Kubrick’s Match Cut in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick’s renowned film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is one of peculiar filmmaking and storytelling strategies. From the farfetched implications of the technological advancements of the future from a 1968 perspective to the use of odd motifs throughout the film, Kubrick’s film gives audiences something to think about throughout and after watching. One of the most significant scenes of the entire movie is the use of a match cut between the shot of a primate with a bone and an unknown spacecraft floating through outer space. A “match cut” can be defined as two shots edited consecutively which both possess a similar visual structure; the objects in a match cut are to be in the same place in each frame and have the same type of focus structure, as to not break the continuity of a plot and ultimately create a greater meaning of the story. In the case of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a bone is matched in the same vertically flying pattern as a spaceship in the second shot. In the former shot, the bone is propelled into the air after the primate who was holding it found new uses for it; as it is thrown in the air, it is put into a slow motion single shot, as to imply something for the audience to figure out. In the latter shot, the spaceship is in the same diagonal alignment as the bone in the previous shot and has the same type of shape. This match cut provided an array of arguments between filmmakers and historians alike regarding the implications of the shot’s meaning.

Kubrick’s use of a match cut provided for a strong proposition in the argument of the development of technology and mankind. The match cut was probably the most subtle way to make a giant statement; first, we have to look at the objects he decided to use. Kubrick could have used virtually any object, but he decided to use objects that represented the most basic of tools (a bone) and what he thought would be the epitome of technology (spaceship). Not only were the objects significant, but the way in which they were presented as well; when the gorilla finds out the usefulness of the bone (as a weapon) in the first scene, he tosses it into the air triumphantly. This toss can be interpreted as such: the fact that the object was so light that it was possible to throw it in the air hints at how basic humanity once was and that tossing it could also foreshadow that it will soon be overlooked because of the development of technology soon to come. The framing of this shot is quite significant as well: the bone is by itself in the air and spinning. Every other shot was built around multiple things happening at once, but this one had a hint of solidarity to it. Also unlike all of the shots leading up to this moment, this one in particular was in slow motion. Both of these film techniques allows an audience to realize that the filmmaker wants us to realize something, which will be understood through the match cut. In the same exact framing structure, we are brought a new shot of a spaceship which is, instead, surrounded by darkness, which may also hint the downfall of humanity due to the development of technology. In this shot, Kubrick brings us the epitome of technology (as seen from a 1968 perspective). As a match cut is used to provide a visual metaphor between two shots, it also allows for a jump into the future, or a significant plot advancement. With this particular match cut, we lose all of what we consider to be some of the greatest discoveries and inventions of mankind; we lose the making of the first wheel, the first lightbulb, the discovering of gravity, the first man on the moon, the entire industrial revolution, and much more. However, Kubrick does not want us to look at that; he wants us to see that all of that does not matter. He could have provided the audience with a montage of all of the improvements of technology leading up to that point in 2001, but he just wants us to see where it begins and where it may end. Through the match cut, we are provided with the very seed of humanity and what the future holds for humanity, all through two shots of a bone and a spaceship. In filmmaking terms, Kubrick’s cut was one of the most famous cinematic transitions of all time. Even though he cut out thousands of years of technological discoveries and developments, we still have to look at how cinema comes into play. Filmmakers are able to use diegetic space and time to advance a plot or drag one out; in this case, Kubrick uses it to do both.

The slow motion shot of the bone in the air allows the audience to focus on the shot, without realizing what is to come afterward. The match cut provides a shot thousands of years into the future with the same exact framing, almost as if the film is saying “this is the exact same object, just years into the future.” Both of these shots are very slow in tempo, but they still provide a play on the space and time. The cut, however, is the most prominent use of the space of time; if

Kubrick decided to show every single great advancement of technology, the movie would be extremely long and slow, providing for a not-as-interesting movie. In addition, if he were to create a montage, the movie still would not have the same effect because we all already know the story of the development of mankind. The subtle use of this match cut that shows the very beginning of mankind to the very epitome of it creates a new meaning and almost allows the audience to fill in the blanks.