Interpretations of 2001: A Space Odyssey the myriad mysteries of cosmic intelligence anathema. The film has been seen by many people not only as a literal story about evolution and space adventures, but as an allegorical representation of aspects of philosophical, religious or literary concepts. Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical tract "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", about the potential of mankind, is directly referred to by the use of Richard Strauss's musical piece of the same name. Nietzsche writes that man is a bridge between the ape and the Übermensch. In an interview in the "New York Times", Kubrick gave credence to interpretations of 2001 based on "Zarathustra" when he
2001: A Space Odyssey (film) "Action Office" series. First introduced in 1968, the Action Office-style "cubicle" would eventually occupy 70 percent of office space by the mid-2000s. Danish designer Arne Jacobsen designed the cutlery used by the "Discovery" astronauts in the film. Other examples of modern furniture in the film are the bright red Djinn chairs seen prominently throughout the space station and Eero Saarinen's 1956 pedestal tables. Olivier Mourgue, designer of the Djinn chair, has used the connection to "2001" in his advertising; a frame from the film's space station sequence and three production stills appear on the homepage of Mourgue's website. Shortly before