Was Kubrick alerting us to Childhood's End?

 I've been working on a suggestion to view Eyes Wide Shut in other aspect ratios. I highly recommend it. If I can put it altogether, it will be the subject of my final blog entry.

There's a great site called Cryptokubrology that I also highly recommend. The author has done an amazing job of uncovering more mysteries, including the length of time between JFK and RFK's assassination is 237 weeks and the Kubrick - Ridley Scott connections.

Through Kubrick's collaboration with Arthur C. Clarke, the world was introduced to the concept of alien intervention in human history. Von Daniken's Chariot of the Gods and 2001 were released the same year, something the smacks of social engineering or conditioning to me. The original basis of 2001 was Clarke's short story, The Sentinel, written in  1948 as an entry to a BBC writing contest.

 My subject today is another work by Clarke, Childhood's End. Regarded by many as Clarke's best novel if not his best work overall.

Per Wikipedia:

"Several attempts to adapt the novel into a film or miniseries have been made with varying levels of success. Director Stanley Kubrick expressed interest in the 1960s, but collaborated with Clarke on 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) instead.

"In the 1960s, director Stanley Kubrick was interested in making a film adaptation of the novel, but blacklisted director Abraham Polonsky had already optioned it. Instead, Kubrick collaborated with Clarke on adapting the short story "The Sentinel" into what eventually became 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).^{[24] ]}"

To poorly  summarize the complex plot,  mankind is visited by the alien race, the Overlords. The Overlords have come to help assimilate the human species with the Overmind, a collective intelligence of past ancient civilizations throughout the universe. In the end the assimilation fails and mankind is destroyed.

In the miniseries that was done in 2014, the Overlord Karellen, tells one of the protagonists regarding spaceflight: "The stars are not for man..."

This brings me to the work of John Brandeburg a plasma physicist who has researched Mars since the early Voyager pctures showed the 'Face' on Mars. I have read and highly recommend his book, Death on Mars: The Discovery of a Planetary Nuclear Massacre available on Amazon.

Again, to poorly summarize the  John's research:

super abundances of certain isotopes on the Martian surface are indicative of weapons signature from thermonuclear weapons. Before you say 'no way' be advised, Brandenburg has made presentations to the scientific community as well as the general public and published his work. To this date, no one has appeared to contradict his work. This is similar to the the issue of Boston College geologist, Robert Schoch insisting the Sphinx being eroded by water, i.e. rain. Though the Egyptology community vociferously denied this as it messed with their agreed upon timelines, no geologist would dispute Schoch's claims.

This is taken from the Secret Space Program conference website regarding Brandenburg's presentation:

Presentation Synopsis

John will show us evidence in support of an Earth-like Mars in the past, followed by presentation of nuclear data revealing ‘weapon-signature’ isotopes showing two massive nuclear “airbursts” in the Northern regions of Mars.

It will be shown that ‘anyone who can read a a map’ can see that both nuclear explosion sites are correlated to dump their resulting strongest shock-waves and fallout downwind on Cydonia mesa and Galaxias Chaos, two sites reported earlier as locations of possible archeology.

Review of recent imagery form the latest probes to Mars confirms the archeological nature of the objects seen there, with a massive carved face, a nearby massive pyramid, at Cydonia Mensa and another carved face and ruins at Galaxias Chaos.

This all paints a scenario of a planetary nuclear massacre, and also that the US government has been aware of this evidence since 1976. It also depicts a universe where their are intelligent forces hostile to primitive civilizations such as ourselves, and that human acquisition of advanced space flight technology is mandatory, not optional. We must sent astronauts to Mars with all possible speed, to maximize knowledge of what happened there. This is the best way to avoid sharing Mars fate.

John's contention is there was a nascent civilization on Mars, on par with the Mayans or Egyptians  that was wiped out by someone. He relates it to Fermi's Paradox which states that life and civilization should be the norm in the universe but where is the noise of the other civilizations.

What does this have to do with Kubrick in general and EWS in particular.

