Sunday, January 03, 2010

Fun Viewing

It was fun yesterday, on the second day of the new year, to see the 1984 film 2010 showing on TV. I enjoyed watching it again, just like I did 26 years ago. (Wait... 26 years??? Ouch!)




And right after watching 2010, the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey was aired. It's been some time since I last saw that old classic as well, and so I really enjoyed catching up with both films yesterday.



The old movies are obviously a little dated when you look at some of the technologies pictured in them, but it doesn't matter much. They are still good movies. The ideas in the series, both about space exploration and the interaction between humans and the technology they create, are really fun to consider. The Bowman-HAL connection is a little creepy still — in fact, it might be even more so today, when such things seem to really capture the imagination of serious women and men of science.


I'm glad both films were shown — especially together — and getting to see them right in the middle of the era they depicted and predicted. It's interesting to think about the different directions our technology and space exploration has taken us since the making of the movies (and the writing of the books on which they are based), and also the ways in which the stories still hold certain ideas that are, even today, worth exploring further.


I read 3001 several months ago, and also read a book entitled Flesh and Machines, which makes mention of HAL and his (its?) interaction with humanity. Seeing these films again after having recently enjoyed both of those books was extra fun. I'm glad I caught them on TV and got to experience them all over again.

3001 The Final Odyssey




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