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) 2001: A Space Odyssey (film) 2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay was written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, and was inspired by Clarke's short story "The Sentinel". A , written concurrently with the screenplay, was published soon after the film was released. The film, which follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer HAL after the discovery of a mysterious black monolith affecting human evolution, deals with themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life. The film is noted