The Sentinel

In The Sentinel, time is often measured in memories and distance. There is talks of morning sausages that wake the astronauts as well as the homeliness of the moon cottages. These memories evoke feelings of the past showing a passage of time from days gone to the modern era. Similarly, distance is a way that time is represented in this piece. For example, distance is said to be just a hazy vision. The point of return is just a small image when driven away from it. In the Space Odessy, time moves slowly. This can be seen in its many long takes of slow moving planets and the particular turtle like waitress. This could have perhaps been an artistic take on how space is seen; slow and fluid. One overarching theme would be the theme of protection. This can be seen in The Sentinel when the mysterious pyramid has a forcefield around it to keep it preserved from harm. This field works as a way to keep the pyramid in pristine condition. Likely, in The Space Odyssey, Hal’s instinct to fight back was his own form of a forcefield. This was a defensive system set in place when his existence was at stake. Another theme can be the juxtaposition of modern and old-fashioned. In The Sentinel, this is evident in the comparison of the stark moonscape and the homey cottage. The images played out in mind for the moon is often cold and barren with larger, black craters (a signal of danger) while the cottage conjure images of home cooked meals and fire pit nights. In the Space Odyssey, the image of the family in a 60s styled home singing happy birthday against the very sleek, modern and white space ships shows difference of the modern era. In the Space Odyssey, there are a few connections between the beginning of the film showing mainly apes to the rest of the movie. For starters, the modern black rectangle plays an overarching theme in the film. It’s discussed about throughout the duration of the film. The bewilderment of the piece is still consistent even if the reactions to it are different. Similarly, the ape who began killing others was a connection to growing aggressiveness in our society and in the characters within Discovery. This is a direct connection to Hal’s rage and his sudden turn into a murderer.