NOTES Note 1: [Editor's Note] The monolith appears during an eclipse. The sun is present in the camera shot because the eclipse has just ended. However, the vanishing point created by extending the sides of the monolith vertically until the lines meet is centered directly over the moon. Thus, the monolith is actually pointing at the moon -- which is where the next monolith will be discovered. | back to article | Note 2: From what we are shown, this apparently predates fire or any other tool. | back to article | Note 3: The significance of Kubrick's word choice for the structures should not be overlooked, for the monoliths, as has been intimated throughout this essay, have a single (cf. "mono") and uniform purpose: to lead man to the ultimate destination. | back to article | Note 4: At least for the foreseeable future; and certainly, of course, at the time of the film. | back to article | Note 5: We are "beyond the infinite," after all. | back to article | Note 6: There are other details which also may further this interpretation. For example, Kubrick divides the film into three sections—which mimics the generally recognized three trimesters of pregnancy—although the film is clearly in four parts. And doesn't the Voyager 1, with its large head and long tail, look an awful lot like a spermatozoon? | back to article | Note 7: Videlicet, Transparent Things. The page citation is from the Vintage International version (New York, 1989.) | back to article |