2001: A Space Odyssey

This essay discusses the relationship between humans and technology in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It explores the depiction of human evolution and the impact of technology on the story. The film raises questions about the benefits and dangers of technology.

Running head: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
2001: A Space Odyssey
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the most popular epic science fiction film directed
by renowned filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, released in the year 1968. The film is well known
for taking the audiences of the film on a future voyage to the planet Jupiter, while everything
is being shown to the audiences with the help of the sentient computer HAL. The main
purpose of the story in the movie was the discovery of the alien monolith and how it affects
the evolution of the human beings. The film is considered to be one of the most influential
films to be made and dealt with the subject matter of existentialism, artificial intelligence,
extra-terrestrial lives, but most importantly, the relationship and the evolution between the
humans and the human technology. Both the humans and the human technologies have
evolved in a lot of ways since the beginning of the movie till the time the movie ends. This
relationship and the evolution between the humans and the human technologies in the movie
2001: A Space Odyssey is what will be discussed in the following paragraphs of the essay.
The purpose of this this essay is to describe the various ways of the depiction and
the development of the relationship between the humans and the human technologies in
the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick.
The movie 2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick shows the concept of
the human evolution to the audiences through the use of the alien monolith found in the
planet Jupiter. The other important aspect of the film which shown to the audiences in the
film is the humanity in the film and the use of the human technologies and how each of these
two are related to each other (Caracciolo et.al, 2016). It is worth noting in this case that the
renowned anthropologist Bruce Kapferer had in his book 2001 and Counting had revisited the
movie to explain to the readers about the ways in which the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick has
depicted the relationship between the humans and the technology which they have used in the
movie (Kubrick, 1968). The author of the book has explored also the various ways on which

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the humans and the human technology have been depicted in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey
(Guzman, 2017).
The depiction of the humans and the human technology in the movie 2001: A Space
Odyssey has been done way by the filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. The director of the movie has
used all of his filmmaking skills to make sure that the audiences clearly understands the
depiction and the relationship between these two principal characters in the movie
(Caracciolo, 2016). The film 2001: A Space Odyssey depicts and explains the relationship
between the humanity and the technology through the use of the violence in the futuristic
society through the use of the alien monolith as a guide to the events happening in the film
(Kapferer, 2001). The concept of the evolution of the human being are shown in the film at
the beginning in the form of the ape like creatures dying out. They are shown to be
herbivorous in nature, as they are found to be vulnerable to the predators of the times (Clarke,
2016). The earliest relationship between these humanoid creatures and technology is shown
to be in the form of the alien black monolith, which shows the audience how this pre-human
creature was able to make weapons which would help them to hunt other animals and protect
themselves from the predators (Kubrick, 1968).
2001: A Space Odyssey is a film which tells the audiences of the film about the story
of the human civilization and how the humans in the civilizations have been linked with the
use of the technology ever since the birth of the living organisms (Saini et.al, 2017). The
story of the movie focuses on the relationship between the humans and the human technology
through the conflict which the humans face in the movie with the technologies themselves
(Kubrick, 1968). Thus conflict is seen in the case of the artificial intelligence of the
spacecraft enroute to the planet Jupiter. This A.I. named HAL kills the humans whom it
considered to be threatening, until being killed by David Bowman who was the last surviving
members of the space crew in the spacecraft. This conflict between the humans and the

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technologies in the movies are shown by the filmmaker through his own artistic choices
(Kapferer, 2001). The filmmaker uses the technologies in the film to represent two
possibilities for the mankind on Earth. One hand the filmmaker portrays the limitless
possibilities for the humans for exploring the space through the use of the technology
(Sandoval, 2017). On the other hand, the filmmaker has used the technology to indicate that
the human tendencies of violence and self-destruction can bring the concept of the evolution
to a sudden and sad end, as is seen in the case of the space crew and HAL, the A.I. of the
spacecraft (Kubrick, 1968).
Another important factor which comes to light for the audience of the movie is the
filmmaker who had predicted a number of technologies which would be used by the human
beings in the future (Caracciolo, 2017). These included those of the artificial intelligence and
the spaceships which were used by the humans for going explorations in the space or the
artificial intelligence using which the humans can carry out various types of information
(Kapferer, 2001). In addition to this, the filmmaker has laid special emphasis on the subject
matter of the alien monolith which plays a very important role in the movie. It is with the use
of the monolith in the movie that the filmmaker deals with the various stages in the evolution
of the humanity in the planet since their origin as apes (Kramer, 2016). In addition to this, the
other role which the film serves is a study of the nature of the human beings. The question of
what it means to be a human is what makes the filmmaker to explore the concept of the
evolution of the human beings over the ages from the time they were apes to the times when
these apes became humans (Kubrick, 1968).
The concept of the alien monolith to study the evolution cycle of the human beings
can be seen by the audiences of the movie in the actions of the apes and how they behave
before and after the discovery of the monolith in the movie (Kubrick, 1968). This scene in the
movie, also known as the “Dawn of Man” shows the transformation of the apes into the

