Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays

by Robert P. Kolker (Editor)

Almost all students have seen 2001 , but virtually none understand its inheritance, its complexities, and certainly not its ironies. The essays in this collection, commissioned from a wide variety of scholars, examine in detail various possible readings of the film and its historical context. They also examine the film as a genre piece--as the summa of science fiction that simultaneously looks back on the science fiction conventions of the past (Kubrick began thinking of making a science fiction film during the genre's heyday in the fifties), rethinks the convention in light of the time of the film's creation, and in turn changes the look and meaning of the genre that it revived--which now remains as prominent as it was almost four decades ago. Constructed out of its director's particular intellectual curiosity, his visual style, and his particular notions of the place of human agency in the world and, in this case, the universe, 2001 is, like all of his films, more than it
appears, and it keeps revealing more the more it is seen. Though their backgrounds and disciplines differ, the authors of this essay collection are united by a talent for vigorous yet incisive writing that cleaves closely to the text--to the film itself, with its contextual and intrinsic complexities--granting readers privileged access to Kubrick's formidable, intricate classic work of science fiction.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published February 24, 2006

About the author

Robert Phillip Kolker, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, taught cinema studies for almost 50 years. He is author of A Cinema of Loneliness, The Extraordinary Image: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and the Reimagining of Cinema, and editor of 2001: A Space Odyssey: New Essays and The Oxford Handbook of Film and Media Studies.

Reviews

[Owlseyes]

"As S. Kubrick was fond of noting, the psychologist Jung predicted that any encounter with transcendent intelligence would tear the reins from our hands and 'we would find ourselves without dreams..."
James Gilbert



"I will say that the God concept is at the heart of 2001-but not any traditional, anthropomorphic image of God".
Stanley Kubrick



"Actually, they discover us. But the premise isn't just fantasy. Regular "pulsar" radio emissions have been picked up by scientists in England and Puerto Rico. Four separate sources of transmission have been isolated so far, and the evidence points to highly advanced civilizations, perhaps hundreds of light-years away from the Earth."*
Stanley Kubrick



in: *http://partners.nytimes.com/library/f...

[Ryan Splenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some clever and insightful essays on Kubrick's 1968 Science Fiction masterpiece. Kolker presents the most current "readings" of this timeless classic. A great read for all lovers of film and film criticism.

[Richard Cubitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some complex essays here. If you are a fan of the film, it's worth the effort.

[A L]

The papers by R. Barton Palmer, James Gilbert, Stephen Mamber, and Barry Keith Grant were very good; others veered toward obscurantist critical theory discourse.

[Daniel Wrench]

Some of the essays were very interesting, others a bit far-fetched I thought. All contribute to a better understanding of this incredible film however.