Thursday, April 21, 2011

Why All the Fuss About "Atlas Shrugged"?

Here's a web page that answers that question. It also links to a number of my own writings about Atlas Shrugged -- including essays on the ideas and literary merits of the novel, an internal timeline of the story events, and a list of its characters.

Not just for Rand geeks, this page is also for those simply curious to discover why there's so much enduring controversy about this unusual story and its author.

UPDATE: 423 theaters now, and climbing rapidly. Check for a theater near you.

4 comments:

Darlene Bridge Lofgren said...

First rate info. Excellent. I'm a fan from way back, but learned much from this well-worded article.

Anonymous said...

For Robert: You make many insightful points in your essay "Atlas Shrugged as Literature." Have you reviewed/given your assessment of the movie yet? (I looked for it but couldn't find it here.)

For Darlene: Are you the authentic Darlene Bridge from New York and L.A. days? [If this is the same Darlene, she wrote a wonderful insightful, emotional book of poetry I own called "The I in You". It needs to be published again...or maybe put on the web in some form?!?!]

--Phil Coates

Robert Bidinotto said...

Phil, I did -- over at my Facebook page. I gave it a 7 out of 10 points: entertaining and thought-provoking, but (due to the rush) it could have been more polished and creative about how certain things were depicted.

And, if she doesn't see this, yes -- that's the same lady. She's also on Facebook, as Darlene Bridge Lofgren.

Anonymous said...

Robert, I've read you review of the movie and while I agree with the list of strong and weak points you give, I think the former so far outweigh the latter, that the movie deserves not a C minus (7 out of 10) but an A minus.

The reason is that the strongest point about the movie, its greatest virtue is not exactly political or philosophical but --- as captured in the person of Dagny and of Hank, as captured in the steadily more glowing and benevolent interaction between the heroes, and in the sunlit highpoint of the movie...the characters on the bridge, the running of the train across Colorado, and the celebrations with Wyatt --- the residual thing you are left with walking out, is the movie's spirit, its positive and rather unique "sense of life".

It's overwhelmingly powerful in that climactic part of the movie. And that has been true with audiences even those who have not read the book or don't know the story.

And the soaring, magnanimous, uplifted spirit of the movie - it's people, it's cinematography, it's pace, it's score all feeding into this - *very greatly* unite together to outweigh smaller imperfections of pace or acting or exposition.

--Philip Coates