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human creatures. It is from this that the filmmaker draws conclusion on the nature of the
human beings that they are dependent on the technologies in their daily lives (Sandoval,
2016). The other important factor in his is the point that the tools which the early humans use
symbolises the human action from everything else. This is where the humans can distinguish
themselves from the apes in the sense that only the humans are capable of using the tools and
the technologies for their use (Kapferer, 2001).
It is from this that the filmmaker as well as the audience of the film stars to realize the
power which the humans hold over the wild animals using the control over the tools which
they have for themselves (Kubrick, 1968). It also signifies the superiority of the humans as
they can use the tools and the technologies to defend themselves, to collect their and also to
bend the nature at their will (Kramer, 2016). The film also creates a transition between the
ancient man and his tools as well as the modern man with his use of the technologies
(Guzman, 2016). The difference is that while the ancient technologies allowed man to collect
food, the modern technologies have helped the humans to perform many more explorations in
the sky, sea and space (Kramer, 2016). With the use of the modern technologies, the human
beings have the abilities to explore the space and for the search of the extra-terrestrial life in
the space (Kapferer, 2001).
However, the film also cautions the audiences about the misuse of the technologies
which might lead to be dangerous for them (Kramer, 2016). This is evidenced tin the film
through the use of the artificial intelligence HAL which becomes the main reason for the
death of the space crew (Kapferer, 2001). Thus, it can be said from this that while the
technology has the ability to be a boon for the humans, it can also be a curse for the humans
as well. This is the main reason why the filmmaker has used the technology from two
perspectives in the movie of 2001: A Space Odyssey (Guzman et.al, 2016).

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However, some experts are also of the opinion that the film at its climax, points out
the fact to the audiences that they have been looking at the subject matter of the humanity and
the technology in a different and wrong perspective than they should have been from the
beginning of the film. This is because of the fact that the audiences if the film initially are on
the side of Bowman and Poole as they battle HAL, the sentient artificial intelligence, which
was responsible for the deaths of the space crew members (Kubrick, 1968). However, the
worn perspective of the audiences is brought before them when the monolith is shown as a
form of comparison to the nature of mankind (Clarke et.al, 2016). The monolith in the movie
signifies all the things and the objects which are considered to be infinite and everlasting,
something which the humans themselves are not. The monolith in the movie has used the
monolith as a source of knowledge, power, evolution and other sources (Kubrick, 1968). The
imagery of the star child which has been used by the filmmaker in the movie has been used
by the filmmaker to symbolize the relativity of the humans in the universe (Caracciolo,
2017). The other factors which the Star Child symbolizes in the movie includes the naivety
and the fragility of the human beings (Kapferer, 2001). Hence, it can be said that the
relationship of the humans and the human technology in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey
can be said to show the fact that the humans are one being in the universe and one small part
of the cosmic opera, in which all the parts are considered to be equal to each other. The story
of the film passes on the message instead of the different types of biases which are faced by
the humans, they need to be together for their survival purpose (Kubrick, 1968).
This can also be said to be the focus of the book 2001 and Counting by renowned
author and anthropologist Bruce Kapferer. The anthropologist, in his book, also makes use of
the information presented Stanley Kubrick (Kapferer, 2001). In his book, the author and
anthropologist had critically analysed the relation between the human beings and the
technology and had linked to the major events in the present times like those of the Iraq War,

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the financial crisis of the year 2008 and the political effects of neoliberalism (Caracciolo,
2016). Hence, it can be said that both the author and the film maker have tried to explain the
relationship which the humanity shares with that of the technologies and the techniques of the
early timers and that of the present time (Kubrick: 1968).
Thus, from the above discussions, it can be concluded that 2001: A Space Odyssey
indeed portrays an important relationship between the human beings and that of technology.
While analysing the evolution of the humans through the various stages, the movie also
presents the various types of technologies which the human beings have used throughout the
times, However, the movie also presents an important warning to the humans regarding the
use of the technology….while the technology can be considered to be helpful for the human
beings, it might turn out not be harmful for the humans which might result in their death and
destruction.

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Reference List
Caracciolo, M., 2015. Bones in Outer Space: Narrative and the Cosmos in 2001: A Space
Odyssey and Its Remediations. Image & Narrative, 16(3), pp.73-89.
Clarke, A.C., 2016. 2001: a space odyssey. Penguin.
Gough, N., 2015. Undoing anthropocentrism in educational inquiry: A Phildickian space
odyssey. Posthumanism and educational research, pp.151-166.
Guzman, A.L., 2016. Making AI safe for humans: A conversation with Siri. In Socialbots
and Their Friends (pp. 85-101). Routledge.
Kapferer, B., 2001. And Counting: Kubrick, Nietzsche, and Anthropology.
Krämer, P., 2017. 2001: a space odyssey. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Kubrick, S., 1968. 2001: a space odyssey.
Saini, T.S., Bedekar, M. and Zahoor, S., 2016, August. Analysing human feelings by
affective computing-survey. In 2016 International Conference on Computing
Communication Control and automation (ICCUBEA) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
Sandoval, E.B., Mubin, O. and Obaid, M., 2014, October. Human robot interaction and
fiction: A contradiction. In International Conference on Social Robotics (pp. 54-63).
Springer, Cham.
Wright, J.T., 2018. Prior indigenous technological species. International Journal of
Astrobiology, 17(1), pp.96-100.

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Young, M., 2016. Singing the Body electric: the human Voice and Sound technology.
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