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Analysis Of 2001 A Space Odyssey

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In 1968, reputable director/producer Stanley Kubrick revolutionized the art of film with his Arthur C. Clark collaboration, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The MGM film is known for it’s striking imagery mostly because, upon an audience member’s first viewing, it is the only thing that actually makes sense. After the second or third viewing, though, one realizes that the story is something larger than life. Or at least it is larger than the human race. 2001 tells the story of evolution and the future that humans might eventually encounter. The plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey is complex. The basic plot takes place after the human race finds a mysterious monolith buried on the moon. A crew of astronauts, the main of which are Dr. Dave Bowman, played by Keir Dullea, and Dr. Frank Poole, played by Gary Lockwood, set out on a mission to the outer moons of Jupiter. With them is the artificial intelligence computer, H.A.L. 9000, which controls all of the functions of the ship, including the life support systems holding part of the still-hibernating crew. After a series of events that lead Dr. Bowman and Dr. Poole to believe Hal is malfunctioning, relations between human and computer become hostile. The function of this film is not to portray computers as evil beings. 2001 serves as a science fiction thought piece on what the next step of evolution might be. The film starts by showing the dawn of man four million years ago. The actions of the apes are primal. They are mostly herbivores

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