The Academy is a place where the thinkers enrolled in Philosophy for Teenagers can share their thoughts, doubts, speculations and assertions. Each student must post at least 4 substantial comments by the end of the quarter; no one may post more than two comments in a single day. (A "substantial" comment is 125-200 words long.) Remember to be respectful of others--you can, of course, question, support or refute anything on the blog, but please do so in a respectful manner.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Bonus Blog!
For today only, you can respond to the "Consider" question on your 2001 Part 1 Study Guide.
This post is only open until midnight tonight (Monday, Jan. 14). Be sure your response is 150-200 words long.
7 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Kubrick’s transition from the hurled bone to the Dr. Floyd’s shuttle is very interesting; however, it could have multiple meanings to it. First, we must know what the bone represents in order to know what we transitioned from; second, we have to know what the shuttle represents in order to know what we transitioned to. In my opinion, the bone and the ape-men represent us but not necessarily that far back in time. Kubrick might be going that far back to show the audience how far behind we are with the way we think. On the other hand, the shuttle represents the enlightenment and the right way of thinking. Overall, when the bone is thrown to the air and with the same idea the movie jumps into the future, it is Kubrick’s way of showing that the way of thinking was changed and people are improving and learning more and more everyday. Also, because the shuttle was sort of taken from the bone, it might show how it is important and crucial as a step in a big staircase. You must first be that bone that does not really understand much in order to improve and get better and better.
Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone scene directly to Dr. Floyd’s shuttle with nothing in between. Moon Watcher triumphantly throws the bone up towards the sky which is directly followed by a view of the shuttle and Dr. Floyd. Since Kubrick shows each scene correspondingly, he could very well be implying that Dr. Floyd has some connection to the monolith and the reason why it is implanted on the prehistoric land. Kubrick could have done this to show that Dr. Floyd may know or have a plan or something to do with the monkey’s new and strange behavior. Also, it could foreshadow the Dr. Floyd has knowledge about the monolith and its effects on the monkey’s. Taking it into further consideration, it could be possible that the doctor has an entire plan to alter these prehistoric creatures, to take control over them. Or maybe, keeping in mind the plot and the supercomputer, Dr.Floyd wants to control them and their world with the computer and 2001’s obvious technologies. Overall, Kubricks directing choice potrays a connection between the prehistoric characters and Dr. Floyds shuttle.
There was a scene in the film where the ape threw a bone into the air, which was then followed by another scene in the film of which there was a spaceship flying. I believe that this signifies that the evolution of man was eventually to be finalized as something with flight. Humans were moved ahead in the film from throwing objects into the air to make them fly, to using rocket thrusters to make a spaceship move throughout space. This jump ahead into the future shows humans evolution with flight and flying objects, and how we have been able to take control over things that will move through the air and space over the years. Kubrick could have just as easily cut the scene at the end when he was hitting the ground with his stick to a modern day war scene. I am pretty sure that Kubrick realized that humans are more awed by flight than war and sought to make a very good effect for his movie. These transitions were very well thought out by Kubrick indeed, and nothing in this movie should be overlooked due to the fact that everything that goes on in the movie has meaning to the plot.
Kubrick most probably included the hurling bone scene before the space shuttle scene to show some foreshadowing. In the beginning of the film, the "savannah" was portrayed as the somewhat peaceful place using different camera angles capturing the sunset and landscape. However, thanks to the discovery of one animal's tool, the serenity of the savannah was threatened. Each of the monkeys armed themselves with bones to confront the other pack of monkeys in order to claim the water hole. During this confrontation, one monkey from the other pack was brutally beaten to death by the monkeys with the bones. Such a hideously cruel scene definitely contrasted with the calm beginning. The same is going to happen in the space ship scene. The Blue Danube Waltz plays in the background and space ships are floating around in space, giving a very serene atmosphere. However, this atmosphere is going to be disrupted again. The Russians aboard the space ship drop hints about the US sector on the moon being malfunctioned. Could the moon be thrown into chaos next?
Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone to the shuttle, perhaps to show how man has evolved. When we first see man, in the sequence called "Dawn of Man", we see that mankind is very primitive, and he does not posses the use of any tools. However, one of the prehistoric man discovers that a bone from a dead animal is a good whacking tool, and can be used as a blunt force object in order to inflict harm and do damage greater than what humans can do. He comes to this realization when he uses this bone to break other bones, which he normally wouldn't have been able to do if he did not have the bone. We see him use it to gain territory over a rival band of humans, killing the leader. We then see the bone thrown into air, and then we see the 2001 version of man, who has progressed from inventing a primitive club into creating space technology that can create space colonies and moon bases. We went from earth-bound creatures to space fairing creatures, and such a transition and such rapid growth is extraordinary, when you think of it.
I’m not exactly sure of the reason why Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone to Dr. Floyd’s shuttle in this scene. Maybe he just wanted to change the scenery or maybe it is for an entirely different reason. It could have been because he just wanted to introduce the characters to the viewers. But I think it is to show how things change over time. How we evolved from using crude weapons to building our own weapons. We have had so many different improvements in technology. And thousands/millions of years have passed since our ancestors were pre-historic. Enough time for us to evolve. To walk on our two legs instead of running on all fours. For us to change the way we think. Back then, it had been all about surviving in a harsh world. Now, it’s still about surviving, except we have different things to worry about than what our ancestors had to worry about back then. With evolution comes complications. And some complications can kill us.
