Margaret Stackhouse wrote some critical commentary on 2001. After
reading her remarks, Stanley Kubrick stated the following:
Margaret Stackhouse's speculations on the film are perhaps
the most intelligent that I've read anywhere, and I am, of
course, including all the reviews and the articles that
have appeared on the film and the many hundreds of letters
that I have received. What a first-rate intelligence!
[Agel, p. 201]
The amazing thing is that Miss Stackhouse was a junior at North
Plainfield (N.J.) High School and 15 years old when she wrote her
reflections on 2001! In a statement made to Jerome Agel, she said that
she was "primarily interested in science and mathematics. However, I
don't wish to limit myself when there are so many other fascinating
fields to explore: psychology, art, music, philosophy, history,
anthropology, political science, literature, education, languages, etc.
I may decide to go into nuclear physics or abstract (pure) math, or I
may make a study of the mind. I would like to try to find the
relationships, if any, in the physical, emotional, and spiritual levels
of the mind. (For example, are there any biochemical bases for the
'soul'?) My major concern at this stage is to find a challenge -- only
then can I discover my intellectual, social, and spiritual identity.
The most outstanding people I have ever known have a basic self-
assurance that has enabled them to live life fully and zestfully. This
type of living is my goal."
Miss Stackhouse's reflections on 2001 were forwarded to Kubrick by
David Alpert, of the science department, North Plainfield High School.
(J.A., p. 201)
Back to Table of Contents.