Comment

Sep 21, 2016
This book/movie is not about space travel - it's all symbolic. It tells that we are programmed by Nature (Hal, the computer) to age and die off. In this story Man outsmarts this natural programming and becomes ageless, a God. The monolith, it symbolizes an entity, which is solid like a stone block, and it holds secrets. In the sequel of this movie, titled "2010 - The Year We Make Contact" it is said that those who try to go closer to the black monolith to peep into its secrets, are "barbecued." Clarke was a "Wizard" (he belonged to the monolith), and used symbolism to convey messages above the heads of the Muggle public, which thinks on the basic level only and takes everything literally. But the insiders understand the hidden meaning.