it, I've read enough reviews and seen enough YouTube reviews to concurr.
Regards,
I also read the book. Whatever qualities the film possesses is wasted in lethargic pacing and boring, cold, undeveloped characters.
I also forgot Lolita.
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