Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged

If you have ever read Ayn Rand's grueling 1168-page novel "Atlas Shrugged" (from 1957), then, you are most certain to have formed either a positive or a negative opinion about its philosophy (where selfishness is praised as being a virtue).

Through dozens of interviews - This 90-minute documentary (from 2011) tries its best to substantiate the overall relevance of Rand's words in the realm of present-day society.

Anyway - I certainly encourage one and all to view this presentation as its clearly biased viewpoints need to be heard, first-hand, to be believed.

My comments here are not on specific content or delivery, like some critics my pose. I simply want to express my fascination with the overall content and that this documentary kept me transfixed on the screen for the entire time. I couldn't look away and my mind raced for hours after watching it. Thinking about what all I had just learned and opened my thoughts in new ways to view society. Ayn Rand's life is discussed so you can understand why she wrote the book and how her early life gave her the philosophy she presented in her books. The discussions about how critics hated her book and called her vile names, including comments that it was an ill-spirited book and gave the impression that she was mean and soulless gave an additional perspective to the way literary elites viewed the world in the 1950s. Definitely worth the time.

A documentary that appeals to insouciant libertarians, neophytes in economics, and everything in between. The filmmakers have succeeded in amassing an impressive range of political hacks and starry-eyed apostles that are more than willing to espouse their unbridled adulation of Rand. Viewers are richly rewarded with both a flattering homage to the person Ayn Rand as well as receiving a treat of mental masturbation to her philosophical ideas.

The two interviewees with more substantive understanding are Jennifer Burns and Anne C. Heller, which both have written purportedly comprehensive books on the topic. All in all the documentary briefly touches upon Rands privileged childhood in Russia, semi-forced escape to the US in the mid-1920s, to the harsh criticism in the media after the publication of Atlas Shrugged. Objectivism and her magnum opus are slightly expanded upon, while all critical viewpoints are conspicuously absent. Moreover, what is further lacking is any discussion of the character flaws and hypocrisy Rand displayed in her personal life.

The main problem with the implied prophesy of the novel - and the most crucial piece that Rand got completely backwards - was the expected cronyism of the "big government". In reality the problem in US was always an exceptionally strong and overpowering private sector, which has been able to water down regulations and any attempts to rein in its power. This has concerned everything from a lax oversight of Wall Street, to curbing polluting industries, to ensuring America has became inundated with guns and fire arms, to an ever-mushrooming military-industrial complex... At the core the problem was never the naive and idiotic fantasy of secretive government churning out Soylent Green, but an unhinged private sector that won every battle against ordinary people by a cadre of K-Street lobbyists, bought republican politicians, and well-funded media campaigns propagating misinformation.

In fact, after the global meltdown of financial markets in 2008 even the ex-fed chairman Alan Greenspan, the early disciple Ayn Rand ever since the 1950s, had to admit that the outcome of a free, unregulated market was complete financial disaster.

Finally, what clearly detracts from the documentary is having an entire conveyor belt of asinine opinions and mind-boggling ignorance regurgitated by a series of ever dumber pea-brained minions.

Most reviewers focus on the so-called "battle" between altruism and selfishness as Rand saw it. Methinks, that both Rand and most reviewers tried to hard to stake out a mutually exclusive territory and defend it. For me, I think that the state should not be compelling via taxation or any other means at their disposal, the populace to be their brother's keeper. Where I part ways with Atlas Shrugged, is selfishness is not a virtue. If those who would like to see an end to gov't sponsored socialism, would realise that individuals then become responsible like the Good Samaritan, for helping the less fortunate, in such a way as to not create dependency on hand outs, then possibly the edifice of state sponsored "charity" ie taxes to "aid" the less fortunate, could be eliminated. Even the Bible says we are to help without encouraging dependency and indolence.

Ayn Rand came to American in the 20s as her family's business gets confiscated by Soviet Communists. She would become the leading voice of individualism and the virtue of selfishness. Her opus Atlas Shrugged would be critically panned but gains a small devoted following.

This is a well produced movie by fans to praise Ayn Rand. The most compelling parts are her and her personal history. It's a fascinating journey that could probably use more research and more of a spotlight. The other noticeable thing here are the talking heads. They are all fans. In fact, some are friends. It would really help to give light to who some of these people are. Basically there are too many nobodies giving expert opinions. The other noticeable talking head group are businessmen. Certainly, they are the obvious group who considers themselves as makers and everybody else as takers. The corollary effect is to place her philosophy strictly as the philosophy of the corporate world. It limits the audience into thinking that she is the patron saint of the super rich. It's an unintended consequence that may be unwise. Instead of former heads of big corporations, it would be useful to have working small business owners who actually is facing these regulations. Overall, it's a slick movie with limited appeal and with limited depth. It's a good introduction for new converts.