STANLEY KUBRICK [WIP] updated 04.03.13There are more and more movies coming out, like Tree of Life and Melancholia, with trailers that seem to involve a bit of what 2001: A Space Odyssey was about -- a planetary alignment, or cosmological shift, in conjunction with a human consciousness shift or advancement of some sort in mankind. I’ll know more when those new movies come out, but meantime, I was inspired to revisit Kubrick’s movies. Many have seen a Kubrick movie and go WTF? Or they just love Kubrick movies because they are interesting and intriguing, have great cinematography or memorable imagery? I don't know. I love all that, too, but for those who have ears to hear, and eyes (wide open) to see, his movies reveal more and more on each viewing, and most importantly, more and more when one does research.
Now, there is a pseudo-documentary, a critical theory of sorts, called Room 237, and it's primarily about The Shining. I think the people interviewed on it have the most ridiculous interpretations - seeing Kubrick's face in the clouds, finding significance with numbers, interpreting dissolves, interpreting possible continuity errors, seeing a minotaur in a skiing poster, saying Kubrick had a hand in filming a fake moon landing from analyzing front-projection artifacts, etc. I just wanted to make clear I'm distancing myself from people like that.On the other hand, Stanley Kubrick's Boxes was an excellent documentary. Check it out.
I have this huge Napoleon book, but haven't had a chance to read it yet. This cancelled project might now be a Spielberg project.
LACMA has the Kubrick exhibit. I went twice already. I need to go again to take more pics.
Continuing: Among his unfinished projects, Kubrick wanted to make a film based on the 1988 novel Foucault's Pendulum, which was about (though I haven't read it yet) secret societies, conspiracy theories, the occult, Knight's Templar, and many other esoteric topics. (1, 2) And it was also about "belief" in those things. Did Kubrick believe in such things or not? I think it's obvious he was very interested at least (most evident in Eyes Wide Shut, which I'll talk about later). I believe the most educated people certainly know about these things because they are studious, with an open mind and love to research obsessively. IMO, the most successful and revered movies are almost always about these secret societies, occult and esoterica, as discussed on this blog.
BARRY LYNDON
A lowly guy getting in with the elitists, like the current modern elitist "1%ers." What are the 1%ers?
The movie explains what the rich do with their wealth. They spend it on themselves, lavish luxuries, parties, bribes and influencing things to keep things in their favor, for their own circle. Unfortunately, the faker Redmond Barry spent his way into debt, trying to keep up with appearances.
Today, same thing - this isn't new, the wealth disparity. It's not an anomaly, it's on purpose.[1,2,3,4]
A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
What does the title mean? One explanation is that "a clockwork orange" describes something as having the appearance of something organic while artificial mechanisms or mechanical laws have been put on it, just like as in the film, with the prison putting the Ludovico brainwashing technique on the main character Alex. My interpretation of the film is much like Natural Born Killers -- less to do with the main characters and more of a comment on the society and government and it’s handling and controlling what to do with people. In NBK, if you look past the main characters and take the movie as a whole, the movie is really about media and society's hype of bloodlust. A Clockwork was about how to govern man, how to control in this dystopian world. And it’s also about how to exploit such programs for their own PR benefit. A newspaper at the end reads, “Our Political Staff says the Government is suffering acute embarrassment, since these charges of inhuman experiments are bound to call into question the whole policy of law and order which it has made a plank in its election programme.”
Government mind control experiments of the Nazis and Russians coalesce into US CIA programs like MKULTRA (Clinton apologizes for it), involving drugs, trauma, reflexes (nausea), behavioral, Pavlovian-type conditioning. Very Manchurian Candidate. A patient is conditioned to have a reflexive physical reaction, like getting sick, when presented with a stimulus or a trigger code word.
DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMBI think the Dr. Strangelove character, obviously a Nazi (with his spastic salutes), is based on the fact that many Nazis were harbored by the US government after WW2 (Project Paperclip1, 2, 3) and assimilated into many departments of the government; from developing NASA (Wernher von Braun) to CIA’s human experimentation, and a host of other things.
Other than making fun of the ineptitude of people running government, I think the film makes fun of, yet also informs the audience, of how cozy the US is with supposed enemies (I.e. commies, Nazis, even relevant today is Al CIA-da). You can just call them on the phone, like old pals! Is it making fun of people who believe in “kooky conspiracy theories” that the US is cozy with supposed enemies? How can it be when those things are factually supported? (1, 2, 3) Is it making fun of how ridiculous the US looks being cozy with its supposed enemies? I think yes -- that’s the expressed throughout the whole movie. It’s titled Dr. Strangelove after all, a character that doesn’t come in till late in the movie. His involuntary Hitler salutes show either his past or who he currently really serves. Or it represents the Nazi infiltration in US government. All of the above. Stop worrying about this political war farce joke. Love war. Get over it. The military industial complex is a part of life. Deal. The only people that would understand this sarcastic and quite sad humor is the audience that is educated in these topics. I certainly didn't understand it's humor when I saw this when I was a kid, but after years of researching history and government now I do.
IMDB says it was “originally conceived as a tense thriller about the possibility of accidental nuclear war. Stanley Kubrick was working on the script when he realized that many scenes he had written were actually quite funny.” And I can easily imagine that the movie wouldn’t play as well a serious thriller. I’m sure there were plenty of nuclear threat ‘50’s connotations where those type of movies took itself seriously. The other elements in this film, like the US relationships with it’s enemies, the fluoridated water (1, 2, 3, 4), the Nazi’s working for the US government, the myriad of underground bases -- these topics would probably have not been taken seriously by the masses if it's new to them. If played seriously, it might not be taken seriously. If played entertainingly, at the very least the info will have gotten out. In fact, “In one version of the script, aliens from outer space observed all of the action.” Satire or exaggeration is probably the best way to show it, to be palatable for most new audiences back then, and perhaps even now, as Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman are working on a movie in a satire form as well about the controlling globalists.IMDB: “The German word “Gemeinschaft” means ‘A spontaneously arising organic social relationship characterized by strong reciprocal bonds of sentiment and kinship within a common tradition.’ In this context the discussion of the post-apocalypse society living in mine shafts at the end of the film presents an interesting double-entendre. Dr. Strangelove’s remarks about the participants in the new society spontaneously accepting new social norms and having ‘bold curiosity for the adventure ahead’ is especially germane. Also, General Turgidson’s admonition to 'not allow a mine shaft gap' at the end is a particularly vivid pun.” This might refer to the many underground bases built to continue government. Stories abound about the Denver International Airport and its multi-levels of underground facilities (1,2,).
IMDB: “The character of General Buck Turgidson was patterned after Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Gen. Curtis LeMay, who was renowned for his extreme anti-Communist views and who once stated that he would not be afraid to start a nuclear war with the Soviet Union if he was elected president. Similarly, Brigadier General Jack Ripper was patterned after Gen. Thomas S. Power, LeMay’s protégé and successor as Commander in Chief of Strategic Air Command. When briefed on a RAND proposal to limit US nuclear strikes on Soviet cities at the beginning of a war, Power responded, 'Restraint! Why are you so concerned with saving lives! The whole idea is to kill the bastards!…At the end of the war, if there are two Americans and one Russian, we win!'” I think this humor (because it’s probably true that we have sociopaths in government and military) is more aimed at them, a criticism of them, than for us to find it lol funny that we are watching them be monsters.
IMDB: “Shortly after the release of the movie, Stanley Kubrick met with Arthur C. Clarke to talk about making the ‘proverbial good science-fiction movie.’ During a discussion of ideas (that eventually became 2001: A Space Odyssey,” the two men saw what they at first thought was a satellite moving in a polar orbit, but it abruptly changed direction. When Clarke suggesting calling in a UFO report, Kubrick said, ‘After Dr. Strangelove, the Air Force doesn’t want to hear from me.’”
