2001: A Space Odyssey

Last week we were introduced to the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Well, that was an experience! Was not prepard for that. I do not know if you have ever seen the film, but I would recommend you give it a go…

… Did you make it through to the end? Some people love that film, but for me it has to be one of my least favourite films. Im a film guy, but that was not for me. "Really trippy" one of my course mates said. I think thats a good way to put it.
However, to the film and its makers credit, it pushed the boundaries of film. Today the film is consitenly ranked in the top 10 of films ever made. People see this as culturally significant piece of film, mainly due to the way it pushed the boundaries of the way film interacts with the senses. I suppose in this sense it is a significant piece of work but I personally will not be putting it anywhere near my top 10 films.

Discussing the film after we looked at the idea of "a box". This idea was brought up by my tutor when discussing the centinal (shown above) in the film. What was so significant about  its form and aesthetic. The designer of this, in this case, probably the director must have taken care to get this piece correct. And they did. In my opinion, this single object was the greatest part of this otherwise weird film. The design of the character shall we call it was excellent. You understood its meaning, or were at least able to explore its meaning. You never find out its purpose, I mean, its just a black cuboid. What the heck?! 

I will let you explore this film and come to your own conclusions about the significance and meaning of the use of this shape. I dont actually think I need to speculate myself. I think it is best if you explore it yourself. Once you have done that, do what we did and explore the idea of "the box" in design elsewhere. I am going to explore the designer as a box… (dont know what i mean by that yet, but im going to find out).

I also intend to blog about a number of films within this blog page. As we can see from this film, there is alot we can learn and take from films when concidering design, and even the question: "Are you a designer?

Watch this space….