Last week, while passing through Sin City (aka Washington, DC), I had the opportunity to attend a screening of Atlas Shrugged, Part One at the Heritage Foundation.
As one whose life took a remarkable turn nearly two decades ago, in part due to Atlas Shrugged, waiting for a movie version of Ayn Rand’s novel to hit the big screen has been an effort at exercising endless patience. However, that patience has paid off with this movie.
Despite the novel being published in 1957, in an era of looters seeking to devour producers—from the White House in Washington to the streets of L.A.—Atlas Shrugged is a movie that speaks to the issues of today. And, just as importantly, it is a faithful adaptation of the novel that Americans surveyed describe as the second most influential novel in their lives (after the Bible).
Following the screening, and in light of all that is going on in Madison and elsewhere, Harmon Kaslow (one of the producers) stated that he would release one of the scenes in which the heroine, Dagny Taggart, confronts the union boss.
Below, courtesy of “The Strike” Productions, Inc., is a first-look at the scene Dagny confronts the union*.
While its April 15th theatrical release is limited for the moment, according to the producers, a blockbuster weekend will see it released in more theaters quickly. So, after you’ve made the mad dash to the post office to get your tax returns filed, grab your date and be sure to see Atlas Shrugged, Part One.
*Thanks to Ben Howe for uploading the clip to Youtube.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776
A strong woman might say something like, "I am so confident in the integrity of the bridge, I plan to ride along with the engineer". A strong woman can listen to objections and negotiate solutions.
Give me a strong woman like Mother Teresa over Ayn Rand, any day. sneakypete, I hate to tell you this but that woman in the video clip is an actress. The part she is playing is a fictional character who is not based on any person who ever lived.
Ayn Rand freaks in college seemed like a cult to me and would thrust this book into my hands to read. I read it and then declared it was boring fiction. I got shocked looks. They never realized reading 'Atlas Shrugged' was a work of fiction - and badly written fiction at that. They treated this work as if it was some truth revealing work of genius. I told them a work can only reveal truth if based on reality with real world models and examples.
Those Ayn Randians I am sure later went on to Wall Street Finance and trusted the theoretical models which when confronted with human nature proved to be as useless as a crystal ball was.
They never realized reading 'Atlas Shrugged' was a work of fiction - and badly written fiction at that.
Expected reaction from you. While the character are fictional characters,the book is based on the Soviet system of mass enslavement,and the message is to fight it and stay free. Which is why you will always hate it. I seriously doubt you will ever be able to face the basic truth that you are a natural slave and independence and individual freedoms scare you.
They treated this work as if it was some truth revealing work of genius.
Any Rand grew up in the system you admire,and exposed it's evils and the potential it has to take over the world thanks to non-thinking sheeple like you.
Her book awakened many curious young minds and put your sense on well-being in danger.
Any Rand grew up in the system you admire,and exposed it's evils and the potential it has to take over the world thanks to non-thinking sheeple like you.
Ayn Rand worshipped a child raping murdering serial killer. She was a kook.
Orwell was the real deal, his '1984" and "Animal Farm" make Rand's crap look like - well - crap.
I just quickly read the Rand biography I linked. She was in all intents and purposes a Nazi. Same ideology. The Nazis assumed that after they did all their programs a natural order of supermen and subhumans who serve them would emerge withoout need to use force any longer.
She, like Hitler, whose ideology she shared, was also addicted to amphetamines so the visions were similar.
She even had the same need for devotion that Hitler demanded of his stooges:
Anybody in her circle who disagreed with her was subjected to a show trial in front of the whole group in which they would be required to repent or face expulsion. Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: "I came to look on her as a killer of people." The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand's claims to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think freely, as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
