On the odyssey from ape-man to "superman", the first task is to master technology and technocracy. "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" becomes the leitmotif of development - if man wants to survive his own progress, he must develop himself further. People fly to the moon in waltz time, and Ligeti's New Music becomes a musical symbol of unfamiliar aesthetic experiences.
Kubrick's film revitalized the science fiction genre.