http://blog.dianahsieh.com/2011/04/atlas-shrugged-part-1-video-of-my.html
On Tue, Apr 19, 2011 at 12:41 PM, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > *The Continued Relevance of Rand's Villains > *Tuesday, April 19, 2011 > by J. Patrick Rhamey > Jr.<http://mises.org/daily/author/1614/J-Patrick-Rhamey-Jr> > > On Saturday, my parents called to report they had driven an hour into Reno, > Nevada, to see Paul Johansson's adaptation of Atlas Shrugged. Despite the > film's strongly negative > reviews<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/atlas_shrugged_part_i/>, > the theater was full. Curiously, this scene was true across the nation this > weekend, as the film brought in more than 1.6 million despite only opening > in 300 theaters: an average of $5,600 per theater, leaving it behind only > the heavily advertised films Rio and Scream 4. > > Unfortunately, the quality of this adaptation is representative of its low > budget and brief production time. The film meticulously retains the original > plot of Rand's opus, going so far as to lift much of the dialogue directly > out of the novel. However, due to the large amount of material being > covered, the result leaps through the original plot line in a somewhat > disjointed portrayal, which can be difficult to follow. While Johansson is > to be commended for finally bringing Atlas Shrugged to cinema after almost > 40 years of negotiations, delays, and difficulties, it is disappointing that > the end result is not more impressive. > > Despite the film's mediocre quality, its end was met by a surprising > response in Reno on Saturday. As the main character, Dagny > Taggart<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atlas_Shrugged_characters#Dagny_Taggart>, > climbs a flame-engulfed hill to be confronted with the destruction of > petroleum magnate Ellis > Wyatt's<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atlas_Shrugged_characters#Secondary_characters>oil > fields -- the lifeblood of what little remained of the American economy > -- she screams in terror. The camera pulls away, revealing Wyatt's parting > farewell: "I am leaving it as I found it. Take over. It's yours." > > The crowded theater began to applaud. > > While some people of all ideological persuasions, including libertarians, > find Ayn Rand's rather idiosyncratic beliefs and obscure moral code > distasteful, the theater's reaction captures the hidden resonance of her > greatest work on grounds she would not have completely anticipated. Indeed, > many of the film's difficulties are less the fault of the director, and more > of Rand herself. The primary protagonists of the book are emotionless > industrialists, stilted and one-dimensional in their behaviors, thinking > only of metal, railroads, and factories. > > Atlas Shrugged is compelling, not for its heroes, but for its villains. > Published in 1957, Rand's description of politicians and lobbyists in a time > of economic crisis is almost prophetic. These Washington insiders scheme > behind closed doors to retain and expand their power. In elaborate press > conferences, they attempt to convince the unsuspecting populace of their > legislation's necessity by vilifying productive companies and portraying > their own destructive, self-serving designs as being in the interests of the > advancement of equality, stability, and progress. > > For instance, in Atlas Shrugged, the lobbyist Wesley > Mouch<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Atlas_Shrugged_characters#Wesley_Mouch>decries > the capitalist Hank > Rearden's <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Rearden#Hank_Rearden>invention > of a wonderful alloy that is stronger than steel. And last week, > in the real world, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. took to the house floor to > declare<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/17/jesse-jackson-jr-ipad-unemployment_n_850227.html>that > Steve Jobs's iPad was killing jobs. Congress must, according to > Jackson, recognize that Apple is driving companies such as Barnes & Noble > and Borders out of business, and the company should be stopped in the > interests of fairness. > > Jackson decried Congress for failing to foster "protection for jobs here in > America to ensure that the American people are being put to work." It's as > if he wanted us to believe the printing press was harmful to the economy > because it decreased the demand for scribes. Such a condemnation of a > successful business and a demand for protection of failing industries could > easily have been lifted directly from Rand's novel. > > However, the similarities are not restricted to a lone Democratic > congressman. Similar absurd arguments were bountiful on both sides of the > aisle in debates about policies ranging from Obamacare to the bailouts. > Americans are directed to believe that if they would just allow the federal > government to act in order to prevent further change in the economy, then > stability could be restored. > > It is this paltry masquerade of politicians feigning action and granting > themselves greater power in the name of equality and economic stability that > leads Americans to Rand's story. Indeed, Republicans and Democrats both put > on a charade of activity last week, claiming to remedy our nation's budget > woes. Both parties threatened to shut down the government over a series of > austerity measures amounting to a final savings of $352 million this fiscal > year. That's $352 million out of budget deficit of approximately $1.6 > trillion, or .02 percent of what would be required to actually balance the > budget. Politicians bickered over funding for relatively low-cost line items > like NPR and Planned Parenthood, all the while ignoring the harsh reality > that our public debt is on track to surpass our GDP. > > In other words, Republicans and Democrats have managed to mortgage the > entire household worth of the United States. Their remedy for this > self-imposed tragedy? Grant themselves greater power through increased > regulations and rising taxes. > > With each repeated failure of federal action to remedy our economic > situation, politicians reveal themselves more fully to the American people > as nothing but self-serving villains. Their strategy relies on the > appearance of action coupled with soaring rhetoric to convince Americans of > their good deeds. Meanwhile, these politicians are gambling with our lives > and prosperity, risking the well-being of hard-working individuals in > thoughtless policies designed merely to secure reelection. > > It is due to her apt depiction of these self-serving villains that Ayn > Rand's novel has climbed to number four on the top-sellers list on Amazon > and that the film is likely to do far better than its mediocre quality would > merit. Americans are growing tired of politicians gambling away their > prosperity to preserve their own power. The crowd in Reno applauded as Ellis > Wyatt walked away, not because he was some great hero, but because they > understood the pain of working tirelessly while a reckless and unproductive > government needlessly spends away the results of your labor and rewards your > hard work with mounting regulations. > > The idea of walking away has become attractive and indeed, Americans are > increasingly leaving the United States for opportunities > abroad<http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2011/01/05/more-americans-moving-overseas-to-find-jobs/>, > with record numbers emigrating to > Australia<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704118504576034130441492962.html?KEYWORDS=australia>and > East > Asia <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27389320/ns/business-going_green/>. > > So long as Ayn Rand's villains continue to resemble the reality in > Washington, the story of Atlas Shrugged will remain popular. The average > American may not be a powerful railroad executive or steel magnate, but most > believe they are entitled to the fruits of their labor. Many are beginning > to realize that their future is being gambled away by politicians whose only > risk is losing the votes of the individuals who have lost everything. > > > J. Patrick Rhamey was a summer fellow at LvMI in 2007 and 2008. He's > currently a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona. > > http://mises.org/daily/5218/The-Continued-Relevance-of-Rands-Villains > > -- > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
