Monoliths

The powerful rock formation reminded me of a scene in "A Passage to India" where the female lead visits a stone Hindu temple that contains all sorts of sensual carvings and is covered with jungle growth. She nearly has a nervous breakdown over her exposure to this elemental, sexual force. And then, of course, there's the famous monolith in "2001: A Space Odyssey," standing erect and mysterious and austere among the savage primates. Is the rock in "Picnic" just another example of the mysteries of life and nature finding expression in a phallic symbol?