2001:A SPACE ODYSSEY
In the beginning was nothing. The film starts off with 3 mins. of a black screen with weird noises. For matter to happen, you need anti-matter. A black hole gives rise to a big bang. There is a planetary alignment. We know the earth is definitely affected by the pull of the moon or when the sun flares up. The planets pull and affect life on earth, and the ancients had systems to track these cycles. Ancient religions speak of yugas, cycles of time of planetary alignments when humans go through up and down cycles over and over for hundreds of thousands of years, maybe millions. Who knows if it was 2001, or will be 2012, but in my opinion, things have already started to change, as in an increase in global awareness for starters.
Dawn of Man. “Dawn of a new day” is a phrase that researcher Jordan Maxwell talks in depth about. Another one to follow is Bill Cooper, as he analyzes this film. Is the film really a science-fiction? Or is the film a blatant reveal of the hidden secret Masonic/illuminati beliefs of the true origins of man, as many enlightened people who are in the know think? Were Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke high ranking masons? Some figures keep their affiliation secret, because duh, it's a secret society. But their works, output, and actions betray them. This secret society, and it's spin-offs, hold the knowledge of ancient civilizations, mystery schools, and mystery religions, and when watching this film, it's basically like taking a class in a mystery school. Well, there seems to be an increasingly rising idea of an ancient alien intervention in the evolution of man’s intelligence, as seen in the History Channels’ Ancient Alien series. Kubrick said, “2001 would give a little insight into my metaphysical interests…I’d be very surprised if the universe wasn’t full of an intelligence of an order that to us would seem God-like.” (1)There is another planetary alignment. A black monolith appears to them - an alien intervention or assistance takes place. Perhaps the hundreds of megaliths or stonehenges around the world were given to ancient man in the same manner.
They all seem to track planetary alignments with amazing accuracy. The sound of bees is heard. Bees and the beehive are a masonic symbol of “industry, labor, wisdom,…a miracle in natural engineering.” It symbolizes society -- the first society has started. One of the man-apes gets the idea for a tool/weapon, gaining intelligence. Perhaps this is the First Man, Bill Cooper suggests. The bone is a tool when they kill a pig, but later a weapon when used to kill out of spite. Early man, those “man-apes” as I call them, seem to start off vegetarian. Some say the human physiology seems more herbivore than carnivore, with the way our teeth are and that we don‘t have claws. When the man-apes eat the pig meat, they’re more aggressive. Some say it’s the proteins or endorphins released in the meat when the animal is killed that cause aggressive behavior when eating said meat.There’s a war over the local water hole. Even today, water is the biggest most important asset. It’s not oil or gold -- it’s water. The bone is now a weapon. This is the first murder, the loss of innocence (a similar theme in Full Metal Jacket). It’s a murder when you kill out of spite, hate, greed, envy, selfishness. They don’t need to eat the other man-apes, like the pig. They just want them dead, as seen by the whole gang going along with it, the mob mentality. Humans will riot and be violent when desperate.
