10 Times Less Was Definitely More In Movies

Still influencing how movies set in space are shot today, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a generation-defining science fiction story that’s not interested in dumbing things down for its audience.

The winning combination of Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick ensures that even vast, unexplainable ideas propel the compelling narrative forward.

The main aspect of the film that some fans are still no doubt wanting an explanation for is the exact nature of the monoliths. How did they influence human evolution in prehistoric times, as seen in the film’s iconic opening sequence? Why have more been placed around the solar system? Who built them and what do they want with us?

All of these questions remain unanswered to the very psychedelic end, where astronaut David Bowman is pulled into a monolith located on one of Saturn’s moons and is turned into some sort of immortal cosmic being.

Leaving the answers unclear is crucial to the overall message of 2001. We don’t really know what’s waiting out there for us in the darkness of space and, even if we found out, it might be horrifying and impossible to understand.

Perhaps Earth isn’t so bad after all.