appears again at intermittent intervals throughout the movie and seemed somehow incongruous with the renaissance sequence in the end. Going for the Ockham’s razor for the monolith’s pertinence was the last thing on my mind. And the most rational conclusion so far reached is that of a cinema screen. Yes, it actually represents a cinema screen. And shockingly one of the pivotal characters, Dave Bowman soon realizes that he is in a movie, courtesy the reflection of the crew on his helmet and the fact that when his older doppelganger returns to his table, the wine glass which was supposed to be in the centre has moved over the edge with consequent befuddling expression on his face when the glass crashes alluding his realization. Also the diamonds shown in the star gate hypnotic sequence represent the 5 front end speakers and the 2 back end speakers. SO IT IS INFACT A MOVIE IN ANOTHER MOVIE which might sound hackneyed but is bewildering to the first timers.
This was completely unprecedented. For the first time since Matrix (1999) I was dumbfounded and in total despair as to the exact definition of the main theme of Stanley Kubrick’s most esteemed project. Well unlike Matrix there were no dazzling special effects which were made more riveting with an apt background score and laudable performances from lead actors especially, Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving. Its idea of a credible virtual reality expounded was quite amazing and cogent and the stupendous success it achieved is a natural corollary for its unbridled creative ingenious. Every reference to it makes me go into hyperbole. So coming back to the Odyssey, after having parsed a few eclectic journals and blogs (Rob Ager) and having grasped its recondite tenor I find it quite shocking that this of all movies was considered as aesthetically significant by the United Stated Library of Congress and also selected for preservation in the National Film Registry because it is reflective of the conspiracies during the flag ship operations by NASA and highlights its duplicity in blinding us from the actual reality, a deadlocked quagmire which still has relevance. Some deemed it an allegory for ontology or an avant-garde sci-fi and some merely praised it as a paragon oeuvre without accounting for its obscure meaning.
The more I delved into clearing my doubts over it(yes I did that while preparing for CAT and placement season ahead) the more appealing its prolix characterization became, but still the paucity of the indisputable evidence always tends to leave you in the lurch even after rigorously scrutinizing its byzantine clues. Its laconic and ornery presentation with a classical score adds vent to the conundrum demanding utmost forbearance. Its quiddity had been to pull wool over our eyes considering most of us scrutinize the most obvious occurrences in a frame without paying due regard to the most trivial aspects which lately I had realized is a sine qua non for most of its 2 hours 28 min duration. The progression from the Dawn of Man to Dr. Heywood’s voyage to a startling discovery on the moon attains a momentous leap with panoply of events 
symbolizing the evolution of mankind to the present times. The tool(bone) used by the ape as a means to thwart off the tiger terrorizing his tribe and also for killing other animals and his own tribe members creating a baleful persona gets transformed to a pen suspended in air due to lack of gravity in the spaceship symbolizing a kindred approach via political means. The ensuing transformation into the ingenious and flawless computer HAL, controlling each and every aspect of the Jupiter Mission including the hibernation where a subject is incapable of dreaming is emblematic of our perennial dependence on the tool which has deprived us of some of the most fundamental human abilities.
Any further encomiums to the artifice pulled Kubrick, a doyen filmmaker wouldn’t be enough. He would be laughing if he were alive with the absurd conclusions derived by many critics back in 1968. Speaking of absurdities my most treasured television series LOST ended with a vacuous and enervating season 6 that exaggerated things to an all time high inviting the most trenchant of all criticisms from its many ardent fans including me. The pick of the sitcoms as usual was The Office with Steve Carrel still holding sway as the proverbial Michael Scott adding new peccadilloes to his ensemble.
Although I performed miserably in my first proctored mock test the biggest disappointment for me was the exit of Steve Carrel after the next season of The Office and Matthew Fox getting an Emmy nomination despite his phlegmatic enactment of one of the show’s most iconic characters, Jack Shepherd.
