Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey
Published November 06, 2003
In the scene in which the leopard lies with its paws on the zebra, above the man-apes' cave dwelling, he reveals why the leopard's eyes shine so brightly, as if reflecting light from elsewhere (which it was doing, actually!)
One piece of information in the book I found almost personally embarrassing, confirming that I had interpreted a crucial scene incorrectly for the past 35 years! Recall the sequence during which the tribe of man-apes at the waterhole is chased away by the approaching tribe. I always believed that it was Moonwatcher and his pals at the waterhole who were the ones intimidated into leaving, and that once having learned how to kill with bones, they return to the waterhole to exact a bit of revenge on the opposing tribe (led by a man-ape named One Ear.) Well, I was wrong - it's the other way around. It's Moonwatcher who chased away his neighbours, and when he comes back a second time, he's armed and dangerous. Dan, thank you for clearing that one up for me.
There is one detail, or piece of information, that Richter leaves out of the book: how were the voices done? The man-apes' vocal sounds were loud, piercing and very strong - too strong in my estimation to be voiced by actors. I may be wrong, but I found nothing in the book that discusses how the voices were created. After Moonwatcher and crew chase away the other tribe, the last shot in that scene shows him turning around, facing the direction of the retreating tribe. He opens his mouth and emits a powerful, piercing growl in their direction. Was that Richter's voice? I want to know.
Richter also supplies the reader with a number of great photographs and some of his production notes, including script excerpts and body measurement charts. Of course, the book wouldn't be complete without his observations about Stanley Kubrick, and while sparse at best, what he offers comfirms what so many have said about Kubrick, which is that, in so many words, he always marched to his own drummer. Richter writes:
- "Stanley is different from other men. In working with him and becoming his friend, I have come to realize that I cannot judge him by the measure I apply to other men and women. What would be compulsion in other men is singled-mindedness in Stanley. Most of us function in society, however rebellious or hermitlike we are. It is as if Stanley lives by different rules that are his own. He is not necessarily a rebel or an outsider. He has a down-to-earth and easy sense of humor. You can as easily discuss a sporting event as Wittgenstein with him. Yet Stanley has a quality of otherness, or a genius following his own path. Stanley never ever seems to react in a way to anything except as his unique self. Stanley is totally unpredictable in that he sees things in a new and unique way, like an avatar or spirit bringing a new vision that is so unique it forms a new reality for us. It is as if the perceived world, because of his very presence, changes its nature forever. And because of this, we can never go back."
- Moonwatcher's Memoir: A Diary of 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Published: November 06, 2003
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- Section: Books
- Filed Under: Books: Nonfiction, Video: SF
- Writer: Randy Reichardt
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I believe that the monolith in "The Dawn of Man" sequence actually plants the inspiration that led to the use of tools, which is more profound and far-reaching (and less cynical) than the mere notion of homicide. No doubt, one of the tools was the bone club, which became a vital means by which to bash the brains out of the local competing knuckledraggers, not to mention the prominent role that it would play in the evolution of courtship rituals ("Og, meet Beatrice". Pow!!). But tools also were used for hunting and, eventually, agriculture and the making of Fender Stratocasters, which led, in turn, to our modern music loving civilization. It's interesting that the second monolith, buried at the TMA-1 site, did not lead directly to a rapid leap in the evolution of human thought, but simply pointed the way to the third monolith. Ah, but all this talk of evolution is going to get me in trouble with the Intelligent Design crowd.
The film is awe-inspiring (literally) and truly great, but I don't buy this "unique genius" "marching to his own drummer" stuff. EVERYONE is unique and interprets reality in his/her own way. Having a vision and carrying it out are two different things, and those who have the various abilities that allow them to carry out the vision don't necessarily have "better" visions than the rest of us. The "unique great man" perspective leads to autocracy and cults of personality.
Super interesting review, though. Interesting to know the lead guy running around in an ape suit was on heroin and cocaine at the time - since he's still alive I assume he got off.
Duane: the Monolith on Earth was an instructor of sorts. The Monolith on the moon was simply an alarm clock that went off with it's discovery by humans. It alerted the creators of the Monolith that we had reached the point in our evolution where we had ventured into space, and the one found orbiting Jupiter (Saturn in the book) was present to help take mankind to the next level, to make them the overseers of sorts to another intelligent lifeform's upbringing (which is what occurs at the end of 2010.) Clarke kind of beat this to death with the following two books in the series, 2061 and 3001, but he raised some further intriguing possibilities with them as well.
Kubrick and Clarke together. What a couple of minds. It's too bad they didn't work together on anything else. It would have been interesting to see Kubrick handle something like Childhood's End or even 2010, which I think was still a decent movie and ranks a bit higher than the book for me, actually. The book was a bit of a letdown. The movie failed, in my opinion, because it didn't have the same mystic charm 2001 possessed.
Thanks to Duane, Tom and Eric for the feedback. I agree that the monolith plants the idea of using the bones as tools, yes, but the leap is made quickly to using it as a weapon. Richter does make mention of the latter in the book, that this is what the mimes and actors playing the man-apes had to work with as inspiration.
Kubrick and Childhood's End - wow, how that might have been...
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Really interesting stuff, Randy. I've been a fan of Arthur C. Clarke and especially 2001 practically as long as I could read. This is one of those movies that grows to mean more and more to you over time, I think. The first time I saw it I was fascinated because it was my favorite subject - space - and it dealt with it realistically. Now I know there's so much more to the story than I could have guessed as a kid.
Nice to know there are still some others out there who feel this story and movie are as important as ever.