Stomaching Ayn Rand
A film adaptation of the 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, is now showing in couple of theaters across the nation. The release of the film has coincided with a resurgence of popularity for Rand on the American Right.
TEA Party members have been heard to boost that they have now read one other book than the Constitution. They have also mentioned that Atlas Shrugged is quickly becoming the favored boat achor for the TEA Party fishing crowd.
The trailer for Atlas Shrugged had its world premier at this year’s CPAC conference, the Tea Party group FreedomWorks has rolled out a massive campaign to promote the film, and the story’s opening line — “Who is John Galt?” — has appeared on numerous signs at Tea Party rallies.
The trailer for Atlas Shrugged had its world premier at this year’s CPAC conference, the Tea Party group FreedomWorks has rolled out a massive campaign to promote the film, and the story’s opening line — “Who is John Galt?” — has appeared on numerous signs at Tea Party rallies.
3 comments:
Its no "Gone with the Wind," to be sure, but it seems to be doing alright according to The Hollywood Reporter ragsheet.
How 'Atlas Shrugged' Shocked Hollywood's Marketing Machine
by Paul Bond
The Hollywood Reporter
Despite its "awful" marketing plan, as one distribution exec calls it, the movie earned a $5,640per-theater average opening.
"Things have turned for us," producer Harmon Kaslow tells THR.
The power of Ayn Rand devotees have impressed some Hollywood distribution executives, who took note of the hefty $5,640 per-theater average scored by Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 during its opening weekend.
"Shocking," one executive said about the healthy business the low-budget film has been doing considering its "awful" marketing plan.
Awful or not, business has been brisk enough for producers Harmon Kaslow and John Aglialoro to expand from 299 theaters to 425 this weekend and to 1,000 by the end of the month, they told The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday.
The two said they fielded 500 inquiries from theater bookers Monday but didn't have enough film prints to fill orders
Just because this movie may make a few buck, that doesn't mean it message isn't awful. If it's Rand, it's awful. You hear more an more of her crap every day. Her fucked up "philosophy" has practically ditched the world economy you hold on to every precious word uttered out of her mouth. Even Alan Greenspan has admitted maybe more regulation of banks would have been in order. This back and forth with Rand has become tiresome and unproductive.
TH III,
The “core” of Rand’s philosophy is Capitalism, the economic system that has elevated the standard of living of all people far, far more than any other economic system in history. The modern world, with its incredible advances in transportation, space travel, computers, medical science, drug therapies, food production, and goods distribution would never have developed without the investment and entrepreneurial drive of capitalists. Look at any other system - from Hunter-Gatherer, to Feudalism, to Mercantilism, to Socialism - and you will clearly see that those systems were stagnant cesspools of exploitation and grinding poverty. Only Capitalism has enabled humankind to rise above base, selfish instincts to achieve great things and raise the standard of living of all people.
Is there inequality of income? Sure. But it is generally consistent with the inequality of merit, effort, ingenuity, and motivation. (There are exceptions, of course, such as the monarchs and dictators of the Middle East, who reap the benefits of Western oil extraction technologies and would other wise be monarchs and dictators of goat-herder societies. Socialist Dictators like Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Tito, Kim Jung Ill, and Castro are also exceptions due to their rapacious depredations on their own people).
What is most interesting, however, is that, unlike the peasants in the Middle East and the so-called proletariat in the socialist countries, the common folk in Capitalist countries (i.e. workers and farmers) have generally enjoyed a rising standard of living despite income inequalities. The fact is, even the poorest of the people in capitalist western countries have a far better standard of living than anything experienced by their social peers in the Middle East or Socialist countries.
As all the socialist experiments of the 20th century have taught us, equality of social class is a cruel chimera, and invariably results in mass misery if not mass murder.
By the way, if you have been paying attention I am not a Rand fan. I object (no pun intended) to her virulent atheism, and her dogma of selfishness. Both as a Christian and as a common soul on earth, I feel it is my duty and obligation to help my less well off brethren. What I object to is the Government forcing me (or anyone else, for that matter) to do what is best done by following my own morals and my own conscience.
Freedom, if it means anything, means not being coerced by Government.
Like Thomas Jefferson wrote: Government is best that governs least.
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