As I stated above, Kubrick used science fiction to introduce the public to the concept of alien intervention. It was not in Kubrick's nature to revisit a concept using the same venue. The war movies, Paths of Glory, Barry Lyndon and Full Metal Jacket used wars from different eras (WW I, Seven Years War and Vietnam).

I feel there was a way of introducing the concept of Childhood's End finale in what I consider the most autobiographical of Kubrick's films.

As I have related in other posts, there are many autobiographical references in Kubrick's films including EWS. One I've been toying with lately is that Nick Nightingale, Dr. Bill Harford and Mr. Ziegler are all aspects of Kubrick.

Nick represents the Jazz musician Kubrick wanted to be, Dr. Harford represents the medical professional his father wanted him to be. Ziegler? This was a character not in the sourcework, Traumnovelle. It was invented by Kubrick and played by Sydney Pollack, a formidable director in his own right. Also, it is generally accepted by most conspiracy related researchers that the name Ziegler is intentional.

From the Illuminati Watcher website:

“Ziegler” is a German surname meaning ‘brick-maker’. There is also a Jewish University in Los Angeles that ordains Rabbis under this same title. Some theorists believe this is a tie to Freemasonry and the Kabbalah, which the checkered floor and surname support."

While I do not debate this, I would like to propose that maybe Ziegler is a pun, 'brick-maker' referring to Ku-brick. Brick maker could be Kubrick's father who tries to entice him into something (orgy group) and is possessor of certain knowledge. As Ziegler tells Bill:

"Bill, do you have any idea how much trouble you got yourself into last night just by going over there? Who do you think those people were? Those were not just some ordinary people. If I told you their names... no, I'm not going to tell you their names... but if I did, I don't think you'd sleep so well at night. "

Regarding not sleeping at night:

"Be careful what you wish for (re:alien life). If you guys knew even a fraction of the shit we do, you will never sleep again. I promise you that" - Paul Hertz Director of the astrophysics division at NASA

So to come back to the relation to EWS. Our best science tells us that something exterminated life on Mars.

The upshot of Childhood's End is we were found wanting and exterminated.

And finally as the orgy scene unfolds in EWS, Jocelyn Pook's soundtrack originally contained a recitation from the Bhagavad Gita. It was later removed after protests from Hindus. 

It stated:

“Whenever there is a decline of Dharma and the rise of Adharma,O Arjun, then I Shree Krishna manifest (or incarnate) Myself. I incarnate from time to time for protecting the good, for transforming the wicked, and for establishing Dharma”

Maybe Kubrick is saying we're due for an avatar. According to Hindus the next Avatar is Kalki, harbinger of the end time.

 All That Jazz

 It's Season 2 now, so it's ok to reference Mr. Robot right?

 

So in last season's finale, as Elliot is walking through Evil Corps headquarters after the encryption package has been released, the soundtrack is playing a there's a synthesized version of Dmitri Shostakovitch's Waltz No. 2.

It's the perfect mood music for a surreal moment. However, for me it will always evoke the opening moments of Eyes Wide Shut.

Kubrick's music choices for his films is a book in itself (Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films – by Christine Lee Gengaro) and there are several ways to interpret the choices for EWS. There's a definite Stalin era vibe with Shostakovitch and György Ligeti in the mix but it's the jazz element that catches my attention here and the economic collapse element in Mr. Robot that jarred my memory.

First, I'm not a musician, I only know what I've heard over time about Jazz being all about the notes you don't play as much as it is about the notes you do play. I have no idea what that means. But I know Kubrick was a Jazz enthusiast. So I think sometimes it's about what Kubrick leaves out.


Take for instance Mr. Harford's wild ride in EWS. When he hits roadblocks, Bill whips out his wallet.
Whether it's dealing with Domino, Mr. Millich or the itinerant cab driver, Bill is able to smooth things out and get his way by throwing money at the issue.

The big exception is at Somerton and after. Once he gets into trouble there, there's no more money fixes.

Reference to a world where cash is meaningless? To a level of our society that does not use cash for transactions?

Or presaging a time when money will be valueless? (In truth it already is, it only has inherent value because we believe it has inherent value.)

