2001: A Space Odyssey: Kubrick and Beyond

In the final sequences of Stanley Kubrick's landmark Cold War satire Dr. Strangelove, we see the world seemingly being destroyed by machines of its own creation. It appeared Kubrick's outlook on the fate of mankind was clear: we're all in
deep trouble. But in the four years following nuclear war, things changed drastically. 

In 1968, Kubrick gave us 2001: A Space Odyssey. A dazzling mixture of experimental film, science fiction, and social commentary (In some aspects it can be seen as an update of Strangelove for an imagined future) that still looks ahead of its time today. 2001 remains a landmark achievement, not only for the 1960's, but for the entirety of the motion picture industry's history.

In 1964, despite its popularity, Dr. Strangelove was seen as a controversial piece when it was released in America; some even alleged it glorified communsim. Stanley Kubrick, already an expatriate living in England and undettured by this criticism, had already begun a reworking, of sorts, as the film made its US debut. Several key themes would be revisited in 2001, despite the fact that the two films have very little in common on the surface. Strangelove is dim and dreary throughout, shot in black and white. 

2001 is the visual polar opposite. If Strangelove's color is meant to lull the viewer into a dreary demise, 2001 is attempting to overwhlem them with a visual spectacular from the future. Despite this, many ideas can be seen as a kind of continuation.One of these, which is abundantly clear, are the sexual undertones in each. From the "refueling sequence" during the opening credits to Sterling Hayden's impotent cigar enthusiast Gen. Jack D. Ripper, Strangelove is rife with sexual imagery, much of which seems to favor the side of inadecquacy. 2001, however, does not suffer from this problem.