2001: A Space Odyssey (soundtrack) mankind's eventual replacement by overmen ("Übermensch") in Nietzsche's work "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". "Gayane's Adagio" from Aram Khachaturian's "Gayane" ballet suite is heard during the sections that introduce Bowman and Poole aboard the "Discovery", conveying a somewhat lonely and mournful quality. In addition to the majestic yet fairly traditional compositions by the two Strausses and Khachaturian, Kubrick used four highly modernistic compositions by György Ligeti that employ micropolyphony, the use of sustained dissonant chords that shift slowly. This technique was pioneered in "Atmosphères", the only Ligeti piece heard in its entirety in the film. Ligeti admired Kubrick's film but, in addition
2001: A Space Odyssey in popular culture "2001" was the unbeatable film that in a sense killed the science fiction genre. Similarly, film critic Michel Ciment in his essay "Odyssey of Stanley Kubrick" stated, "Kubrick has conceived a film which in one stroke has made the whole science fiction cinema obsolete." However, others credit "2001" with opening up a market for films such as "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Alien", "Blade Runner" and "Contact"; proving that big-budget "serious" science-fiction films can be commercially successful, and establishing the "sci-fi blockbuster" as a Hollywood staple. Science magazine "Discover"s blogger Stephen Cass, discussing the considerable impact of the film