2001: A Space Odyssey with Paul McDonald and Mike Bogue
Coming up on the Men at the Movies podcast, we discuss the themes from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The best science-fiction awakens our sense of wonder, and this movie reveals our desire to be awed. We find a longing deep within to discover something transcendent which is in constant tension with our yearning for a place to find home. In God, we find a person who is beyond anything that we can comprehend, who also draws us into an intimate relationship with Him. Join us as we discover God’s truth in this movie.
About Mike
Years ago, Mike Bogue suffered a sledgehammer blow to the cranium and survived, a testament – some say – to his hard head. A Jerry Jenkins’ Your Novel Blueprint graduate, Mike wrote the acclaimed Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema: 1951-1967, which received an NPR endorsement. Magazines he’s written for include Movie Milestones, Wonder, G-FAN, and Scary Monsters. He’ll soon shop The Perfects, his first Christian science fiction book, to agents and publishers. Single, sixtysomething, and retired, Mike lives with his cat Bendi in Western Arkansas.
Quotes
This movie speaks to my desire to be awed.
The computer, Hal, is the most human character in the movie.
How we fail shapes our lives, and where we turn when we fail will shape our lives.
God shows up at various points in our lives to change us, help us to grow and mature, to help us move forward.
The best science-fiction awakens our sense of wonder.
Christ is not only greater than we imagine, but he’s greater than we can imagine.
Purity without love would be terrifying.
When they experience the monolith, it changed their life. When we experience Jesus, it changes our life.
Themes
Technology as a tool or a weapon
What happens when the infallible unit you trust is faulty
Tension between extremes
Is this movie boring, or among the best?
We have a longing to be awed, as well as to find our true home.
Use of technology as a tool or a weapon. Who is the slave, and who is the master?
God is both a God of transcendence over all, and a Father who is approachable.
Resources
“Change is rooted in a relationship with Jesus Christ…If we’re exposed to the sun, our skin is changed. BUt if we’re exposed to Christ, our lives are changed.” - from the Message Devotional Bible for 2 Corinthians 3:12-18
“Space Odyssey illustrates how our quest for space is motivated by two contradictory desires, a "desire for the sublime" characterised by a need to encounter something totally other than ourselves—"something numinous"—and the conflicting desire for a beauty that makes us feel no longer "lost in space," but at home. “ - Gregory Caicco
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” - C.S. Lewis"
“If you truly encountered absolute good, you would be terrified.” - C.S. Lewis in This Hideous Strength
Forgive: Why Should I and How Can I? by Tim Keller
Apocalypse Then: American and Japanese Atomic Cinema, 1951-1967
Questions
How are you the master of your technology?
How are you a slave to your technology?
How can technology be a tool? Weapon? What determines the difference?
How do you respond when God shows up in your life? When has God appeared, like the monolith in the movie? What changed?
How is God transcendent, unknowable, above all, beyond comprehension?
How is God approachable, intimate, loving, “Daddy?”
How do you deal with the tension between the two aspects of God?
Questions to go deeper
How does the concept of evolution and the exploration of humanity's origins in 2001: A Space Odyssey relate to our own personal growth and self-discovery?
In what ways can we draw parallels between the monolith in the film and the pivotal moments or experiences that shape our own understanding of the world and ourselves?
How does the film's portrayal of artificial intelligence and the existential questions it raises about human consciousness and identity apply to our reliance on technology in today's society?
What lessons can we derive from the film's exploration of human curiosity and our ceaseless desire to push the boundaries of knowledge and understanding? How can we apply these lessons to our own pursuits and ambitions?
How does the film's visual representation of isolation and solitude in the vastness of space reflect our own experiences with loneliness and the search for meaning in our lives?
In what ways does the film's meditative and introspective nature encourage us to reflect upon our own existence and purpose in the grand scheme of the universe?
How do the film's themes of extraterrestrial life and the possibility of encounters with higher beings challenge our perspectives on our place in the universe and our relationship with other forms of intelligence?
What connections can be made between the film's exploration of the fragility of human civilization and the challenges we face as a global society, such as climate change and political unrest?
How can we interpret the film's ambiguous and enigmatic ending in relation to the uncertainties and mysteries that we encounter in our own lives, and the need to embrace the unknown?
In what ways does 2001: A Space Odyssey prompt us to ponder the limits of human knowledge and the ever-expanding frontiers of science, and how can we strive to engage with these ideas in our own lives?
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Edited and mixed by Grayson Foster
Logo and episode templates by Ian Johnston
Audio quotes performed by Britt Mooney, Paul McDonald, and Tim Willard, taken from Epic (written by John Eldredge) and Song of Albion (written by Stephen Lawhead).
Southerly Change performed by Zane Dickinson, used under license from Shutterstock.
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