Kubrick’s Odyssey

KUBRICK’S ODYSSEY – SECRETS HIDDEN IN THE FILMS OF STANLEY KUBRICK (MOVIE)
Cubed Brick Productions

Original release: April 5th, 2011
Running time: 70 minutes

Writer and director: Jay Weidner

On July 20th, 1969, the world witnessed the first manned mission to land on the Moon with Apollo 11. We’ve all seen the footage of Neil Armstrong as he stepped onto the lunar surface and infamously described the event as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” It would be crazy for any of us to doubt this historic event actually took place, and for those who do, they’ve been met with fierce criticism for playing into such ridiculous conspiracy theories, but what if history as we know it was wrong and what we were told and shown was nothing but a lie?

Among those who believe NASA’s Moon landing footage and photographs to be a lie is Jay Weidner. He’s considered a ‘modern-day Indiana Jones’ for his ongoing worldwide quests to find clues to mankind’s spiritual destiny via ancient societies and artefacts, and is a renowned author, filmmaker and hermetic scholar. Yet he’s also one of the most fiercely criticised for his theories that threaten to undermine much of what we believe about history.

While he doesn’t doubt that NASA made it to the Moon with a manned mission, he doesn’t believe the footage and photographs we were shown of the event to be authentic and this is an argument he outlines in this fascinating documentary where he sheds light on who might’s helped the space agency promote this lie.

While I always thought the 1980 adaptation of The Shining by Stephen King to be nothing more than a frightening psychological horror film about an author descending into madness, Weidner’s theories have given me pause for thought – both about the film in general and its renowned filmmaker, Stanley Kubrick.

In Kubrick’s Odyssey – Secrets Hidden In The Films Of Stanley Kubrick; Part One: Kubrick And Apollo, Weidner points to Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, a cold war black comedy, as being the film where Kubrick rose up to the heights of his filmmaking capabilities. The film, which depicted mad murderous war generals, was not looked upon fondly by the Pentagon as it made fun of them, their generals and their various war plans.

Although they’d refused him access to film at the Pentagon and with their planes, Kubrick managed to put together convincing replicas from photographs he’d seen in various magazines. The result on the big screen was stunning and could convince audiences at the time they were looking at the real thing. The Pentagon, though not happy with their depiction in the film, were nevertheless impressed with Kubrick’s shots of the interior and exterior portions of the B52.

It’s from here Weidner goes on to claim the Pentagon contacted Kubrick with an offers the filmmaker simply couldn’t refuse, making him a deal with an occult society that ruled the world that would give him the freedom to make the films he wanted.

It’s at this point many of us watching would ask ourselves “How could such a thing be covered up?” and “How could Kubrick go along with such a plan?” Weidner explains that filmmaker would go on to use his future films to tell us how he faked the footage and photographs and also what effect this deal with The Powers That Be would have on his life. For this, he points to The Shining as the film where Kubrick lays bare his entire story with an elaborate set of clues, having altered King’s original story to enable this.

With Jack Nicholson’s character, Jack Torrance, accepting a caretaker position at the Overlook Hotel for the winter, with the aim of using the hotel’s solitude to work on his writing, Weidner attributes this to Kubrick essentially telling us that he also accepted a job that came with many mysterious demands and occurrences that would eventually drive him to the brink of sanity. He also points to Jack’s telepathic son Danny (Danny Lloyd) as representing the opposite of his personality.

There’s more to it than just that though. Weidner shows us the many clues littered throughout the film, such as the significance of Room 237 (changed from being Room 217 in the novel to represent the distance from the Earth to the Moon – 237,000 miles), the twins (changed from being just sisters in the novel to represent NASA’s Project Gemini), the numerous scenes where bears are present (illustrating the Soviet threat) and what Jack/Kubrick really meant with “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” – pointing to “All” and code for A11 (Apollo 11). There’s also Danny wearing a knitted sweater showing Apollo 11 and that the lift off we see in the film is nothing but a mere illusion.

There is one thing that always made me wonder though and that’s something Armstrong said that was picked up by ham radio operators who had their own VHF receiving facilities bypassing NASA’s broadcasting outlets. At the time this transmission occurred, the live television broadcast was interrupted for two minutes due to a supposed “overheated camera”, but the transmission below was received by hundreds of ham radio operators.

It’s all fascinating stuff, but does the documentary convince me this is real? It’s certainly made me think twice about The Shining and I can definitely see how it could be interpreted as evidence of the Moon Landing footage and photographs being faked, but for what purpose we must ask. Was it an effort to get to the Moon before the Russians or is there really a conspiracy to keep us in the dark about alien life?

Weidner’s theories are just that – theories. There are no interviews with whistleblowers to back it up and one of the major flaws with this investigation is that he fails to cite his sources which leave us only with his word and an overwhelming desire to watch Kubrick’s films all over again – such is the power of suggestion.

Patrick Samuel

The founder of Static Mass Emporium and one of its Editors in Chief is an emerging artist with a philosophy degree, working primarily with pastels and graphite pencils, but he also enjoys experimenting with water colours, acrylics, glass and oil paints.

Being on the autistic spectrum with Asperger’s Syndrome, he is stimulated by bold, contrasting colours, intricate details, multiple textures, and varying shades of light and dark. Patrick's work extends to sound and video, and when not drawing or painting, he can be found working on projects he shares online with his followers.

Patrick returned to drawing and painting after a prolonged break in December 2016 as part of his daily art therapy, and is now making the transition to being a full-time artist. As a spokesperson for autism awareness, he also gives talks and presentations on the benefits of creative therapy.

Static Mass is where he lives his passion for film and writing about it. A fan of film classics, documentaries and science fiction, Patrick prefers films with an impeccable way of storytelling that reflect on the human condition.

Patrick Samuel ¦ Asperger Artist

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