26/05/02

Genre is the term used to describe a certain film, book, piece of music or any other media product. It is a way of categorizing something. In the case of film there are many genres; western, gangster, comedy, romance, war and science fiction are among a few of the many genres and sub genres of film. In order to categorise film there are certain characteristics which a film has which will make it a certain genre. For example In a western there are cowboys, shoot outs, Indians. In a Romance film there will be a certain element of love between and man and a woman. And in the case of science fiction there are a number of conventions that makes it science fiction. Science fiction can encapsulate any number of conventions, futurism, space, aliens, futuristic gadgets and now even the internet science fiction is one of the most interesting genres. A Science fiction film can borrow conventions from other genres, e.g. Back to the Future 3 which is all about time travel but features a number of conventions from Western; ifs setting, gun fights, period dress etc.

The science fiction genre has evolved since its beginnings. Even in Georges Méliès Le Voyage dans Ia lune there were images of people landing on the moon. In Fritz Lang's Metropolis the central theme was the future. Then in the fifties and sixties as space travel became reality most science fiction films dealt with invading aliens and were passed off as B-Movie material. Science fiction in those days were usually Saturday morning matinee material and had no artistic relevance. In the late sixties with the release of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Planet of the apes Science fiction was taken more seriously. 2001 confused audiences but showed that science fiction can be a serious genre. Throughout the seventies with Star Wars science fiction finally became a family genre. The mixing of sci-fi and fantasy made it popular with people of all ages. Once the convention became firmly established with child orientated films such as E.T and The Never Ending Story began to become popular. Then in 1982 came Ridley Scott's Bladerunner It along with the earlier Westworld were a few of the first science fiction based films to experiment with, and break conventions. Westworld mixed together some conventions from the western and science fiction genre. Also Bladerunner was a film noir set in a science fiction environment. Then in the nineties science fiction became a genre that seemed to need special effects, the story became secondary to effects e.g. Armageddon, Independence Day. Science fiction began an evolution in the nineties. Into the realm of space travel and time travel came a new theme with which to base science fiction stories; the internet. In 1983 WarGames was released starring Matthew Broderick, it was about how a boy used a basic form of the internet to start world war three. In 1995 Hackers furthered the spectrum in which the internet was used as a way of telling a science fiction story. The Matrix was set entirely in an electronic world much like Tron. The entire story was based around the domination of humans by their own tools, technology. The computers had taken over the planet and were using humans as a source of energy. The main characters used the internet to travel around the fake world the humans were kept in. The Matrix is the next stage in the evolution of science fiction. In the early days science fiction stories comprised of invading aliens who were always defeated by the good guy. They have since evolved into stories not of man v alien but now man v technology. In The Terminator and The Matrix man is shown in the future to have been defeated and dominated by their own creations and tools. This kind of story line is relatively new, or so we thought. 2001: A Space Odyssey shows just how man can be dominated by ifs own tools while also including the classical storyline of man v alien. To do this Stanley Kubrick had to break many of the rules of science fiction which later became some the conventions of the movies above. The Terminator and The Matrix and thought of by some as the further evolution of science fiction. 2001 clearly shows how Kubrick may have kick started the evolution 20 years earlier. 2001 clearly twists and contorts some of the conventions of science fiction that were around previous to ifs release, and in fact many of its features, even today would rarely be used in modern science fiction. The question to be asked is whether 2001 is simply another convention following science fiction film or something much deeper which has borrowed conventions from other genres and in some cases it seem given them back as no science fiction film would dare use them again. Science fictions genre features are, setting, visual style, music, characters narrative etc. I will attempt to analyse how 2001 uses conventional and unconventional means of telling a science fiction story.

