Religious themes pursued via science fiction.

Rating: 10/10 (6 September 2000)

Anyone familiar with the work of Arthur C. Clarke knows that his trademark is the intersection of science fiction and religious allegory. Nothing shows this more than in "2001: A Space Odyssey". Actually, this film is not really science fiction at all but more entrenched in religious themes, especially those of the Middle-East (Judeao-Christianity and Islam). This may in fact be the most religious film ever made. If anything, it is essentially a scientific (or SF) exploration of Creation through to Revelation. The symbols throughout the film are hard not to miss. There is Dave the space pilot (king David, or possibly the Son of David, as Jesus is described in the New Testament). There is HAL as the polite but super intelligent evil force that wants to prevent the final chapter of humanity's journey. Indeed the film's main theme is shared with the theme of religion: birth, death and rebirth. There is an unmistakable emphasis on birth and death in the film. (A warning for those who have yet to experience the film for I am going to talk about some of the important scenes.) Birthday's are mentioned at least three times officially and implied at other times. We witness the birth (or Dawn) of humans, the birth of consciousness, the birth of technology. In the scene with Haywood Floyd's daughter the talk is about missing her birthday party. Frank calls home from the ship and his parents sing him happy birthday. We even hear HAL talk about his "birthday" at the computer manufacturer on earth. Along with all these mentions of birth are the ones of death. HAL's death, Frank's death, the early man's (Cain and Abel?) death at the beginning of the film. There are so many religious references they can't all be mentioned. Thus, this is not a science fiction film and certainly not an action film. It will bore the "Star Wars" crowd. Instead it is a beautifully filmed intellectual excursion into humanity's past and their proposed destiny. The film's final conclusion on its theme is left up to the viewer. It is infamously opaque at giving up its answers. After all, it is religious allegory yet with the famous Also Sprache Zarathustra score. Thus, it is God and Nietzsche put together, neither one being known for their clarity. Yet, it is in this way, that the film most mirrors the religious themes it analyzes. We don't really know why we're here or what existence is about. We have religion, philosophy, and science as resources, yet in the end, its all a big wonderful mystery that forces us to wait and see how it finishes. "2001" asks us to take this patient and thought-filled journey to see how it might end. However, it can never tell us the why, only the possibility of how we will get there.