2001 Space Odyssey

The film segment chosen was the final scene from Stanley Kubrik^s 2001 A Space Odyssey made in 1968. As the name would suggest, the film is set almost entirely in the future. Already having projected itself over 30 years into the future, it would be safe to assume that this motion picture offers a wealth of imagery and futuristic vision. It does. It is towards the end of the film, however, that Kubrik offers this to us on a much greater scale. In these few minutes, we are presented with the dawn of a new era: a near incomprehensible evolution of humanity. Through many complex design devices, the set design successfully achieves a vision for the future that is neither dystopian, nor entirely utopian, yet extraordinarily positive on a revolutionary scale. Kubrik himself has never publicly discussed the ending to 2001 and admits that this was a very subjective film, while many people claim not to have understood it at all. Many interpretations have been made as to the real meaning of this scene, many incredibly different and most equally plausible. Despite their differences, however, all have one thing in common: an overwhelmingly optimistic vision for the future.…