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Intermission (Film Synopsis Part 11)
The Story
The background hum of
Discovery resonates as the screen goes to black leaving a cliffhanger
for the audience to ponder. They'll have time too as the film goes
to intermission. As mentioned in The
Film Begins, Stanley Kubrick maintained the general format of a
typical MGM movie. Here, he gave us the intermission.
Usually, intermission comes a bit past the midway point of the film
where all the characters and plot lines are firmly set. This is
the case here. Now the audience gets a breather and can take
a bathroom break or take the opportunity to get more popcorn.
There is also opportunity to digest the events that led up to this point
and think about where this is going. For first-time viewers of
2001, very few will make the connections of how the Cold War and concern
for security and secrecy are contributing to the drama at hand.
However, many may think about what Hal is really up to and how
Frank and Dave, having such limited capabilities against such a
seemingly omniscient computer, can handle the situation.
An anxious audience waits
for the film to continue and reveal how the drama will be played out.
The curtains open and again, we get a blank screen. Again, a piece
of Ligeti's Atmospheres plays. The drama will have to wait.
Meanings
Kubrick has a little fun at
the expense of the audience here. The conflict between computer
and the two humans is by far, the most palpable drama in the entire film
and the intermission and return of the black screen and eerie music
prolongs the anticipation of the resolution of the drama.
The intermission also
reminds us that what we've been emotionally wrapped up in is just a
small piece of the big picture. There are many themes at work here
involving Man's place in the universe, Man's odyssey through evolution,
God and the Intelligence that is driving humans to explore space.
Ligeti's Atmospheres and the black screen remind us of the journey -
inside and out that we are taking.
Other Notes
This part of the film
provides many of the most memorable and quotable scenes since, unlike
other parts of the film, it has a conventional narrative. The
whole Mission to Jupiter chapter of 2001 is actually a self-contained
story. In this regard, it is also the most understandable and
easiest part of the film to relate to. Some people fail to connect
this with the man-apes, the trip to the Moon, and the part of the story
afterwards. This is why some seem to think of 2001 as a collection
of stories rather than one large one. Often, people who find the
film "boring", actually like this part and hated the rest.
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