Myself Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 (edited) According to Hollywood Insider, an upcoming episode, “Four Great Women & A Manicure,” will "reimagine the worlds of Macbeth, The Fountainhead, Citizen Kane, and Queen Elizabeth I, with Springfield residents in key roles." The episode is set to be aired in 2009. EDIT: Here's a bit more information: http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscr...ns_September_28 We actually recorded Ellen Page this week. Jodie Foster is in a trilogy episode, it's powerful women through history. We do a parody of The Fountainhead where Maggie Simpson is in a preschool, where she trying to build these beautiful block buildings and the preschool teacher keeps knocking them down for being creative. And at the end she goes on trial like in the end of The Fountainhead, and Jodie Foster does her voice. This actually sounds less like a parody and more like a respectful homage. I'm looking forward to seeing what sort of speech they'll give her! Edited September 25, 2008 by Myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Don't get your hopes up. This is the same show that had an "A is A" daycare center run like a prison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01503 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Don't get your hopes up. This is the same show that had an "A is A" daycare center run like a prison. In Futurama, made by the same man as The Simpsons, the society of people living in the sewer underground had a library, filled with Ayn Rand books. I doubt that this would be a "homage". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve D'Ippolito Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 To say nothing of the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinDW78 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 To say nothing of the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" Except that the Ayn Rand School for Tots was "The only daycare facility in Springfield not currently under investigation by the state" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Who knows, maybe one of the writers decided to actually read the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01503 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Who knows, maybe one of the writers decided to actually read the book. Fat chance. I can't think of one time on popular television that mentioned Rand in anything BUT a negative light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEgoist Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 I like a good joke about anything, even my own beliefs. Normally I see Objectivism getting mocked for it's more cult-like, zombie followers, who do amuse me. Of course, there could be something that's just not funny whatsoever. Of course, there are jokes that just aren't funny as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Fat chance. I can't think of one time on popular television that mentioned Rand in anything BUT a negative light. Well, once a Jeopardy! clue was "This book begins with the sentence 'Howard Roark laughed'." Which all in all seems pretty neutral Actually Roark's struggle to be creative in his own terms against the establishment's wishes may resonate with screenwriters regardless of philosophical persuasion. On the toher hand, Keating's efforts to be a succesfull hack and phony would resonate that much more strongly in Hollywood I expect we'll see. I just can't take The Simpsons seriously. Mr. Groening is of the Toohey school of humor. That is, everything is an object of ridicule regardless of how important or sacred it may be, including himself. The show pokes fun at itself all the time (Bart on the chalkboard "I will not demand what I'm worth", Marge saying "No more movies about the Simpsons. One was plenty", Groening appeared once as a right-wing, neo nazi nut in a behind the scenes special ep.,etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Caya Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Bart on the chalkboard "I will not demand what I'm worth" Wouldn't that more or less be a swipe at people who have no backbone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IchorFigure Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Groening is supposed to have gone to school for philosophy, I'm not sure to what extent. There is a book called "The Simpsons and Philosophy". I don't know it sounds like this could be worth checking out. I haven't watched any new episodes in years since the writing has been a snore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Wouldn't that more or less be a swipe at people who have no backbone? No. It came after the off season stories of the voice actors, specially the woman who does Bart, demanding a raise or more royalties from the network and producers. Similarly on a clip show Bart writes "I will only do this once a year." The show is full of stuff like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian0918 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 There is a book called "The Simpsons and Philosophy". I wouldn't bother. Have you ever looked in the philosophy section of stores like Borders or B&N? They have "Batman and philosophy", "Spiderman and philosophy", millions of books that are simply "[Popular movie/tv show] and philosophy". That's what philosophy has become, a side-comment on pop culture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01503 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 I wouldn't bother. Have you ever looked in the philosophy section of stores like Borders or B&N? They have "Batman and philosophy", "Spiderman and philosophy", millions of books that are simply "[Popular movie/tv show] and philosophy". That's what philosophy has become, a side-comment on pop culture. I still have "South Park and Philosophy" from a long time ago lol. I have a hard time finding Rand's fiction in my local book stores and libraries... I'll probably have to order Ominous Parallels and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEgoist Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Nick, at Borders, it's often the case that Rand's non-fiction is in with her fiction. I found all her stuff, except ITOE in the fiction section...Probably not a statement about the works, but just a thing of convenience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01503 Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 I found a lot of her fiction, I have For the New Intellectual, The Virtue of Selfishness, and Voice of Reason, but can't seem to find the others. Such as Philosophy Who Needs it, Capitalism the Unknown Ideal, and Ominous Parallels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 The "X and Philosophy" books are a series, I think. If memory serves, Diana Hsieh (of Noodlefood) has an essay in the "Harry Potter and Philosophy" volume. These books basically take pop culture as a springboard for the exploration of various issues in philosophy. Since philosophy can be found in just about anything, I wouldn't take the existence of such a book as an indication that the show is unusually philosophical. With regard to the Simpsons episode specifically, it's probably worth noting that it has been many years since the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" episode. I'd be surprised if the entire writing staff hasn't changed in the interim. That said, I'm not particularly optimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'kian Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 With regard to the Simpsons episode specifically, it's probably worth noting that it has been many years since the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" episode. I'd be surprised if the entire writing staff hasn't changed in the interim. That said, I'm not particularly optimistic. Oh, the writing staff's probably all diferent now. Hoever the top executive staff, Groening at al, are still there. Plus a lot of people who sued to write for the show now are show runners (that's the man in overall charge of an episode, kind of the real producer). The tone of the show has not changed significantly when it comes to philosophical and political matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMartins Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 (edited) Fat chance. I can't think of one time on popular television that mentioned Rand in anything BUT a negative light. Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged have been mentioned numerous times in the new tv-series "Mad Men". The executive of the advertising agency is a student of Objectivism, and has given a copy of Atlas Shrugged to two of the employees (main characters) so far. While the executive is a bit quirky, he's intelligent, successful and likeable. The story is set in New York, in the 60's. There have been four mentions so far. Edited September 25, 2008 by JMartins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim A. Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 Has anyone seen some of the stabs at Ayn Rand on YouTube? There's one video where some guy is gleefully burning a copy of Atlas Shrugged (so I guess he would advocate government censorship of any "dangerous" books), and another where some heavy metal "musicians" perform a song called "i hate ayn rand" (the "music" consists mainly of someone screaming and other people thrashing their guitar strings). I didn't bother to check out any others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kainscalia Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 Look up merryjest's tribute to "Atlas Shrugged", it's the top first video that pops up when you type "Atlas Shrugged" in search. Has anyone seen some of the stabs at Ayn Rand on YouTube? There's one video where some guy is gleefully burning a copy of Atlas Shrugged (so I guess he would advocate government censorship of any "dangerous" books), and another where some heavy metal "musicians" perform a song called "i hate ayn rand" (the "music" consists mainly of someone screaming and other people thrashing their guitar strings). I didn't bother to check out any others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted December 14, 2008 Report Share Posted December 14, 2008 I can't think of one time on popular television that mentioned Rand in anything BUT a negative light. Have you seen this overwhelmingly positive mention of Atlas Shrugged on the UPN sitcom One on One? However, I concede the point that this show is probably not "popular"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.