2001: A Space Odyssey Analysis The purpose of this report is threefold. I will begin by briefly discussing my interpretation of the film, 2001: a Space Odyssey, with a particular focus on the piece of alien technology, the black monolith. I will then discuss the plausibility of the Jupiter landing/living scenes, including the accuracy of how it was portrayed and whether living on Jupiter for a sustained period of time is realistic. Finally, I will wrap up by delving deeper into the black monolith. I will discuss the plausibility of the technology and the initial reaction to the technology from life on Earth. The ending of this film is entirely open to interpretation, ranging from an explanation for Darwinian evolution to strictly religious thoughts of God or gods. Personally, I saw the black monolith as some sort of super-advanced alien technology that served multiple purposes. The first purpose, which was seen in the “Dawn of Man” section of the movie, was to assist in the advancement of an intelligent race. The monolith first appeared to the primates, before some of the early Homo species had arose. Shortly after contact with the monolith, one group of primates began to use a bone as a weapon. With the newly found weapons, one group was able to defend the water hole from another group. This suggests that the monolith had somehow inspired, whether through some sort of telepathic thought transmission or simply through touching it, the apes to begin using tools. The monolith had instantly advanced the primates towards further evolution. This was seen again in the closing scene of the film as well. The sole surviving astronaut, Bowman, is shown in a mysterious room. The scene keeps advancing and he keeps aging. Finally, in his deathbed, the monolith appears again. This is where the film went from weird/vague, to WEIRDER/VAGUER (probably not proper English). It appeared to me that the monolith again “advanced” the life form in which it came into contact with. This time, instead of simply implanting ideas into Bowman’s head as it seemed to do with the apes, it completely transformed Bowman from an old man into a baby surrounded by a protective shield. This could very well be seen as a further stage in the evolution of man; from primate to man, then from man to whatever this baby figure could be. “Baby” Bowman is then shown travelling through space towards Earth. In the film, Bowman and the other astronauts are sent on a mission to Jupiter. Towards the end, Bowman is the only one who reaches Jupiter and attempts to enter the planet in the mini-space pod. During this scene, Bowman’s cruiser is bombarded with brilliant, multicolored flashing lights for a full few minutes. I believe this was portraying him breaking through the atmosphere of Jupiter. In my research for this assignment, I have found that this portrayal may be more accurate than I first thought. Jupiter, the biggest planet in our solar system, boasts a similarly massive atmosphere. This atmosphere is notorious for being extremely colorful. On the NASA website, it is stated that Jupiter’s atmosphere is “a tapestry of beautiful colors and atmospheric features.” These colors also could have been produced by the enormous magnetosphere of Jupiter. Deep in the atmosphere, the hydrogen and helium abundant in the upper atmosphere as gas becomes metallic and electrically conducting. The colors could have been electrons and ions reacting within this magnetosphere. Another possible explanation for the colors could be lightning storms in the atmosphere. Lightning is formed on Jupiter by convection, just like on Earth. However, Jupiter’s lightning is much more powerful, resulting in more intense storms. Bowman could have very well been driving right through one of these intense lightning storms in Jupiter’s atmosphere. While the array of colors and their appearance may have been exaggerated in the film, I believe any one of the factors listed above could have accounted for the scene mentioned. Eventually, Bowman breaks through the atmosphere and reaches the inner portion of Jupiter. First, the innards of Jupiter are shown to be rocky. This may have some scientific truth to it. Due to its massive pressure, it is said that Jupiter may have a core of ice-rock. The science begins to break down when some sort of flowing liquid ocean is shown. Jupiter is much too far away from the Sun for the temperature to be suitable for liquid water. Therefore, the liquid is most likely hydrogen and/or helium. This last fact transitions nicely into my next discussion: the plausibility of a human, or any life form, living on a planet like Jupiter for a sustained period of time. In the film, it shows Bowman living out the rest of his life in some sort of room, which I have assumed to have been located on Jupiter. There are some problems with this assumption. For life to exist, it must have access to liquid water. Jupiter, however, is well out of the habitable zone of the Sun, so water will not be available in liquid state. The only way for liquid water to exist outside of the tidal habitable zone is if the planet/moon is internally heated by tidal heating. Jupiter is positioned in our solar system very far away from the Sun, at approximately 5 AU. At this distance, potential life forms on Jupiter would probably not be able to utilize energy from the Sun. With these facts in place, one could argue that maybe the room Bowman was living in was in some sort of alien space-station or other structure that could support life, making available some source of oxygen, water, and energy supply (food). This could be possible. However, the viability of this scenario for a long-term option to support human life is not realistic. As discussed, there would not be a continual source of water, oxygen, or an energy source to replenish what Bowman was using up over the many years into his old age. For this last section, I will return to the black monolith. First and foremost, it is hard to judge the plausibility of alien technology. In medieval times, back in the 14th or 15th century, the common human could not comprehend the idea of a computer, let alone the internet. Instead of just a few hundred years, think about this idea on a more massive scale. The universe is agreed to be approximately 13.7 billion years old. The Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old. Homo sapiens, the current human form (one could say), have been around merely 200,000 years. Think about an Earth-like planet, orbiting a Sun-like star, which has been in the continuously habitable zone about the star for billions of years. Life here would have had a major head start than life on Earth. This million or even billion year difference would have unimaginable consequences on technology. Therefore, I believe just about anything could be possible in the field of technology with enough time, including a black monolith radio transmitter, which doubles as some sort of information storage/transmission system. I believe the most realistic part of this film was the portrayal of the reactions to the alien technology. The initial contact took place in two different scenarios: the primates on Earth at the beginning and the futuristic humans on the Moon. I do not believe a discussion about the apes’ reaction has much relevance to the subject of our course; however, I do think it is important to note the fact that in the two scenarios, the Earth life reacted similarly upon first contact. Both the apes and the astronauts approached the monolith very timidly, until gaining the courage to touch it. The others in both groups then began to loosen up and come in to touch the figure as well. What I believe is accurate about this portrayal is the fact that those in charge of investigating the technology immediately sought to cover it up. Early in the movie, Dr. Floyd is awaiting his departure to the Clavius Base on the Moon when he is asked a series of questions regarding some odd things going on at the base. Dr. Floyd dodges the questions as well as he can until the inquisitor asks a more direct question, to which Dr. Floyd says he cannot discuss the information. It then shows a scene where the Dr. is leading a meeting with the National Council of Astronautics, discussing how much longer they should keep the discovery a secret and the ramifications of telling the general public. I believe this is exactly what the US government would do, if they aren’t already doing, if alien technology was discovered. In conclusion, I believe I have addressed the purpose of this paper. I have briefly discussed my interpretation of the film, with a focus on the black monolith. I then gave different possibilities for the scene where Bowman’s craft is bombarded by lights, surmising that this was director Stanley Kubrick’s interpretation of Jupiter’s atmosphere. Following the atmosphere discussion, I then discussed the viability of sustained life on Jupiter, concluding that it is not realistic. Finally, I went into more detail on my analysis of the alien technology, including thoughts on its plausibility and the accurate portrayal of the human reaction. The film is extremely thought provoking, and really makes one think about the past, present, or future impact of alien technology on the human race.

Bibliography
2001: A Space Odyssey

Homo sapiens information * http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/species/homo-sapiens

Jupiter facts * http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Jupiter&Display=OverviewLong

Jupiter lightning storm facts * http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/multimedia/largest/lightning.html