Thus Spake Stanley Kubrick

(Kier Dulla as David Bowman in 2001: A Space Odyssey)

2001: A Space Odyssey tells an intriguing tale even without a lot of conventional dialogue. Through a soundtrack composed of stark silence and otherworldly choral work, along with “Thus Spake Zarathustra” at the center of it, Stanley Kubrick wonderfully orchestrates an experimental film about evolution, humanity, and the unknown.

The opening shot of space is accompanied with “Thus Spake Zarathustra” by Richard Strauss, a piece based on Nietzsche’s philosophical novel Also Sprach Zarathustra. The book deals with themes of "eternal recurrence of the same”, “The Will to Power”, and most importantly, “The Overman”. In layman’s terms, “The Overman” is a teaching of Zarathustra’s, which is a final form, a superior state of being that man can achieve. The main character in Also Sprach Zarathustra is journeying towards this state, and we can see parallels in the story of 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the end of the movie, Dave Bowman is thrown into an intriguing, terrifying event. In his pursuit of the monolith, he travels through a star gate and finds himself in a human zoo, watching himself grow old while being watched by superior beings. At the end of his human life, he lies in bed as the monolith appears in front of him, and he is transformed into Star Child, a superior state of being. Not unlike Zarathustra and his becoming of the “Overman”, Bowman reaches a final form of evolution, where he is an all knowing being. This song is peppered throughout the film, and I don’t think that was on accident. I believe Kubrick chose this piece because of the way it relates the human condition and evolution to the discovery of the unknown, as seen throughout the film with the use of the monoliths, the star gate, space travel, etc. Much like Nietzsche’s work, 2001: A Space Odyssey is an experimental film, challenging the characters within as well as the viewers outside with otherworldly ideas for evolution, creating a fully evolved superior being.

Also prevalent throughout the film is the use of silence, and otherworldly noise. For a good amount of the film we are left with no music, only atmospheric noises from the setting, like in the beginning with Dawn of Man, and in the middle in various scenes aboard Discovery. The absence of music in scenes creates a sort of realism, and pulls the viewer deeper into the movie, as real life typically doesn’t have a soundtrack. Through the use of sound effects and time void of music, Kubrick creates a more believable environment. Also prevalent throughout the film is the musical piece “Requiem”. This can be heard whenever the monolith is present on screen. The composition of the piece is otherworldly, and evokes an uneasy feeling. The use of “Requiem” by Gyorgy Ligeti when the monolith is present creates an insatiable tension that left me extremely intrigued as well as in shock. It sounds almost alien, and is hard to distinguish if it is actually in the narrative, or if us as the viewers are the only ones able to hear it.

The soundtrack as a whole incorporates classical music such as “Thus Spake Zarathustra” and “Requiem” at key moments and combines it with scenes void of music or noise

Stanley Kubrick utilizes many musical pieces and sound bytes to craft 2001: A Space Odyssey’s narrative, a story about mankind and its evolution, as well as the unknown.

Works Cited

Kubrick, Stanley, director. 2001: a Space Odyssey.