1969
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Before the Film
: Terms
Sound refers in this case to both diagetic and non diagetic sounds – that is those that are in the world of the film and those that are in the audience’s world (e.g. background music that the characters in the film do not hear)
Films are unified in that there is going to be (hopefully) a meaningful relationship between the choices made in the all the “domains” of film making – that is to say all the areas where the “authors” of the film can manipulate variables.
The text and sub text of a film are the films story and “message”. How the people involved in creating the film send that message is the aspect of the film we are interested in here. The dialogue is crucial in most films, but much of the story is handled outside the dialogue. It is exactly that aspect we want to examine.
2001 is a remarkably visual film. There is very little dialogue that moves the story forward.. Much of what the film means has to be derived from the visual images, and relationship of those images with one another.
In this sense, the idea of using 2001 as a film to discuss sound is rather strange since the dialogue is minor and visual images dominate the film. None the less, there is no avoiding the importance of sound in the film.
The films is definitely rooted in a strong visual mode.
After the Film
What is the film about? What is the text about and what is the subtext about?
How do you know this or why do you think this?
Analysis of film is a hermeneutic problem. One needs to find and break the code. The code may be a universal (index) cultural or even individual one. The more restricted the code, the more information needed to break the code.The more personal the code, the more inaccessible the film may become.
Is there enough information in this film to "decode" it?
Does HAL = IBM (raise each letter one (h=>i; a=>b; l=>m) Crytanalysts would say there isn't. Hermeneuts might argue there is. Why would that be?
SOUND:
Music:
HOW DOES THE SOUND HELP FORWARD OR ENHANCE THE FILM'S MEANING?
What categories of event seem to occur in this film?
Biological and cultural Evolution – its nature and causes
Machine vs. human
Visual:
What repeated images do we find?
Monolith
Hand reaching for monolith (Adam and God on Sistine Chapel ceiling)
Bone=space ship
Tools vs. weapons
Montage
skeleton with real animal
Cuts:
Form cut - bone to rocket
WHat statement does the film make about evolution?