Clementine DuCinema, WLBOTT film critic, here. I am constantly humbled. I thought it might be fun to explore the masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey through a culinary lens. Was I ever late to the party! There’s a lot of sites devoted to this topic.
But hey, what’s one more?
How This All Started
My fellow Elders were sharing their favorite magnetic anomalies. Several selected the Whitecourt Crater.
I was attracted then to the Whitecourt Crater – ~100 mi from Edmonton. The crater has a magnetic anomaly, presumably caused by aliens after they crashed their spaceship into the earth – causing the crater and burying their matter/antimatter propulsion system deep below the earth’s crust.
Whitecourt Crater is a very young (1000 years old) and only recently discovered.
“The crater was found by Sonny Stevens, a 54-year-old resident of Whitecourt, on July 3, 2007 as he was using a metal detector while hunting in the area.”
– Elder JimZim
I’ve travelled Highway 43 many times, most recently in 2017 when Lady R and I did a trip on the Goldwing. Nice country, but I’m afraid I never even noticed Whitecourt. I might have blinked as we went through it. The meteor might explain why the bike kept veering to the side.
As for the metal detector, it is well known in these parts that the common “red” deer gains its colourful reputation because of the concentration of iron in it’s system combined with the higher rainfall in that area, causing a noticeable rust coloured skin tone. Needless to say, metal detectors, when set to the highest sensitivity will detect a deer within rifle range.
And it goes without saying that there is beer involved. This is Alberta, man!
Elder JA
My response:
Gentle People,
My favorite magnetic anomaly is the TMA-1:Clementine DuCinemaTycho Magnetic Anomaly 1 (TMA-1) is a famous fictional artifact from Arthur C. Clarke’s Space Odyssey universe. Discovered buried near the Moon’s Tycho crater by American satellites, it was originally mistaken for a massive iron meteorite due to its intense magnetic field.
Excavation of the site revealed a perfectly proportioned, black, crystalline monolith with exact geometric dimensions in the ratio of 1 : 4 : 9. Upon being struck by the first lunar sunrise in four million years, it emitted a powerful radio blast aimed at Jupiter. TMA-1 is the catalyst for the events in both the novel and film 2001: A Space Odyssey.Gemini
This is what kicked everything off – a lunar satellite detected a magnetic anomaly, so work crews started digging it up (in space suits, quite a job), and discovered the monolith. Not sure about 1:4:9 – the first 3 squares?
To the best of my knowledge, there are no free range deer on the moon. Also not sure about the availability of beer on the moon.
The Ratio (1:4:9)
It turns out that the monolith ratio represented something quite different:
But this [ratio] theory is the only 2001 theory (save Rob Ager’s astute theory) to address a fundamental question that other theories cannot even provide the framework for an answer: why are the dimensions of the Monolith 1 to 4 to 9? Sit down: the answer will shock you.
1:4:9 are the proportions of ingredients in a recipe. What recipe?
These are the proportions of butter to half-and-half to sugar used in chocolate fudge, a bar of which the Monolith resembles.
Thus munched Zarathustra.
ronsen.org
2001: A Space Odyssey can be interpreted about a million different ways. That’s a big part of its appeal. But have you ever felt… hungry while watching it? That’s because the movie is actually about food. Look closely, and you’ll see it too!
One angle that came to my attention after repeated viewings of the film […] is this: Have you ever noticed the characters are constantly eating? That cannot be unintentional – this is Kubrick we’re talking about here. During a recent screening at San Francisco’s Castro Theatre, I could not get the idea out of my mind. Breakfast meetings! Trays laden with mushy portions! Sandwiches that might be chicken! And every time someone eats, something significant happens soon after!
Cheryl Eddy (Gizmodo)
Cheryl Eddy, News Editor
I have been at io9/Gizmodo since 2014; my title here is Senior Writer, though I am also a News Editor and do copy editing too. […] I have a master’s degree in Cinema Studies from San Francisco State University; my thesis was on slasher movies and unsurprisingly, my main focus at io9 is horror—although I also cover sci-fi, fantasy, pop culture news, and just about everything else in our wheelhouse.
Continuity Error
We consider 2001 a masterpiece. It has been studied frame-by-frame by film buffs for decades.
But we were dismayed in our recent viewing to notice a continuity error during the opening sequence:
Food Scenes
The Dawn of Man
WLBOTT’s diner, the Ladle & Lube (we share space with a tractor repair garage) would like to replicate the 2001 menu, but we decided to not offer the tapir tartare, shown in the “Dawn of Man” segment of the movie. For one thing, tapirs are really cute, especially the babies. But also, we were concerned about parasites in uncooked tapirs.
Elder G agrees with our reasoning.
Raw wild mammals can carry parasites and pathogens
From a real-world food safety standpoint, your concern is well founded.
Wild mammals can harbor:
- parasitic worms
- protozoan parasites
- bacterial infections
- other zoonotic pathogens
The official WLBOTT rating:
Criterion Tapir Tartare Food Safety ⭐⭐ Ethics ⭐ Cuteness Penalty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WLBOTT Approval Denied
Initially it was just salad for our ancestors….
But soon tapirs were added to the menu.