For today only, you can respond to the "Consider" question on your 2001 Part 1 Study Guide.
7 comments:
Kubrick’s transition from the hurled bone to the Dr. Floyd’s shuttle is very interesting; however, it could have multiple meanings to it. First, we must know what the bone represents in order to know what we transitioned from; second, we have to know what the shuttle represents in order to know what we transitioned to. In my opinion, the bone and the ape-men represent us but not necessarily that far back in time. Kubrick might be going that far back to show the audience how far behind we are with the way we think. On the other hand, the shuttle represents the enlightenment and the right way of thinking. Overall, when the bone is thrown to the air and with the same idea the movie jumps into the future, it is Kubrick’s way of showing that the way of thinking was changed and people are improving and learning more and more everyday. Also, because the shuttle was sort of taken from the bone, it might show how it is important and crucial as a step in a big staircase. You must first be that bone that does not really understand much in order to improve and get better and better.
Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone scene directly to Dr. Floyd’s shuttle with nothing in between. Moon Watcher triumphantly throws the bone up towards the sky which is directly followed by a view of the shuttle and Dr. Floyd. Since Kubrick shows each scene correspondingly, he could very well be implying that Dr. Floyd has some connection to the monolith and the reason why it is implanted on the prehistoric land. Kubrick could have done this to show that Dr. Floyd may know or have a plan or something to do with the monkey’s new and strange behavior. Also, it could foreshadow the Dr. Floyd has knowledge about the monolith and its effects on the monkey’s. Taking it into further consideration, it could be possible that the doctor has an entire plan to alter these prehistoric creatures, to take control over them. Or maybe, keeping in mind the plot and the supercomputer, Dr.Floyd wants to control them and their world with the computer and 2001’s obvious technologies. Overall, Kubricks directing choice potrays a connection between the prehistoric characters and Dr. Floyds shuttle.
There was a scene in the film where the ape threw a bone into the air, which was then followed by another scene in the film of which there was a spaceship flying. I believe that this signifies that the evolution of man was eventually to be finalized as something with flight. Humans were moved ahead in the film from throwing objects into the air to make them fly, to using rocket thrusters to make a spaceship move throughout space. This jump ahead into the future shows humans evolution with flight and flying objects, and how we have been able to take control over things that will move through the air and space over the years. Kubrick could have just as easily cut the scene at the end when he was hitting the ground with his stick to a modern day war scene. I am pretty sure that Kubrick realized that humans are more awed by flight than war and sought to make a very good effect for his movie. These transitions were very well thought out by Kubrick indeed, and nothing in this movie should be overlooked due to the fact that everything that goes on in the movie has meaning to the plot.
Kubrick most probably included the hurling bone scene before the space shuttle scene to show some foreshadowing. In the beginning of the film, the "savannah" was portrayed as the somewhat peaceful place using different camera angles capturing the sunset and landscape. However, thanks to the discovery of one animal's tool, the serenity of the savannah was threatened. Each of the monkeys armed themselves with bones to confront the other pack of monkeys in order to claim the water hole. During this confrontation, one monkey from the other pack was brutally beaten to death by the monkeys with the bones. Such a hideously cruel scene definitely contrasted with the calm beginning. The same is going to happen in the space ship scene. The Blue Danube Waltz plays in the background and space ships are floating around in space, giving a very serene atmosphere. However, this atmosphere is going to be disrupted again. The Russians aboard the space ship drop hints about the US sector on the moon being malfunctioned. Could the moon be thrown into chaos next?
Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone to the shuttle, perhaps to show how man has evolved. When we first see man, in the sequence called "Dawn of Man", we see that mankind is very primitive, and he does not posses the use of any tools. However, one of the prehistoric man discovers that a bone from a dead animal is a good whacking tool, and can be used as a blunt force object in order to inflict harm and do damage greater than what humans can do. He comes to this realization when he uses this bone to break other bones, which he normally wouldn't have been able to do if he did not have the bone. We see him use it to gain territory over a rival band of humans, killing the leader. We then see the bone thrown into air, and then we see the 2001 version of man, who has progressed from inventing a primitive club into creating space technology that can create space colonies and moon bases. We went from earth-bound creatures to space fairing creatures, and such a transition and such rapid growth is extraordinary, when you think of it.
I’m not exactly sure of the reason why Kubrick cuts from the hurled bone to Dr. Floyd’s shuttle in this scene. Maybe he just wanted to change the scenery or maybe it is for an entirely different reason. It could have been because he just wanted to introduce the characters to the viewers. But I think it is to show how things change over time. How we evolved from using crude weapons to building our own weapons. We have had so many different improvements in technology. And thousands/millions of years have passed since our ancestors were pre-historic. Enough time for us to evolve. To walk on our two legs instead of running on all fours. For us to change the way we think. Back then, it had been all about surviving in a harsh world. Now, it’s still about surviving, except we have different things to worry about than what our ancestors had to worry about back then. With evolution comes complications. And some complications can kill us.
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