2001: A Space Odyssey is regarded by many as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. However it does not adhere to many of the conventions of science fiction that are plain to see in Star Wars and Star Trek. It is considered more of an aesthetic film than one of great dialogue, which can be seen by the dialogue free opening 25 minutes. On ifs release people did not know how to react to such a film. It had left critics and audiences alike dazed and confused. Many people have tried countless times to analyse the complex narrative arrangement and many parts of the mise en scene. There will never be a defining analysis on 2001: A Space Odyssey simply because many people are searching for hidden meanings which may or may not be there. The film is simply about ideas and concepts.

The first thing that people notice about science fiction is the setting. Star Wars, Star Trek, Bladerunner all share space or futurism (sometimes both) as a setting for the story. 2001's setting is conventional in that it is set in space. 2001's narrative is spread over a number of million years. The film is set at three different stages in man's evolution. First of all there is the story of the Moonwatcher set at the dawn of prehistoric man. Then from the image of the Moonwatcher's bone comes the space age Aries space station that heralds the dawn of man's further evolution. This scene is set in slow moving space with nothing but black and stars. Then the story shifts to the Clavius moonbase where the second monolith is discovered more terrain comes into place. The moon scene echoes the setting of the apemen at the beginning that suggests that something equally important is about to happen to them. Then we fast forward a further 18 months to the depths of space where the setting has returned to that of quiet and not even the humming of the ship’s engine can be heard in space. Then we get the white interiors of the Discovery. Perhaps the whiteness of the interior is used to suggest that the crew is pure and that they have been chosen by whoever put the Monolith on the moon to become the highest form of human evolution. Once Dave Bowman has left Discovery the setting becomes a psychedelic haze of light and the audience cannot explain the setting at first. Dave then enters the "Aliens" plane of existence as we see Dave go through the ageing process in his white cell. Dave is reborn as the Star Child ands the setting returns to the quiet noise of space until classical music ends the film. A setting such as this, which uses a handful of different environments, is not uncommon to science fiction i.e. Star Wars, desert, space, ice fields, rain forest etc. In 2001 the settings while visually pleasing are not explored in any depth and are used simply as a visual aid in helping the audience understand the film.

In many science fiction films the visual style is always thought of more highly than the story. If the effects in Star Wars were not as mind blowing as they were in the seventies the story would not be enough to carry the film package to audiences. Most science fiction films today rely on special effects to make it a success. But the problem today is that every new film has to push the boundaries of special effects and cinematography, which in reality rarely happens. Films such as Mission to Mars and Armageddon although they have had some groundbreaking special effects have not pushed the boundaries of special effects like a film such as The Phantom Menace did with its use of digital technology to simply place actors in and out of scenes with ease. With Star Wars Episode IV and 2001 the special effects were at that time never seen before. 2001 was the inspiration for many of Star Wars set pieces and it is clear to see that the visual style of 2001 was unique at the time as most science fiction films in the sixties (with the exceptions of Planet Of the Apes etc) were often B-movie features and had little aesthetic consideration. One thing that stands out in 2001 is that look of the monolith It is such a simple structure symbolising something unnatural and artificial. The visual characteristics are especially effective in the "Dawn of man" sequence. The juxtaposition of the smooth, simple black monolith among the jagged rock formations and scattered bones shows how effective the visuals are in 2001. In any other genre compliant science fiction this would need to be explained and the monolith would probably have been a gravity defying spacecraft. But this is where 2001 and science fiction differ. In 2001 things are either explained so simply some can't understand the visual style or the imagery is simply left to the viewer to ponder. Another genre defying method of the use of visual imagery is how the moon and earth is used to signify the presence of the monolith. Instead of using the usual science fiction way of having the aliens make a grand entrance, all guns blaring with a huge space ship all we see is the alignment between earth and the moon. Now the audience knows that the aliens are present without destroying the scenery or atmosphere already built up through the use of setting and music. 2001 is all about visual style, the story takes a backseat and enjoys the ride.