And let’s not forget the other dining adventure during “The Dawn of Man”:
Dr. Heywood Floyd
The Orbiting Hotel/Restaurant
While waiting for his transfer flight to the moon, Dr. Floyd agrees to meet a colleague at the orbiting Howard Johnson’s. As a kid, I loved the fried clams, and once, to the great embarrassment of my mother, tried to order fried clam ice cream. Turns out, it wasn’t one of the twenty eight flavors they offered.
So how much would an order of fried clams cost? We got Elder G to calculate the cost of uploading the food to the space station.
S/he estimates the transport cost between $200/kg and $500/kg.
Thus, figuring in the condiments (what are fried clams without tartar sauce?) here’s her/his estimate:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Food ingredients | $15 |
| Launch cost | $300 |
| Restaurant overhead | $200 |
| Labor | $50 |
| Profit | $100 |
Total: $600-$800 for a plate of fried clams.
Of course, if Howard Johnson’s adopts airline pricing practices, the menu might read:
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Fried Clams | $79 |
| Transport Surcharge | $412 |
| Orbital Atmosphere Fee | $61 |
| Lunar Navigation Recovery Fee | $38 |
| Historic Pan Am Heritage Fee | $22 |
| Clam Sustainability Initiative | $17 |
| Suggested Tip for HAL (this is not optional) | $12 |
Total: $641
The truly wealthy passengers, meanwhile, are ordering the “Captain’s Platter”:
Fried clams, shrimp, scallops, and a complimentary view of Earth.
$2,195.95
By the way, Elder DZ informed us that Howard Johnson’s had a 2001-themed children’s menu following the release of the movie.
Dr. Floyd’s Trip to the Moon
We asked Elder G to speculate on the contents of the lunch tray.
The tray appears to contain eight sealed food compartments, arranged in two columns.
Here’s what I think I’m seeing:
Location Likely Contents Upper left A dark reddish rectangle, possibly a dessert bar, fruit paste, or processed meat item Upper right Orange-brown triangular pieces, perhaps fish, poultry, or a baked protein Middle left Pale square slice, looks remarkably like processed cheese Middle right Curved green slices that strongly resemble cucumber or zucchini Lower middle left Circular citrus slices, likely orange or grapefruit Lower middle right Long orange sticks, resembling carrots Bottom left Yellow sticks, perhaps breadsticks, cheese sticks, or another vegetable Bottom right Green leafy item, possibly lettuce, cabbage, or spinach What fascinates me is that the tray does not look particularly futuristic to modern eyes.
On the Way to TMA-1
Again from Cheryl Eddy’s humorous article:
Hey, we’re heading over to the most important discovery in the history of mankind, but first … a snack! The exchange goes like this:
“Anybody hungry?”
[Rummaging] “What’s that, chicken?”
“Something like that. Tastes the same anyway.”
“Got any ham?”
[Rummaging] “Ham, ham, ham…”No wonder the monolith is righteously annoyed when they finally get to the crater.
Cheryl Eddy (Gizmodo)
On Board the Discovery
There is an automated kitchen[1] (developed with the assistance of General Mills);
Wikipedia
[1] A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment.
Wikipedia
My love of refried beans and split pea soup began with this movie.
And there’s cake!
The Great Beyond
After going into the Great Beyond, Dr. Poolman has room service deliver his dinner.
We asked Elder G to figure out what’s on the menu.
The frustrating answer is:
I don’t think we can identify the meal with confidence.
The scene is intentionally dreamlike, softly lit, and slightly distant. Kubrick seems more interested in the ritual of dining than in documenting the menu.
That said, we can make some educated observations.
What can actually be seen?
- A main protein occupying the center-right of the plate.
- A green vegetable, possibly asparagus, green beans, broccoli, or another leafy vegetable.
- Several red slices underneath or beside the entrée.
- A pale sauce spread over much of the food.
- A bread roll on a side plate.
- A stemmed glass containing a pale beverage.
- Covered serving dishes nearby.
My best guess
If I had to write a menu description, I’d put down:
Poached or roasted poultry breast with cream sauce, green vegetables, and roasted tomatoes. Served with a dinner roll.
The symbolic interpretation
Here’s the part that fascinates me.
Throughout 2001, Kubrick repeatedly uses food to mark stages of human development:
| Stage | Food |
|---|---|
| Dawn of Man | Meat and marrow |
| Space Age | Processed space meals |
| Jupiter Mission | Standardized astronaut rations |
| Louis XVI Room | Formal dining |
Bowman’s final meal is the most traditionally human meal in the film.
Clementine DuCinema writes:
“Kubrick deliberately obscures the menu, forcing the viewer to confront the essential mystery of existence: not who we are, but whether those are tomatoes or carrots.”
And we all recall the poignant scene, where, on his deathbed, Dr. Dave Poolman gestures to the waiter for the final bill.
Hangry
So many problems on the Discovery could have been avoided if Dr Dave Bowman took a snack break – a nice toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for example.
You can see the hangry bubbling up in Dave.
The Ladle & Lube
The 2001: A Space Odyssey dinner menu wasn’t as big a hit as we’d hoped.
