2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Kubrick and science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, and was inspired by Clarke's 1951 short story "The Sentinel" and other short stories by Clarke. Clarke also published a novelisation of the film, in part written concurrently with the screenplay, after the film's release. The film stars Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, and Douglas Rain and follows a voyage by astronauts, scientists, and the sentient supercomputer HAL to Jupiter to investigate an alien monolith.

The film is noted for its scientifically accurate depiction of space flight, pioneering special effects, and ambiguous imagery. Kubrick avoided conventional cinematic and narrative techniques; dialogue is used sparingly, and there are long sequences accompanied only by music. The soundtrack incorporates numerous works of classical music, including pieces by composers such as Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss II, Aram Khachaturian, and György Ligeti.

The film received diverse critical responses, ranging from those who saw it as darkly apocalyptic to those who saw it as an optimistic reappraisal of the hopes of humanity. Critics noted its exploration of themes such as human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Kubrick the award for his direction of the visual effects. The film is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made.

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  • Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    7 months ago

    Extremely hot take; "morally grey" "shades of grey" "it's not just black and white" is often far, far more reductive than "black and white morality"

    • SoylentSnake [he/him, they/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      i get what you mean, but i think it's more like: under lib capitalist hegemony appeals to moral grey areas/moral complexity are often just guises the status quo defense squad use to do the whole "theres actually zero difference between good & bad things. you imbecile. you fucking moron" shtick. if ur talking to comrades u trust in good faith (who agree that ameriKKKa and global capitalism is the greatest evil and that almost all examples of AES range from the far lesser evil and more redeemable to a qualified good (and in either case worthy of critical support)) there is a lot of complexity and moral grey area to analyze. its just so hard to find conversations where u can trust the other person and as commies we r so often on the back foot that its easier to just fall back on "stalin did nothing wrong unlimited genocide to the first world" to not cede ground to bad faith libs.

      i do getchu though, especially when the rhetoric of "well its suuuuuuuuch a complicaaaaated geopolitical struggle, its sooooooo haaaaaard to understaaaaaand" has been used to run interference for the morally pitch black state of Israel for so long.

      EDIT: i guess a TL:DR version of what i wrote is: there is a lot of moral grey area in the world and in history, but many of the things we've been brainwashed into thinking of as Complicated and Grey are actually just evil, and the sooner you recognize that, the better. (additionally, a lot of socialist history we've been brainwashed into thinking is Pure Evil is actually grey)

    • Comp4 [comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      I don't subscribe to the notion of black and white morality; rather, I believe in the complexity of human nature. Most people aren't simply evil or virtuous; they reside somewhere in between. I think that the majority of individuals possess the potential for both great evil and acts of selfless sacrifice. Mind you, I do believe there are individuals who are irredeemable, like Kissinger, but they represent the exception rather than the rule in my view.

      • blight [any]
        ·
        7 months ago

        I don’t think that’s what they meant, more like trying to sympathize with IDF because they have some vegans or whatever

        • Frank [he/him, he/him]
          ·
          7 months ago

          Yeah, more like this. A lot of the things you run in to in real life that people try to pass off as complicated or nuanced or whatever, really they're just trying to justify something indefensibly wrong so they don't have to admit they made a choice.

          • ashinadash [she/her]
            ·
            7 months ago

            Learning that Actually, many things are just indefensibly wrong has been great for me ngl. "ITS SHADES OF GREY" They are killing people they stole land from, my brother in christ what is grey about that???