Understanding Kubrick's 2001: Representation and Interpretation

Scholars have been studying the films of Stanley Kubrick for decades. This book, however, breaks new ground by bringing together recent empirical approaches to Kubrick with earlier, formalist approaches to arrive at a broader understanding of the ways in which Kubrick?s methods were developed to create the unique aesthetic creation that is '2001: A Space Odyssey'. As the fiftieth anniversary of the film nears, the contributors explore its still striking design, vision, and philosophical structure, offering new insights and analyses that will give even dedicated Kubrick fans new ways of thinking about the director and his masterpiece.

Cover; Half Title; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Illustrations; Notes on Contributors; Acknowledgements; Notes on the Text; Introduction: Forging new perspectives; Part One: Narrative and Adaptation; Chapter One: 'God, it'll be hard topping the H-bomb': Kubrick's search for a new obsession in the path from Dr. Strangelove to 2001: A Space Odyssey; Chapter Two: 2001: A Space Odyssey: A transcendental trans-locution; Chapter Three: Four-colour Kubrick: Jack Kirby's 2001: A Space Odyssey as adaptation and extension; Part Two: Performance

Chapter Four: Performing the man-ape in 'The Dawn of Man': Daniel Richter and The American Mime TheatreChapter Five: Life functions terminated: Actors' performances and the aesthetics of distanced subjectivity in 2001: A Space Odyssey; Part Three: Technology; Chapter Six: From technical to cinematographic objects in 2001: A Space Odyssey; Chapter Seven: Homo machinus: Kubrick's two HALs and the evolution of monstrous machines; Part Four: Masculinity and the Astronaut; Chapter Eight: Clarke and Kubrick's 2001: A queer odyssey

Chapter Nine: 'But as to whether or not he has feelings is something I don't think anyone can truthfully answer': The i…