Review of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Richard D — 28 Aug 2018

This film is a nearly perfect example of the form perfectly expressing the content of a film. In broad strokes, the film is about our ascent from primitive animals by the discovery of tools, and how we have advanced almost nowhere since that point .

.. creating bigger and better tools that don't end up solving our fundamental problems. The film show humans stepping off into space, and it's largely depicted as a fairly banal enterprise full of space stations than look like airports, men sitting in conference rooms, and the repetitive execution of work tasks.

Kubrick was often concerned by how we build systems and apparatuses that end up destroying ourselves and our humanity ... it's the overarching theme of "Dr. Strangelove", "A Clockwork Orange", "Full Metal Jacket" and "Paths of Glory" and surfaces in other forms in films like "Barry Lyndon" and "The Shining".

Here, our most advanced creation, the HAL 9000 computer turns on us and destroys its creators. Humanity must advance beyond our reliance on tools and technology to really advance beyond our fundamental problems.