Through Infinity and Beyond

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
directed by Stanley Kubrick


The fertilization to create an ideal human world is not just strictly and statistically through technology as there is a beyond; a bit further still to comprehend the depths of one’s humanity: the genuine intelligence of man.


2001: A Space Odyssey is a magnificent visual treat that divulges into the evolution of man vis-à-vis the milieu of his worldly existence. It revolves around the central idea that: HUMAN RATIONALITY IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF INTELLIGENCE IN THE UNIVERSE. 


The story is divided into four parts. First of which is the “Dawn of Man”, which chronicles the way of living of pre-historic man-apes. It shows the appearance of the first monolith and the invention of the first tool. The second part does not have a title. It is set in year 2001, 4 million years after the first part. It chronicles Dr. Heywood Floyd’s mission to Clavius crater in the moon as he endeavors to explain the appearance of the second monolith. The third part is entitled “Jupiter Mission, 18 months later”. It is about the quest to Jupiter of 2 astronauts, 3 hibernating crew members and a supercomputer whose aim is to find out why the second monolith sent signals to Jupiter. A third monolith is found in Jupiter. The fourth part is entitled “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite”. It tackles David Bowman’s experience in a different dimension of space and time. 


More than any other formal technique used in the film, the Mise-en-Scene ultimately depicted the overall message, symbolisms and theme of the film. The spatial aesthetics and sound effects rendered by the mise-en-scene in the entire duration of the film upstaged the 40-minute dialogue in telling the audience what 2001: A Space Odyssey is all about. Viewers are left to make a subjective reflection on the visual imagery telling the story. Every aspect of the mise-en-scene shaped the dimension of the film. The overture begins with a black, blank screen that continues for a minute or more. In itself, the blackness and blankness of the screen was a setting portraying nothingness, for nothingness existed before anything was created. Following this was the vertical alignment of the moon, earth and sun in deep space, wherein the camera gives a panoramic view of the Moon in the foreground. The perspective is from behind the moon. In the distance is a view of the Sun rising over the partially-eclipsed Earth, with Richard Strauss’ “Zarathustra” playing in the background. The music being played in crescendo gave an intense feeling of something massive and important arriving before your eyes. The use hard quality lighting in defining the shadow cast over the earth made it appear crescent-like, suggesting that the earth has a dark side, the struggles of man to find the light and develop themselves into a civilization. The vertical alignment of the three heavenly bodies is a symbolic representation of the passage of time from past to future, pictured from the darkness of the earth to sunrise. It is also a visual manifestation of foreshadowing the fact that these heavenly bodies will appear as motifs in the film. 


The other formal elements backed up the mise-en-scene in shaping the dimension of the film. The 40-minute dialogue and the limited acting scenes were well-suited since the visual imagery served as the language of the film. Even the mediocrity of the artists’ acting served a purpose. They served as the background to the visual journey in the film, which was the main attraction. Editing-wise, the fade-ins and fade-outs employed in most scene transitions made the transition of time more dramatic. The jump cuts connecting the start and end of each of the four parts were highly commendable. In fact, 2001: A Space Odyssey is critically-acclaimed for using such long jump shots. Cinematography-wise, the panoramic tilts thoroughly defined the vertical alignment of heavenly bodies in the 4 parts. The anamorphic processes applied made outer space look more vast and grand. The angle, level, height and distance of framing matched the mise-en-scene really well. The soundtracks such as the “Zarathustra”, the “Blue Danube Waltz” and “Gayne Ballet Suite” made the of the scenes they accompanied really prominent and credible. The sound guided the rest of the aspects of the mise-en-scene well.


In a nutshell, 2001: A Space Odyssey is more than just a miscellany of shapes, colors and dimensions. It is beyond visual candy, for every sight and sound bears unfathomable meanings to it. It is a journey through time; a journey that delves into the true core of humanity. Thanks to the mise-en-scene, a clearer picture of the past and the future will forever be etched in our minds; in the words of Buzz Lightyear, "THROUGH INFINITY AND BEYOND".