2001 A Space Odyssey-Greg W

2001: A Space Odyssey is not what one would call the standard definition of the dramatic story, as its' narrative structure is broken up into three distinct stories with one central object (monolith) at the center. It turned the science fiction genre on its' head when it was released as it challenged the format which at the time was considered the norm in movies like War of the Worlds or The Day the Earth Stood still. Now, while the genres of all of these movies and more are classified as the same, what separates the other movies from 2001 is how the story unfolds from beginning to end, or in 2001's case, from beginning to 1st, to 2nd, to 3rd end. For, if you look at the structure of 2001's story, there are pretty much three standalone stories in the movie all following this "full-circle" structure. For instance, the movie starts with the "dawn of man" and ends with a floating baby through space, alluding back to the beginning of the movie. It is almost as if the whole story was one great mythology about the history of man from beginning to end, showcasing Kubrick's own idea. The proposed structure Alexander Walker put forward seems apt, though as I have said it misses one at the end by not recognizing the circular structure of the movie that is paramount to the overall mythology put forth and at the end, like most of Kubrick's movies it follows it's own path and own rules.