Can someone sum up some of the unanswered question to do with 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Question

What was that large black rectangle? Why was it on Earth, then burried on the moon, then all of a sudden floating near Jupiter? What did that white room at the end represent? Is the film about the stages of life and the evolution of how we see and think of things?

Answer 1

That large rectangle is called the Monelith. It appears in the beginning of man because man was having a bad time surviving and might become extinct. It actually intrfered with humans by giving them an advantage so that they could move on into the future. As the apes develope the first tool they b ecame conquerors for the first time....Next we see the ape toss his tool into the air and we see a killer satelite orbiting high above the earth, this takes us millions of years into the future and it shows haw far man had come from the dawn of man. We see rutine space travel and many of mans advances. Then the Monolith appears on the moon and again man is given a boost, he is ready for the next step in his developement, thus again he is boosted by this intelligent force. We see the Ship Discovery traveling to Jupiter on a secret mission with its HAL 1000 series computer. Its misssion is to investigate a Giant monolith with the same dimensions as the one found on the moon. On that journey the computer is made to malfunction and only one of the earthlings is allowed to survive. As he nears the Monolith he is captured by the superior beigns and transported to a place that was especially prepaired for him, light years away from home, but everything resmbles home so as not to shock him to death. As he adopts he is taken step by step through his life cycle until he is no longer able to do for himself, due to old age. The Monolith then reappears, signaling that man is again ready to take his next step in his journey, he is reborn with superior intelligence and starts as a newborn , having all the knowledge required to take his next step into his future, but this time he must do it all alone, with no more help from the outside.....Please note, this movie is a figment of a mans imagination and it is fiction;man was created by Jehovah God, The almighty of the universe, the maker of everything, the One with no buginning and no end. I do not believe in evolution, nor do I support it, but 2001 A space Odyssey is one of the most magnificent movies of all time, and no other movie in the history of of cinema has been able to create the special effects, so closely real, that Stanley Kubrick brought to the sreen for us. It will stand as one of the most facinating stories ever produced by a man.....Keck

Answer 2

It was a Playstation 3.

Just kidding.

It is a communications satellite paced there to monitor the Earth's development by Europa.

The more sophisticated humanbeiags became the further away the monolith had to travel to observe the planet unnoticed.

The closer Earthlings came to being able to explore the galaxy, the more necessary it became to have a first contact with the planet to tell Earthlings that they are not welcome near Europa at this point in Earth's development.


As for the room there is a little bit of Ying Yang symbolism going on there. Inside the dark is a bit of white. In other words, this is not all evil, there is some good to it as well.

In short, we are not alone in the universe but we are immature compared to others who may be watching us. That is the point of the stories: If we want to be accepted in the universe we have to grow up a lot and become less hostile to one another.

Answer 3

My interpretation - the monolith represented technology, either from aliens or God. Every time the monolith appeared, there was a huge leap in knowledge - the apes discovering tools, etc. At the end, when Bowman goes to the white room - it's the equivalent of Heaven, or the other side depending on your religious ideology. Once pure knowledge is obtained, the spirit is returned, embodied in the embryo. The embryo had HAL's eye - illustrating the bigger theme about man and technology. How do we as "apes" maintain our humanity when the technology becomes more intelligent than we can comprehend? At some point, does it become our master?

Answer 4

I consider it a masterpiece. It can certainly be considered "boring" if you enjoy only movies that follow a predictable formula, or movies that are "easy to understand," and that have clear-cut protagonists and antagonists, and that always end with the well-established good-guys "winning." Don't get me wrong. I like plenty of those movies too. But I also like movies as art. I kind of *enjoy* being confused and disturbed and disoriented when I walk out of the theater. I have great respect for filmmakers who have enough artistic talent to upset me and not merely to entertain me. I respect filmmakers who care about their own message and succeed in expressing it, even if I don't agree with--or even understand--their message. So, I don't really care about "figuring out" the 2001 story (although I've read enough interviews with Arthur C. Clarke that I think I've got a fair handle on it). Every time I watch it, I pick up on more details that make me admire it even more. And you know, even after 44 years, its special effects are STILL better, and more convincing, than most of today's sci-fi movies(!)

Answer 5

The three black monoliths are about advancement. The first (Africa) inspires creativity, the second (Lunar) inspires exploration, and the third (Jupiter) allows transcendence of time and space. In the white room, Dave Bowman sees the future and experiences jumps in space time as his awareness is extended.

Kubrick made the monolith quasireligious, defying scientific explanation, but intervening in the natural development of man. Clarke's story "The Sentinal" is much more mechanistic and less mysterious. In the end, the most important theme (to me) is how inspiration changes your perception of things. The bone is just a bone until you see it as more.

Answer 6

This film made more sense when I saw it drunk than sober. I like the intermission best as you don't get these anymore.
I think the rectangle is a metaphore for something and the white room represents The Game.

Answer 7

Try reading the book, rather than relying on a (good) film interpretation.

Isn't the black rectangle/monolith somewhat akin to Eve's apple - knowledge??? (Which perhaps comes from outside)

As for the white room.......? Your guess is as good as mine.

Answer 8

this is just one guy's opinion but......
the idea behind the monolith is that it is always present during major changes that shape the world around us. it was the monolith's god-like influence that allowed the monkeys to discover tools/weapons in the beginning of the movie. it was also present when jupiter imploded, creating a new star. whatever the monolith is, it has the power to create, destroy and instigate major changes. as far as what this movie is really about.....i don't know but i like it.

Answer 9

42

Answer 10

that's way too complicated to explain here. The best way to find that out are to read the Arther C. Clarke novels:

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