A Nietzschean Odyssey - Assignment Example

A Nietzschean Odyssey Introduction It is not clear whether Stanley Kubrick was aware of the implications that his 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey was bound to have on the cinema and real world. The implications showed up upon its release to theaters in 1968 where it attracted both vehement derision and ecstatic praise as well. These controversial outcomes did not however keep it from earning cumulative exhibitions grosses of 190 million USD worldwide, meaning its impact was great not just in the United States where it was produced. Whether derision or praise, the film attracted extensive reactions and especially from the science fiction context. Multiple scholars have come out with different approaches aimed at explaining the film, and especially in the respect of what it implied, with regards to God and the concept of man’s evolution from ape through human into superhuman. The closest explanation offered so far regarding the film is that it is a perfect mapping of German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, who had a philosophy claiming that God was dead. His argument was that since God was dead, there existed a gap that needed filling, and that required of humans to develop into superhuman form in order to fill the existing vacuum. This study will highlight the various ways in which Kubrick’s film 2001 adhered to the concept of God’s extinction and irrelevance of Christianity as purpoted by Nietzsche. The impact of 2001 seemed to startle even Kubrick himself. As Nelson (103) defines it, Kubrick did not “fully anticipate the enormity of its impact and scope”. All in all, the film caused ripples in the world of film, and this saw Kubrick dragged into technical and conceptual contexts of controversy which he had never intended to be involved in. Apart from being a controversial sci-fi film, 2001 doubles up as a landmark moment in film, having provoked minds of other directors and audiences with regards to what might actually happen in the event that extraterrestrial intelligence came into contact with human beings. This presents the junction between Kubrick’s film and Nietzsche’s philosophies of man’s transformation from ape to superman. The philosophy of Nietzsche, collectively termed as Thus Spake Zarathustra, was based on the argument that Christianity (which he refers to as traditional values) had lost its power in people’s lives, that God was dead, and there existed a need for an overman or superman (whom he refers to as Ubermensch) to come into existence (Nietzsche n.p.). So what connections make 2001: A Space Odyssey a Nietzschean odyssey? A far-off perspective may not provide any connection between Nietzsche’s claims about Christianity’s extinction and God being dead with Kubrick’s 2001 film. The reason lies in that while Nietzsche offers a direct claim of God and Christianity’s disappearance, 2001 offers no mention of theology or religion. However, the indirect representation of Nietzschean ideologies is evident in that the film is based off multiple metaphysical and philosophical definitions. In the interview, Kubrick said that he did not intend to deal with God in his film not unless it was to define him in a “scientific manner” (Seifert, Kim & Moore 272). The Nietzschean connection lies in that since he chose to define God in a scientific manner, implying that he perceived of God (and Christianity) as a traditional value. This is similar to Nietzsche’s claims. His film is made of out of pure abstractionism which seems to have replaced God and the existence of divine sense. In short, man-made structures and beliefs construct human knowledge and thoughts which conceptualize and run the world. Similarly, Nietzsche pushed Christian values aside, saying they were not truths, but rather, they were mere illusions and metaphors which prevented man from knowing the genuine truth. According to him, the truth could only be understood through human perspective and as such, the truth lay in man’s hands. In the film, the concept of understanding the world through man’s and not God’s perspective is evident in the presence of a black monolith which represents the overman (superman) (Wheat 147). The film ignores any divine mention but rather portrays of the alien as an advanced form of the human, only differing in that its abilities and intelligence outdo that of “normal” humans. Concisely, this implies that there is an advanced form of human, and this directly relates to Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra philosophies. Hal, the overly intelligent computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey acts as the second familiarization of the film to Nietzsche’s concepts of the post-Christian world. Christianity teachings state that the only being which is above the human is a supernatural God. This superiority is defined by logic, power, abilities, and intelligence to mention but a few. According to Nelson (126), Hal has been awarded extra-human features such as observing, processing, and reacting towards different situations and stimuli. Nelson feels that Kubrick intentionally personified the computer Hal with a certain purpose in mind. This is because Hal has a central processing center so powerful that it can reproduce all activities that the human brain is capable of. To worsen