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) what remains is notable for its banality (making the computer HAL seem to have more emotion than the humans) juxtaposed with epic space scenes. Kubrick's decision to avoid the fanciful portrayals of space in standard popular science fiction films of the time led him to seek more realistic and scientifically accurate depiction of space travel. Illustrators such as Chesley Bonestell, Roy Carnon, and Richard McKenna were hired to produce concept drawings, sketches and paintings of the space technology seen in the film. Two educational films that came out previously, the 1960 National Film Board of Canada animated short documentary "Universe"