Does Kubrick try to be predictive? Probably not.

The other big note not played involves the scenery. Now recall all of the controversy around the set. The movie is set in New York city in the present time (1998-1999). We know it was filmed entirely in the UK. There were complaints about the streets being to wide for NYC, not enough foot traffic, etc.

The skyline shots as well as the shots from the bridge as Harford heads down 495, are all stock footage.

But one thing you never see in EWS and would easily create the atmosphere that one is in NYC, are the Twin Towers. They are NOWHERE to be seen in EWS. Not too big a deal? Maybe not. But check out any movie or TV show, set in NYC in that time frame (1998-1999) that DOESN'T show the towers at some point, and you'll have me convinced.

Maybe not predictive. Maybe just raising awareness.

Till next time

What does it all MEAN?

I'm right, Weidner's wrong (tongue in cheek)

I said at the beginning that as an artist, at some level Kubrick wants you to put your interpretation on his work. "Well, what do YOU think it means?" kind of thing.

I have an email string with Jay Weidner regarding the star symbol at Ziegler's Christmas Party in EWS.

Basically I was trying to convince him that the star wreath was a replica of Ishtar's star because it was eight pointed.  He was emphatic that it represented Venus and that it referred to Nicole Kidman's character as a symbolic Isis goddess.

I share below:

"Images off of the cross at Hendyae.  Please note the eight pointed star and the sun.  Kidman is Isis.  She has been chosen as the new female icon of the cult.  She is the missing person in the eleven girl circle at the orgy.  Something huge was cut from EWS.  It has to do with the star."

The Hendaye reference is from a brilliant book by Weidner and his co-author Vincent Bridges

The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time

 This image and text is from the website Vigilant Citizen

The star at Zeigler’s house is nearly identical to the ancient symbol of the star of Ishtar."
nowing Kubrick’s attention to detail, the inclusion of the star of Ishtar in this party is not an accident. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war and, mostly, sexuality. Her cult involved sacred prostitution and ritual acts – two elements we clearly see later in the movie.

“Babylonians gave Ishtar offerings of food and drink on Saturday. They then joined in ritual acts of lovemaking, which in turn invoked Ishtar’s favor on the region and its people to promote continued health and fruitfulness.”
– Goddess Ishtar, Anita Revel

Ishtar herself was considered to be the “courtesan of the gods” and had many lovers. While inspired in bed, she was also cruel to the men that got attached to her. These concepts will constantly reappear in the movie, especially with Alice.
During the party, Bill and Alice go their separate ways and are both faced with temptation. Alice meets a man named Sandor Szavost who asks her about Ovid’s Art of Love. This series of books, written during the times of Ancient Rome, was essentially a “How to Cheat on Your Partner” guide, and was popular with the elite of the time. The first book opens with an invocation to Venus – the planet esoterically associated with lust. Interestingly enough, Ishtar (and her equivalents in other Semetic cultures) was considered to be the personification of Venus.

I share this to point out that both can be right, the trick is not to put too much emphasis on one interpretation. We can be too dogmatic. That being said, I do believe there are overarching themes that carry through all of Kubrick's films and that he meant for EWS to be his magnum opus. It was to at once celebrate the Cryptocracy and expose them as well.

UPDATE: I just watched the documentary Room 237 for the umpteenth time last night. I really enjoy it because I feel, to a degree, everyone quoted in the film is right. The Shining does make reference to the Native American holocaust as well as the Holocaust and to wild speculation about Apollo 11.
I personally feel that a lot of effort goes into pointing out there are a lot of  references to the number 42 and the luggage at the Overlook. What intrigues me is no one makes the connection that in 1942, Kubrick was 14 and his family moved to a new apartment (Source : Stanley Kubrick: A Biography By Vincent LoBruttobo, pg 10).
He was roughly the same age as Herman Raucher, the main character in the movie 'Summer of 42', the movie playing in the scene were Danny and Wendy are watching TV (that has no electrical cable). It's made note of the fact that regarding Room 237, that 2x3x7 = 42. So in '42 Kubrick moved into a new room.