matters, Hal can fasten the processes to be more accurate, more reliable, and more convenient that the human brain. For instance, Hal is in charge of the spaceship Discovery. Hal controls the spaceship without any human assistance as they journey to the planet Jupiter (Chavez n.p.). Nelson adds that the computer memory center, which is a room resembling a library, but with white light instead of books represents superman abilities. This explanation offers a direct connection to Nietzsche’s Zarathustra ideology of the Ubermensch, which is a superman being (O’Loughlin 166). Nietzsche argued that the superman abilities could be arrived at by creatively organizing planet earth to come up with “complex” systems. Hal the computers fits this definition. Collectively, Nietzsche’s ideologies were aimed at discrediting God and installing superman in His place. As such, it makes sense that Hal might have been a god of some sort, since he was in charge of the humans. Rather than the humans control the Discovery, a computer was in charge this time. Additionally, Hal has abilities beyond human intelligence and power. In supporting that 2001 is quite Nietzschean, it seemed to have adhered to Nietzsche’s idea of having complex human systems replacing God. In a nutshell, Kubrick had consciously or innocently implemented Nietzsche’s Zarathustra theories of replacing God with supermen. In his definition of truth, Nietzsche portrayals of the world as mere immersed illusions with forms and surfaces onto which human eyes glide (Lemm 79). This is further emphases of his nullifying God and Christianity since these values are defined as invisible to the human eye, and that they are experienced divinely. Additionally, he contradicts Darwin’s theories of biological evolution since he believes in machines acquiring superhuman abilities. Machines are not biological. Nietzsche’s objective seemingly is to base human understanding on physical human creations and nothing invisible or only experienced as illusions. Again, this is evident in Kubrick’s film. Based on the fact that the film was created around 1968, Kubrick implied that by 2001, the world would be fully run by intelligent machines. The structure of the film is made of multiple spaceships, computers, light cathedrals, floating space stations, and satellites orbiting the earth amongst many other man-made structures and systems. Collectively, these systems and structures represent technology. In the 2001: A Space Odyssey film, technology is the key theme, with machines and complex IT-based systems dominating the screen (Chavez n.p.). It is only in minimal instances when humans are seen executing complex roles. Rather, they sleep around or take up the easy or “normal” roles. In short, the human plays second fiddle to technology in the film. This idea of machines dominating the screen space in his film implies that the philosophy of the new world order (post-Christianity) has been implemented in 2001, manifesting itself as technology. The issue with the virility of technology in the film is that it seems to overshadow human beings and somehow implying that machines are the gods of the future (Abrams 229). The obvious implication arising from this is that God seems to have been replaced by technology, and second that a superman has arrived to rule over humans. Kubrick seems to have embraced Nietzsche depiction of the world as composed and ruled by forms and surfaces. In simple terms, this makes 2001 a Nietzschean Odyssey. Still on the issue of “the truth” as Nietzsche puts it, is separated from human beings by created elements such as armies, governments, power, metaphysics, marriage, religion, and morality. These elements, he stated, act as obstacles in preventing humans from ever knowing the truth (Kubrick & Gene 80). In simple terms, Nietzsche feels that man is imprisoned by his own created structures, making him lack freedom and internal joy. These are seen in the manner that humans are punished for their transgressions both spiritually and socially. The element of imprisonment in the 2001: A Space Odyssey film is portrayed differently. This might be for various reasons but mostly due to the issue of machines being in charge of the world. The handling of power by machines such as Hal the supercomputer has denied people pleasure. One way that this is evident is when Heywood Floyd calls Frank Poole’s parents and his daughter as well; there is no display of emotion such as joy as should be in the real world (Chavez n.p.). Particularly for the birthday call made to Poole’s parents, Floyd’s lack of any emotion different from the face he wears while at work is confusing. Rather than be confusing, it may be a manifestation of imprisonment in the new world. Furthermore, they communicate with friends and family through innovations based on technology. Technology again suffices as the only way that people can get to one another, meaning it has taken their freedom and joy away. Another meaning which emerges from this occurrence is that maybe socialization is not as important in the new world because it has been overridden by the earlier mentioned elements (Clarke &David 115). In the case of 2001, power seems to be the contributing elements. Power relations are offered the upper hand in the film such as Heywood Floyd meeting the Russian scientists. The film emphasizes on this dialogue