I liked the Rob Ager video 'the meaning of the monolith revealed', along with 'Kubrick's cover story'. Although these are paywalled video essays. The $5 versi

I liked the Rob Ager video 'the meaning of the monolith revealed', along with 'Kubrick's cover story'. Although these are paywalled video essays. The $5 version is that the monolith is the movie screen, and that the movie and actors are becoming self aware that they are in a movie. The hints are all in the details, regarding camera angles, lighting, camera positions, and all the arrows telling people to tilt their view. What really sells it is the documentary/advertisement on how Kubrick is raising money to make the film, and all the industry people he is tapping and getting money from. People really thought it was going to be a hard core 'done right sci-fi' movie, but if you look closer you can see how much of it is stilted, and done incorrectly even though they obviously could have done better. TL;DR Kubrick played the 'space race propaganda' hysteria of the mid 1960's to finance and make his art house film about actors being aware of how they are making a movie.