The bone is thrown up in the air, evolving into, cut to the future, a spaceship -- specifically I read somewhere the first spaceship we see is a nuclear weapon. One of the scripts I’ve read called for several nuclear megaton bombs orbiting earth; Russian, French, German, Chinese, and US. In the second shot of it, notice the nuclear weapon spacecraft has German flag and a cross that looks like the Nazi iron cross. Perhaps this alludes to Nazi Wernher von Braun who started up NASA. The words Nazi and NASA seem way too similar; it‘s almost obvious. The US harbored and employed Nazis, as part of Project Paperclip. Also, the discovery of the monolith on the moon later, involves lots of secrecy, PR media control, in the meeting room scene. Lots of black op, secret space program talk here.Other people have analyzed the significance of the HAL story part, and I don't have much to add. Maybe we have to deal with the responsibility of creating life, albeit artificial life; and be willing to sacrifice our babies so to speak (killing HAL). Or is it like George Lucas when Obi-Wan wants us to let go of the artificialness of technology and trust ourselves, our own organic "computers" in our skulls. Another point is that after one of astronauts gets cut off by HAL, Dave's selfless act of chasing him down and trying to save his body is probably a major factor in the eyes of the "powers that be" who may be watching. What do we do with our lives to give it meaning, to fulfill our reason for existing? Doing good, an amazing good? It sums up most all religions. How do we ascend, transcend? Create such positive vibrations that we become light-beings -- I'm getting ahead of myself.
Like another dot the Pacman eats, another monolith from the unseen aliens gives us the clue that we're on the right path.
We all can guess that the psychedelic sequence Dave travels through is a wormhole, another dimension. Dave is deposited in a 18th century gilded room that Clarke describes as an alien construct from Dave‘s or humanity’s memories. It doesn’t make sense to be Dave’s memories, as he’s not a 18th century French fop. Kubrick seems to love this period (tri-cornered hats in the Ludovico films in Clockwork, the costumes in Eyes Wide Shut’s Rainbow Fashions and Venetian masks, Barry Lyndon, the unmade Napoleon project, etc.). Is it just his aesthetic tastes? Or is there something of significance about this period? The period of the Age of Enlightenment, where occultism inspires science advancements, where the Bavarian Illuminati is born, Napoleon…Indeed, there is something about this period.
Another monolith -- another advancement in human consciousness. Dave becomes a star baby, starchild, or pure energy? What does the ending mean? Kubrick and Clarke have preferred not to explain it, but from their POV, there is indeed meaning and purpose to everything put up there. People need to find their own meaning of life in their own way. The secret societies and mystery schools, from ancient Egyptians to Skull and Bones, would have the initiate left in a room to ponder various symbols and objects to come up with the meaning of it all, what it means for themselves. For me, the things I ponder to find meaning in the end of this film are subjects like apotheosis, what Jesus, Krishna, and Buddha accomplished, become one with one consciousness, etc.
EYES WIDE SHUTWhy does the media push the gossip, like Tom and Nicole’s real marriage during filming and separation after? The real question should be about the friggin secret sex orgy! It was a goddamn ritualistic secret society sex magik orgy! Who are those people?! - that's what I want to know. This is probably Kubrick’s most blatant masonic/illuminati symbol filled film; it's in plain sight, but most people’s eyes are wide shut. He mysteriously died 4 days after showing his cut to WB studio execs. Authors Jay Weidner and Kent Bentkowski believe Kubrick was knocked off for revealing too many of secret societies secrets (just like some say mason Mozart mysteriously died after his masonic The Magic Flute), but whatever. Bentkowski points out Kubrick died 666 days before 2001:A Space Odyssey would take place. The cause of death was heart attack, but family and friends said he was fine in the days before it happened. News reports, like the Guardian, said the family wouldn't release the details of his death. Interesting. I’m open to the possibility he was knocked off, and it makes sense, but the truth is we might never know.
I agree with some interpretations of the film by Weidner and Bentkowski, and some things might be too reaching, and some things I would have to research more to have an opinion. But definitely very interesting stuff. In Rainbow Fashions, why does the counter change positions from the night to day scenes? Why does Domino have a stuffed tiger on her bed that looks exactly like the type in the toy store at the end? Domino's room had African decor, but does that relate to her being HIV positive? Is there a guy at Ziegler's party that looks exactly like the Naval officer in Alice's dreams? Separately, was Kubrick tied with the Aldobrandini family, which has close ties to the Vatican? Did Kubrick attend the Aldobrandini orgies, giving him the idea for the movie? I don't know.