The soundtrack to 2001 was never seen in science fiction and hasn't really been used again. The modern science fiction uses techno and Rock music, utilizing the drawing power of big name artists. In the first 'section' of the film we see the Moonwatcher playing with some bones after he has touched the monolith, Strauss's Thus Spoke Zarathusfra plays as he lifts the bone and starts to smash things up which signals the transformation of man from vegetarian to carnivore. 2001 mixes visual style with classical music to create a waltz like sequence at the beginning. The slow moving Aries station is contrasted with the Johann Strauss waltz "Blue Danube. The sequence is very slow and methodical just like a real-life docking procedure. Any other director for any other science fiction film would either cut this sequence out in favour of dialogue or add some up-tempo music that would render a scene such as this ineffective. Kubrick wanted realism and in space there is no sound. Throughout the film there is aching silence. Apart from the grunts of the Moonwatcher and friends the first scene is left for the audience to contemplate and take in the visuals. Many critics and audiences at the time found these silent sequences slow moving and thus boring which is why most modern day science fiction contains up-tempo music to speed up the films story. In 2001 the audience is asked to sit back and watch as Discovery moves silently and slowly across space which is signified by Khatchaturian's Gayne Ballet Suite. Discovery is even silent on board, the only noises it makes comes from the on board computer HAL. In modern science fiction the agreed convention is that the rules of space rarely count any more therefore most ships whether it be in Star Trek, Star Wars, Starship Troopers, Bladerunner all make noises perhaps to exaggerate their size and effect in space. Discovery's size is shown by how small it is in the vastness of space, helped by the lack of any sound in the lifeless vacuum of outer space. The silence of space Is best shown when Dave Bowman goes outside in the pod to try and recover Frank Poole's body. There is no sound only silence to emphasise the bleakness of space. Once the film progresses to the star child sequence as Dave Bowman/Star Child moves into line of earth Thus Spake Zarathustra plays as the film comes full circle. The use of classical music in science fiction was again used in Star Wars merely as an aide in creating atmosphere. In 2001 it is used as a tool for story telling to show the audience something that is happening partly due to the lack of dialogue.

Narrative experimentation is not a new thing anymore in film. Quentin Tarantino experiments the narrative structure in Pulp Fiction. In Science fiction the story tends to follow the basic fairy tale analysis put forward by Propp. Take Star Wars for example Most main characters assume different roles, Luke (Hero) is asked to go on a quest by Obi Wan (King), on the way he has to rescue the Leia (Princess) and then slay the dragon (Darth Vader) This type of story telling is evident in other films such as The Matrix and The Terminator with slight variations. One thing is always clear there's a good guy and a bad guy. However in 2001 these roles are not clearly defined in a small context. There is no one main protagonist who we can identify as being the hero throughout the film. Dave Bowman comes close but he only appears half way through the film. Also the pivotal role of bad guy cannot be clearly identified again Hal9000 is the closest physical entity in the film however for similar reasons as Dave Bowman he cannot be the main villain. Narrative analysis of other films also shows that its structure is quite different from the more conventional sci fi feature. The conventional story such as that in Star Wars follows Todorov's equilibrium - disruption theory in the classic three-act structure. 2001 however has four different acts, all of which are distinctively split, unlike other films in which the three acts are seamlessly connected. The four different sections (with the exception of part three and four), all have their own characters and settings the only thing separating them from being a set of Saturday morning sci fi serials is the link with the monoliths. After all the analysis of the narrative structure done on the internet and in books the two roles of hero and villain are clear. The hero is man himself throughout the ages and the villain is man's tools In the first section man is given tools for the first time and uses them to kill In the second section the tool turns into the space station, a symbol of mans evolution. Then in the third part mans tool rebels against him and Hal tries to kill the humans aboard. From what is known the film is about how man is an experiment by the monoliths, we never know if man failed or passed this test. In the original cut the star child set off all of earth's nuclear weapons killing man, but this is never recognised as the ending as 2010, and the books 2061 and 3001 all show.

