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The Concept of Time in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Rishi S. Ramnath A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida December 2003 Copyright by Rishi S. Ramnath 2003 The Concept of Time in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Rishi S. Ramnath This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor, Dr. Oliver Buckton, and has been approved by the members of his supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of A11s and Letters and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Master of Arts. Chairperson 1t~Jkl hy F. Schmidt College of Arts & Letters .............-.~4£ Division of Research and Graduate Studies Date ABSTRACT Author: Rishi S. Ramnath Title: The Concept of Time in 2001: A Space Odyssey Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Oliver Buckton Degree: Master of Arts Year: 2003 The concept of time in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey is examined from social, biological, psychological, and spiritual perspectives. In Arthur C. Clarke's novel, his version of the film, he treats the nature of time as a cyclical process. He eventually explains that the notion of physical time is non-existent or an impermanent illusion. While Clarke's novel interprets time, the film projects and manipulates the nature of space and time, which spectators may experience as reality. Time's direction can be viewed or experienced as a cycle from an Eastern philosophical perspective. However, a Western interpretation requires a compromise between two separate directions of time, one as a cycle, the other as linear. The film and novel ultimately negates the direction of linear time through the appearance of the mysterious monolith, which transcends and reincarnates human beings. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter l: The Cycle of Biological, Psychological, and Evolutionary Time .... 1 Chapter 2: The Illusion of Cyclical Time ............... ....... ... ..... .............. 11 Chapter 3: Clarke, Cycles within Cycles and the Void ...... .. ... ... ... ... ... ..... 17 Chapter 4: Time's Origin as Vibrati on and the Mind Outside of Time .. ....... 22 Chapter 5: The Objective and Subjective Nature of Time ... ....... .............. 26 Chapter 6: Artificial and Rhythmic Time-keeping ......... ..... .... ............... 31 Chapter 7: Linear Time and the Western Perspective ........... ...... ... ......... 35 The Concept of Time in 2001: A Space Odyssey Chapter 1: The Cvcle o(Biological, Psychological, and Evolutionary Time. Interpretations on the nature of the cosmos vary depending on culture, religion, and individual. Many cultures and people thus have similar yet different interpretations on the concept of time. Aristotle first raised the issue of whether time exists without consciousness. In the eleventh century AD, the Persian philosopher A vicenna doubted that physical time existed, arguing that time exists only in the mind due to memory and expectation. In the eighteenth century German philosopher Immanuel Kant claimed that time and space are forms that the mind projects upon the external things-in-themselves. By the twentieth century, Einstein argues time and space are united into a four-dimensional space-time, and the observer's perception of "space" and "time" depends on his or her state of motion. Modern physicist Steven Hawking's theory suggests that the curvature of space-time is infinite, thus everything exists in one singular point - Singularity. Religion and culture also attempt to define space and time. Eastern religions/cultures such as Hinduism and Taoism view time as cyclical and illusory while western religions such as Catholicism and Christianity conceptualize linear time, in which all things have a beginning and progress to an end. Both eastern and western cultures also suggest that God or the Absolute exists outside a/the temporal world where time holds no meaning. The human concept of time is a complex mix of innate and learned. To operate in civilization, individuals must coordinate three time-worlds; the biological one they inherit; the psychological one they experience, and the cultural or social one they live in. While science, philosophy, and religion seek to define time, the arts attempt to express it. Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001 : A Space Odyssey expresses time through camera movement and shot duration amongst many other techniques. The medium of cinema allows Kubrick to create and manipulate his audience's spatial and temporal experience. When examined closely, the film mimics and expresses time as cyclical. A scientific and spiritual perspective is also imposed by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke who wrote the novel "200 1: A Space Odyssey," which is his own version of the film based on the co-authored script. The cyclical notion of time and its non-existence (void) in the film may be understood from a western or eastern view of time, though a western interpretation requires a compromise between two separate directions of time, one as a cycle, the other as linear. Before exploring the film's meditation on time, it is important to define what is meant or implied by the word 'time.' A dictionary tells us that time is a system of measuring the passing moments of our existence (Webster, 239). Time is then a measurement of our waking, conscious, sentient, and mental experience of the world spatially evolving. When time and space are linked as space-time (four dimensional) cinema becomes a medium that reflects and manipulates our experience of the physical world of space-time. Albert Einstein wrote that space has three dimensions/measurements: height, length, and width. The universe of space and time (fourth dimension) are inseparable and together form the continuum of space-time. Since time is relative or in other words, elastic then space-time is, too, and the continuum expands and · contracts throughout a finite yet unbounded cosmos/universe (Constable, 58). The cinematic apparatus projects film at twenty-four frames per second, which creates a flicker fusion of light. The retina in our eyes receives the light so quickly that we interpret the twenty-four frames as a unified image (sense of realism) rather than twenty-four distinct images. This then places spectators in a spatial and temporal illusion, which we often interpret as reality. 2 The impression of realism is further manipulated with the convention of continuity editing in cinema. In Susan Hayward's Key Concepts in Cinema Studies, she defines continuity editing as a strategy in conventional film practice that ensures narrative continuity and creates the perceptual illusion of cinema. In editing, the filmmaker avoids attention being drawn to the way in which the story gets told. The editing appears invisible, and as such offers a seamless, spatially and temporally coherent narrative (Hayward, 57). This is accomplished through match cutting, point-of-view shots, sound bridges, movement, proper lighting, fades, and various other techniques of conventional filmmaking. This practice in cinema gives the spectator an impression of realism or a sense of unitary vision (film world appears as reality). Unlike conventional movies, 2001: A Space Odyssev is very patient and almost objective with how the audience experience spatial and temporal manipulations. For example, the film provides various long takes, that is, shots that last a lengthy amount of time. In one scene, a space pod performs the simple task of opening a spacecraft's door. Most conventional films would cut directly to the main action (opening of the door). However, Kubrick forces us to see the action in actual duration from beginning to end perhaps expressing the subtle and graceful movement of objects in zero gravity. In another scene, we see the astronauts approaching a buried monolith below the lunar surface. The camera (hand-held) follows them from behind. The shot is uninterrupted by a transition (i.e. cut or dissolve) as Kubrick perhaps attempts to allow spectators to feel the real­ time impression of anxiety when approaching the mysterious. Unlike conventional/mainstream filmmakers, Kubrick doesn' t rely on the cut but rather allows his shots to dictate a closer sense of actual space and time rather than creating a cinematic illusion for the purpose of narrative realism. Kubrick has stated, "My intent for the film was to be an intensely subjective experience 3 that reaches the viewer at an inner level of consciousness, just as music does ... you're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the film" (Kagan, 145). Apart from technique, the film studies the subject of time from the dawn of humankind, our pre­ historic man-ape mentality, to our sophisticated modern space age, and infinitely beyond. Kubrick covers the subject of time from biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual perspectives. The film's pace of cutting, camera movement, tempo of movement within the shot, and classical soundtrack (Ligeti, Strauss, etc.) provides a cinematic universe that unfolds in a serene way. The overall rhythm seems to mimic the universe or nature's rhythm. Many shots throughout the film range anywhere from 10-20 seconds allowing objects in space to float, turn, and move at a graceful or harmonious pace. One shot of the main spaceship taking its course lasts about 20 seconds, which is very unusual in conventional filmmaking. However, Kubrick is more concerned about experimenting with the film medium spatially and temporally, attempting to perhaps ultimately reflect the idea of infinity or eternity. The cyclical notion of time may be interpreted in the film and novel, but Kubrick also leaves room for a western/linear interpretation of time's direction in one specific scene, which I shall discuss later. There are four parts to the film, each part dealing with a different aspect of time and evolution.

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