As Kubrick's wife, Christiane, mentioned at the event, Kubrick had wanted to show people that by 2001 space travel would have been a piece of cake. We are in 2010, and we are nowhere close to hibernation or inter-galactic travel, let alone creating artificial intelligence that is capable of emotion. In many aspects, we failed Kubrick's trust in mankind's evolution. But what Kubrick really accomplished with 2001 is that he set the standard for many other science fiction films that followed it. The design, the story and the predicted future technology all became common place in our minds. We accepted Kubrick's vision to be reality, almost fate, that we now expect pressured sliding doors, video calls, miniaturized food, hibernation, enhanced computer intelligence, humanoids, aliens, white and sterile environments, etc. We expect the artificial intelligence that we create to overtake us, fueling our self-doubt.
What Kubrick doesn't do is get carried away with his vision. As anyone will notice, none of the space scenes have any diegetic sound whatsoever. There are no engine noises, laser sounds, or any sound at all. Since there is no air in space, sound cannot travel. Space is not only black, but it's also mute. Kubrick takes advantage of this by filling in the gap with non-diegetic music. He purposefully picks Johann Strauss' waltz, the Blue Danube, to accompany the motions of the space station. He emphasizes the slow, rhythmic movement of the space station and likens it to ballet. With this choice of music, Kubrick not only stays true to scientific reality but also enhances the cinematic experience, signifying an almost royal air to space travel and making the cinema experience more like an opera. As a matter of fact, the film's road show release in 1968 included a musical prelude akin to how operas and musical theatre productions start. The blank screen musical intro was immediately followed by the MGM logo and then the film. I was lucky enough to experience that original idea at the Royal Festival Hall, and I must say it does amplify the experience and harken back to Kubrick's love of music. For more on the use of music in the film, I would highly recommend this Wikipedia article.
The story is also well polished. Arthur C. Clarke and Kubrick wrote the story and the book together, but Kubrick wanted to keep the film a bit more mysterious. He keeps the film in four parts that are divided to outline human evolutionary steps, each one highlighted with Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra in the background. However, he denies the viewer any direct explanations as to what the black monolith is that ties them all. The four main parts are:
I. The Dawn of Man
II. TMA-1
III. Jupiter Mission
IV. Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite
In the first part, a herbivorous ape discovers the use of bones as a tool and weapon. Subsequently, the apes learn to stand up on their hind legs, hunt and eat meat and defeat other tribes. As such, humans begin, and Kubrick gracefully transitions to millions of years later with a match cut from the bone to the spacecraft in TMA-1. The humans also discover the black monolith, but this time on the surface of the Moon. The monolith seems to be a living thing that reacts, purposefully buried there.
A cut to the Jupiter Mission introduces us to HAL-9000, the iconic artificial intelligence onboard the spacecraft. HAL-9000 is most definitely the basis for many other representations of AI and robots in subsequent films. Their mathematic logic somehow presents a danger to our human way of thinking, and as such, they become our enemies made by our own hands. Kubrick's take on the subject is thrilling to say the least, as he introduces potential emotional capabilities. HAL-9000 may not only be designed to display emotion to make communication with the astronauts more natural but may actually exhibit emotion. HAL's last words are striking and are no different than a man who knows he is dying. Regardless of his actions, HAL ignites sympathy and pity from the audience as his voice gets lower and he loses his mind. "[He] can feel it."
The final chapter has been the most mind-boggling and left open to debate. As the final astronaut, Bowman, approaches Jupiter, he encounters another monolith. On contact, he is taken through a "star gate" as Clarke calls it. He finds himself in an enclosed space with a bedroom and bathroom, suspiciously decorated and fitted almost as a lit cage. It's almost as if aliens have captured him and are keeping him alive to study him. At the end, Bowman transforms into a "Star-Child" as an image of a fetus bound in a glittering bubble travel around the Earth. It's as if Bowman gives birth to himself as he dies or the aliens have found a way to clone him. Or it could just be death.
When everything is said and done, there is still one question that doesn't fully get explained. What is the black monolith? Is it an alien or an element that we have not discovered so far? Does it matter? It could as well be that little synapse which creates moments such as those presented in the film and pushes us to our next evolutionary phase. Throughout the film, the monolith is used as the agent for further evolution. Without the monolith's interference, we are essentially not moving on the evolutionary ladder. It takes that little unknown something to push us through the boundary and create another chapter in our collective history.
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