more than it does on the birthday call. If power is emphasized more in the film as compared to socializing between families and friends, then Nietzsche’s feeling that freedom has been taken away applies fully. In another instance, Hal is portrayed as inconsiderate. First of all, he embodies everything that man had strived for so long to produce and makes it his own through his memory center. Additionally, the relationship between Hal and the occupants shows more negative aspects of it. Poole and Bowman are performing maintenance roles aboard The Discovery but are not happy with it. Hal, the heart of the space ship imprisons them by having a part of itself in every room through his camera eyes. This makes the servicemen prisoners of the computer (Thayer 79). Hal is a machine but is exercising power on humans, such as monitoring them and being the heart of the space ship. As Nietzsche feels about technology which is man’s creation become an imprisonment, so is the atmosphere in the film implying. The reason here is that rather than technology serving humans, it is humans who are serving it and in it denying them joy and freedom. A Nietzschean evidently dominates the film as shown here. Nietzsche’s concept of man’s evolution from ape to superman ends with eternal recurrence. Eternal recurrence in this context means that anything that exists once existed, and can resume its former state. And in the event that something emerges, it will just be a repetition of itself (Martinez & Brenson 102). The film ends in an exact occurrence as the eternal recurrence highlighted by Nietzsche. In the final section titled “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite”, Bowman incapacitates Hal by disconnecting him from the controls. Bowman takes over the controls after understanding Hal’s intended mission having found a recorded message meant for Hal. Kubrick’s inclusion of such scenes in his film adheres to Nietzsche’s eternal recurrence, maybe implying that since man was once man and not superman, time has come for the evolution to be complete. The ape turned to man who turned to superman; superman in the film had been technology such as Hal. With Hal out of the way and Bowman in charge, the revolution is reversing. This is exactly what Nietzsche stated about eternal recurrence, that anything which exists once existed, and can exist over and over again. This unfolds in the film as the fetal figure gives birth to a new human race, and as the space ship flies through space, there are no more floating space ships, satellites, and all other created elements which once spotted the atmosphere (Tribbe 185). At this stage, superman has devolved back to man, perfectly mapping out the Nietzschean concept of eternal recurrence. Conclusion In the study, the controversy surrounding Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey of 1968 is outlined. The sci-fi film which surprised even the producer owing to its immense effect on the world of cinema presents a different side to itself. As was discussed in the Playboy interview, Kubrick denies having based his film off Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophies which accused Christianity as a traditional false and God being dead. However, as is highlighted in the study, much of the film adhered to Nietzsche’s theories. It is unclear whether Kubrick did it intentionally or it was all a matter of coincidence, but the fact stands that they perfectly map onto each other. This is evident in matters such as portrayal of God as being outdated, Christianity being null, science overriding man, power taking man’s freedom away, and evolution of man resuming mans nature from superman status. Al these elements justify the fact that the 2001: A Space Odyssey is in fact a perfect Nietzschean element. Works Cited Abrams, Jerold J. The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2007. Print. Chavez, Alberto. “2001: A Space Odyssey Full Movie”. YouTube, 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. Video. Clarke, Arthur C, and David Maule. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2008. Print. Kubrick, Stanley, and Gene D. Phillips. Stanley Kubrick: Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001. Print. Lemm, Vanessa. Nietzsches Animal Philosophy: Culture, Politics, and the Animality of the Human Being. New York: Fordham University Press, 2009. Print. Martinez, Daniel J, and Brenson, Michael. Daniel Joseph Martinez: A Life of Disobedience. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2009. Print. Nelson, Thomas A. Kubrick, Inside a Film Artists Maze. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000. Print. Nietzsche, Friedrich. “Thus Spake Zarachustra”. PSU.Ed, 2013. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. O’Loughlin, John. The Triumph of Being. Centretruths, 2011. Print. Seifert, Uwe, Jin, Kim, and Anthony Moore. Paradoxes of Interactivity: Perspectives for Media Theory, Human-Computer Interaction, and Artistic Investigations. Bielefeld: Transcript, 2008. Print. Thayer, Lee. Mental Hygiene: Communication and the Health of the Mind. Xlibris Corp., 2014. Print. Tribbe, Matthew D. No Requiem for the Space Age: The Apollo Moon Landings and American Culture. , 2014. Print. Wheat, Leonard F. Kubricks 2001: A Triple Allegory. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2000. Print. Read More