Monolith In Space Odyssey

the moon (cf. Clark 156). That leads to the second point, the vanishing point. It is located very close to the moon; the tip of the pyramid is pointing towards the moon. This is the location where mankind will encounter the monolith again. In this single shot Kubrick hides several messages; he depicts the monolith as an object of huge importance and power, and implies its connection to the moon.

There are a lot more examples that show Kubrick’s preference for one-point perspective. When Dr. Floyd meets Mr. Miller the grid on the ceiling and the lines at the floor indicate a vanishing point (Figure 13). Later he holds a speech in a conference room. The tables and edges of the walls create a vanishing point (Figure 14). A lot of scenes inside

In Space Odyssey one-point perspective often goes along with symmetry. The objects and characters in this scene are almost symmetrically. David and Frank are seen in profile facing each other. They are wearing identical suits, and have similar hairstyles. The black walls seen at the edges of the frame are also identical. Moreover they are indicating a vanishing point that is in the center of the frame (Figure 18). This is exactly the place where Hal is located. In this frame Kubrick uses the rule of thirds; Frank’s head is place at upper left side whereas David’s head is placed at the upper right side. They divide the frame in three pieces. Although they excluded Hal from their conversation he is still part of it. Visually he is placed between them. All attention is drawn to Hal in this frame; not only because his behavior is topic of their conversation, but also because he is in the center of the

Humans might be the dominant species on earth, however in space they are not more than little children. In this new environment they have to learn again how to walk. The Stewardesses inside the ship Dr. Floyd is traveling with has trouble keeping their balance. They need special shoes to move inside the spaceship (Figure 20). The food they serve resembles baby food; is it not solid but rather liquid one can ingest by using a straw (Figure 21). This Analogy continuous when we see Dr. Floyd reading the instruction for the zero gravity toilet (Figure 22). The human has to learn how to use a toilet properly anew. Along with this analogy the themes of rebirth and enlightenment play a key role in this film. In one scene Dr. Floyd wishes his daughter a happy birthday; in another scene Frank receives a video message from his parents wishing him a happy birthday. When Hal is about to “die” he remembers his creation and recites his first words. When David is inside the Star Gate we see surreal images of lights and liquids. In one scene we see a red slowly expanding liquid that might resemble a growing fetus inside