One of the main reasons films are popular is the characters within the film. Young boys wanted to be Luke Skywalker, girls Leia. When the westerns were popular everyone wanted to be John Wayne or the Lone Ranger. Characters, other than being in the film are used by the audience as a way of identifying with the film. In almost every film you can see today there are clear impressions of characterisation. You will be able to make clear distinctions between characters, both good and evil. Also Stars are either made from a film or well-known people are cast in starring roles. In 2001 the characters are neither central nor well-known actors. "stars" would have taken something away from the film, the audience would be in such awe of the glamorous star the film itself would be secondary in their minds. In this film the characters are not given much time to divulge themselves to the audience. The first character the audience views are the apes, and in particular the Moonwatcher. In the first part of this sequence the Moonwatcher acts like any other of the apes. When the monolith appears he is curious and lurches forward, he is the chosen one. The Moonwatcher’s character evolves after touching the monolith, he develops human traits. Through the Moonwatchers actions the audience can gather information, much like any other character. The Moonwatchers character is developed entirely through his actions and he assumes the role of leader, he is the first to hunt, and to kill. The Moonwatcher gives us a glimpse of what he is destined to become; human. Which then leads us to the future. The first ‘human’ character we meet is Dr Heywood Floyd, he is an American scientists, the first clue we have as to what the Moonwatcher has evolved into. At first he seems like a caring father, talking to his daughter on the phone and having a friendly chat with some other people in the waiting room. Then once we seem him at work with the monolith and later in the film during the video played while Bowman is in the centre of Hal’s control systems he also has evolved. But not in a literal sense, Floyd it seems hid the mission from Bowman for an unknown reason. By the end of the film Dr Floyd doesn’t seem to be a caring man anymore, more of a secretive man. The next human we are introduced to is Dave Bowman and Frank Poole. Frank Poole’s character is not developed as much as Bowmans and this does not really affect the rest of the film. At first Poole and Bowman act like lifeless automatons kept locked up in a boring man made "cell" looking after a completely automated mission. Bowman’s character ‘evolves’ as this act progresses. One review on http://www.filmsite.org describes the sequence where Bowman leaves the ship to check the faulty AE35 as "a mini-birth with hyper-ventilating breaths and passing hazards. In a second emergence, he exits the pod, with two 'eyes' on the top of his head/helmet appearing first. He steers himself directly for the jutting-out antenna - a nipple on the breast of the 'mother' spaceship" This could suggest that Bowman is destined to be the "chosen one" much like the Moonwatcher. We then see him evolve from a human whose tools have ultimately overcome him to the Starchild the innocent final stage in mans evolution. There are only two other ‘characters’ who have any major influence in the film, Hal and the Monoliths. Hal is one of the most human characters in the film, he has real emotions however his voice is always the same monotone sound. The supposedly faultless human tool breaks down and kills all of the crew except Dave Bowman. Hal becomes suspicious asking Dave questions about the mission constantly, listening to the conversation between Pool and Bowman in the pod. Perhaps the hidden knowledge of the mission has made Hal corrupt, he breaks down and the circle is complete, man has finally been one upped by the tools in which they evolved with. These tools would not have been made possible without the monoliths. These simple structures are the only physical embodiment the ‘Aliens’ have in the film. Their simple shape represents something not man made. It is a simple way of notifying the audience of an unworldly entity. The Monoliths signify the evolution of man and the story whenever they appear. They’re always lined up with the sun when mans evolution is near. The Monoliths are unconventional aliens and in the modern world of science fiction would not be able to stand up as "plausible" aliens even though in most likelihood they’re closer than Hollywood’s theories on extra terrestrials. They are a simple way of alerting the audience of an alien presence without disrupting the flow of the film or without inserting a huge, unnecessary fight sequence. They are unconventional in every sense of the word, no science fiction film will ever portray aliens in this way ever again.

Phew!

Have a Foam Filled Day!

© Paul Hunt 2002