As the Vietnam War continued, social revolutions raged and attitudes began to change, questioning whether the American government's decisions were right. The Hippy subculture emerged, bringing with it psychedelic elements that impacted popular culture. Psychedelic music emerged, as well as the increased popularity of psychotropic drugs and the triumph of love over war. These rising themes which seemed counter culture at the time, were very influential on popular culture and stand as decade defining features of this time. As such, these spiritual elements impacted films, and 2001 is no exception. Particularly the final chapter , deep space and beyond, involves a sequence where the protagonist David Bowman is travelling through, depending on the viewer's interpretation, dimensions of space, time or a communication with extra-terrestrial beings. Shots of the character are flashed between colourful visions and drastic close ups. This scene is more than likely influenced by psychological elements, such the rising popularity of the drug LSD, which has strong hallucinogenic effects. .
Narrative Conventions and Techniques.
Kubrick in both visual texts 2001 and The Shining uses narrative structure that subverts the norm, which is a unique element to his film making. In 2001, the structure is separated into four separate acts - The Dawn of Man, the Exploration of Clavius, the Jupiter Mission and Jupiter and beyond the infinite. While still continuing in a linear narrative structure chronologically, the relationship between these four parts are not distinct, and is up to the viewer's interpretation. Typically for the time, the Hollywood structure has an obvious exposition, development and resolution, with resolving cause and effect throughout. Ambiguity was uncommon for the time and is still uncommon today, however it was ground-breaking for a Hollywood film to implement experimental elements into major production.