Movie “ATLAS SHRUGGED”

[moneymaker]

Just watched it and I’ll have to say it made me aware that though many Democrats say they are standing up for the common man, it is usually the Republicans that treat people with respect. Nothing to do with the movie but I just changed my party affiliation from Democratic to Republican, maybe now I can get some respect as I will be respecting others more now.P.S-Now my vote will count in the primary

[Anonymous]

Is the movie as long as the book?

Few who have read the book actually read the whole John Galt soliloquy – they just skip or ultimately just skip ahead (I know I did.)

I wonder if, during the movie, everyone gets up to go to the bathroom at that point.

Maybe I’ll check it out if it’s available on Netflix. I’ll look for it under the “fantasy” section.

[briansd1]

I’m all for the Republicans if they promote atheism as Ayn Rand did.

[markmax33]

[quote=pri_dk]Is the movie as long as the book?

Few who have read the book actually read the whole John Galt soliloquy – they just skip or ultimately just skip ahead (I know I did.)

I wonder if, during the movie, everyone gets up to go to the bathroom at that point.

Maybe I’ll check it out if it’s available on Netflix. I’ll look for it under the “fantasy” section.[/quote]

Shaking my head at Pri again and again…

[Anonymous]

[quote=markmax33]Shaking my head at Pri again and again…[/quote]

Gee, that hurts.

After all, I’m probably the only one here that hasn’t added you to my ‘ignore’ list.

[EconProf]

I read this book waaaay back when I was a Junior in college, and with my socialist leanings at the time thought it was interesting but irrelevant, and as another poster here said, should be put into the Fantasy section of the library.
Now, I see its relevance. (as Keynes said when questioned as to why he changed his mind…”When I get new information, I change. What do you do Sir?” (paraphrased)).
Incentives are powerful, and are blissfully ignored by politicians, and touted by economists, at least conservative ones. The title “Atlas Shrugged” refers to the collapse of capitalism as the engine of progress, invention, and increasing material well-being as it it beseiged by bigger and bigger government, regulations, taxation, and well-meaning do-gooders who end up doing more damage than good.
Ayn Rand was deeply flawed in many ways, and the book is limited as a piece of literature. Rand was super selfish, and did not believe much in private charity–unlike most conservatives who claim that private charity would replace many government programs if they were eliminated and taxes lowered accordingly. She also dated Alan Greenspan when he was very young. (I used to wake up my dozing students in the last row with that factoid.)Scary–maybe that had something to do with his belief that all would be OK with housing finance if regulators just got out of the way.
The enduring popularity of the book and the fact that it is now a movie tells us something about its enduring argument. Her prediction has increasing relevance now that the economy is sputtering despite so much Keynesian monetary and fiscal stimulus being thrown at it. She’s looking down now at us (or maybe up!) saying I Told You So!

[patb]

Budget $6.5Million
Marketing Budget $12M???

Gross Box Office Take $4.5M

The market has condemned Ayn Rand.

[moneymaker]

The movie will certainly make money and there will be a part 2 released next year. The low budget seems to have been possible because the actors are not major box office draws. Politics aside I think the movie deserved higher than the 5.5 that it got on IMDB.com

[EconProf]

[quote=patb]Budget $6.5Million
Marketing Budget $12M???

Gross Box Office Take $4.5M

The market has condemned Ayn Rand.[/quote]
Hardly. Her book has sold millions, and is still popular a half-century later.
Hollywood put out a poorly-done movie with no-name actors and a goofy title and it does badly.
So, patb, the markets are saying what?

[scaredyclassic]

Well it would probably beat Keynes: the movie during July 4th opening weekend.

[treehugger]

I highly recommend everyone read this book! I read the book 20 years ago, I am an avid reader and this is certainly in my top 5. I love this book and have found that I identify many of my personal philosophies with those in the story. I guess at the time I read it was pre-internet and I have only recently started noticing all the hype. I like the idea of the morality of rational self-interest. I looked the book up on wikipedia today and really like the quote ” you are inferior and all of the improvements in your conditions which you simply take for granted you owe to the effects of men who are better than you.”

I watch the Daily Show with John Stewart and saw a blurb last week that lululemon was having a bag that read “Who is John Galt”. I thought it was one of Stewart’s absurd jokes. However, it has proven true. Much controversy including the likes of “lululemon is a yoga clothing company and this philosophy goes against the basic tenants of yoga, they should have a quote from the occupy folks”. People are so stupid, so I went to the lululemon website this morning and purchased myself several hundred dollars worth of workout gear.

My husband can’t understand my thought process, I am currently boycotting Nike for resigning Michael Vick and was previously not that big a fan of lululemon. I hope they do not fold to the pressure of the ignorant masses who have never read the book, but think they know what it is about. I am buying him a copy of Atlas Shrugged for Christmas, it is highly unlikely he will ever read it, but maybe I will read it again and see if it is as moving to me a 2nd time around.

[Anonymous]

It’s easy to demonstrate the effectiveness of a particular belief system when you can a simplistic model of the world as the environment in which to test it.

In Atlas Shrugged, there are no sick, no children, no elderly or disabled, no wars. No crime or corruption. No race or religion.

There is none of what makes real life real.

Yup, no wars. How would a soldier perform his duty in the world of rational self-interest? Why would we bother to honor those who do (they would be chumps in Ayn Rand’s world…)

Atlas Shrugged is nothing more than a thick comic book with no pictures. Superheros and super-villans, one-dimensional characters with simplistic solutions to one-dimensional problems.

I read it about 20 years ago also. About the same time I read the Batman graphic novel “The Dark Knight Returns.” (Frank Miller?) Both were fun to read, and both were completely unrealistic fantasies.

Sure we can save the economy with greed. We can also end crime with just a few guys wearing capes.

Maybe Atlas Shrugged should be done as a comic book. Perhaps then people would understand the significance of what they are reading.

[Djshakes]

Currently reading the book and it is brilliant. I wish I could memorize all of the quotes. I find it a perfect time to read it as you see so many similarities with our current economy. Interesting how this completely unrealistic “comic book” has so many realistic resemblances to reality. Anyone that denies this book has brilliant writing is letting their personal beliefs cloud their objectivism.

[svelte]

[quote=briansd1]I’m all for the Republicans if they promote atheism as Ayn Rand did.[/quote]

Not only did she promote it, but so did the Objectivism pilosophy she developed and the book “Atlas Shrugged”. In fact, “Atlas Shrugged” rejects faith as a short-cut to knowledge that is really a short cut destroying knowledge.

Glad to know that threadkiller, DJShakes, treehugger and markmax have found atheism too!

[scaredyclassic]

I think the research will show we are not just self interested creatures but that we are wired for social connection and sacrifice and religion.

Not me, of course, but the rest of you suckers.

[Author]

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