The movie is about being sucked into the secret society world of the rich and powerful elites through temptation (guy tries to take Kidman upstairs, girls try to take Cruise upstairs). The movers and shakers of the world are already a part of the hidden secret society ("If I told you their names..I'm not gonna tell you their names, but if I did, I don't think you'd sleep so well.") Sydney Pollack’s character, the 2 models and the Sandor Szavost character were all probably at the orgy
(notice their strange sobering-up expressions when they fail getting Cruise. These bitches are up to something, c'mon). The explanation Sydney Pollack’s character gives at the end about the death threats just being showy and theatrical may or may not be true. What matters more: which story you buy, or the fact that now you've seen things, you're tainted, your eyes have seen, and now you're hooked? It may be just an orgy amongst the rich elite. Or it could be what many describe as what secret society sex magic rituals are like. Listen to sex slave survivors of MKULTRA and Project Monarch like Cathy O’Brien and Susan Ford (Brice Taylor). Kubrick also seems to want to say something about pedophilia; from Leelee Sobieski’s character to his earlier film Lolita. His buddy Arthur C. Clarke was rumored to like the young boys. What is it with the rich/elites and pedophilia? (the white house 1,2, Vatican 1,2,3,4, politicians 1, 2) The only explanation I’ve heard that makes sense involves luciferian ritual (1,2,3, 4). Doesn't really matter what your personal religious beliefs, it is your government and religious leaders that believe it and that should be called out and questioned. Subversive organizer Saul Alinsky, who admires lucifer (1) is an influence on Obama and Hilary Clinton, organizers of war crimes.I would agree there’s a lot of symbols in the film. The masonic symbol of the rainbow (Rainbow Fashions, “want to go where the rainbow ends?”) comes from druidic magic; the rainbow is both in the physical and magical worlds, meaning transcendence and ascension. The daughter character Helena may or may not be named after theosophy founder Helena Blavatsky, a major influence in secret societies. Kidman’s character Alice could be like Alice looking through a looking glass, looking at a mirror in a few instances; favorite symbols in the Monarch program. The film meshes between dream and reality; she describes a dream having sex with several men and has the mask near her; so was she at the orgy? Was she a drugged up sex slave, not having a clear head? Here are some of the last lines in the movie:
“Maybe I think we should be grateful…that we’ve managed to survive through all of our adventures whether they were real or only a dream.”
“Are you sure of that?”
“Am I sure? Only as I am that the reality of one night, let alone that of a whole lifetime, can ever be the whole truth.”
“And no dream is ever just a dream.”
“The important thing is we’re awake now. And hopefully for a long time to come.”
Once you’ve seen some things, been enlightened and illuminated, your eyes are wide open. Hopefully, you're awake now, and continue to seek truth throughout your life, and not go back to sleep and close your eyes to all this.
Other things...The Red Cloak character sits on a chair with the double-headed eagle, a symbol used in many places from the Byzantine Empire and Holy Roman Empire (two heads representing east and west with the crown meaning that they rule over all from east to west). It’s also used on the cover of Morals and Dogma, emblem of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the infamous sect that has the extra 33 degrees of super-secret knowledge). This chair represents who these people are at the orgy and where they come from, even though they hide behind masks. They are the movers and shakers of the world.The password is Fidelio, Beethoven’ only opera, about a woman disguising herself to save her husband from death. Beethoven was rumored to be a freemason, and judging by his tombstone, I would say m'yeah I think so (obelisk, butterfly, ouroboros).
The masks were Venetian carnival masks made by Il Canovaccio. The Bauta are a type of masks used in the 18th century for anonymity in democratic secret ballot events regulated by the Venetian government. Kubrick sure loves the 18th century; an age of enlightenment, freemasonry, and illuminati.Here's Kubrick's daughter talking about her father and the state of the world and the powers that be. (1) And this article backs up what she says Kubrick thought of the world, the US, and why he didn't want to live here.
