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Documentary: Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged

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From the film's web-site:

Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged is a feature length documentary film that examines the resurging interest in Ayn Rand’s epic and controversial 1957 novel and the validity of its dire prediction for America...

The documentary Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged will be shown in select cities in October 2011. The film will also be available for semi-theatrical screenings that groups and fans may host themselves. Details coming soon.

They have a trailer on their site (http://atlasshruggeddocumentary.com/).

Edited by softwareNerd
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This is probably the ARI sponsored documentary. It's the same trailer that shows up on ARI's Atlas Shrugged website: http://atlasshrugged.com/

Yes, this is the same documentary. It was aired at OCON under the title "Dystopia Now?" -- apparently they decided to change the title. I thought it was pretty good, all things considered. It's the sort of thing you'd want to screen at Tea Party events.

Edited by khaight
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  • 4 months later...

There have been more showings added at atlasshruggeddocumentary.com

It's playing in Austin TX next week, 1/28/2012.

I'm kind of surprised to see ARI say "Less a conventional work of fiction than a philosophical manifesto in the form of a romantic novel"; which seems to downplay it's excellence as a novel.

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Movie was very well done. I saw the showing at the Arclight Hollywood. Director and Yaron Brooke did Q&A at the end.

It focuses well on the need for a change in the dominant philosophy of altruism. It gets into selfishness , sacrifice and makes a good, condensed case for Rand's ideas and Objectivism in general.

The more people who see this, the better.

(null)

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The documentary wasn't excellent, but it was good. I didn't take any notes, so I'm not going to mention many names here. Characteristics that I didn't enjoy include most of the narration of actual quotes from the novel, done in either a scary or exalted voice; the chaotic, fast pace of the beginning half; and the ending, which was abrupt. I understand that both the narration of the novel and the pace were most likely vehicles used to try and deliver a sense of urgency about the current state of affairs; however, I think this aspect of the documentary was over done. The ending left nearly everyone wondering, "was that the end," until the credits had completed rolling. I was unfortunate enough to have sat in the middle of an isle, having to wait a good minute or two--until a long pause for a URL advertisement and the credits ended--before people started to rise. Granted, there was repetition of a statement made early on, which is used a lot to signal conclusion, but it just didn't work out too well in this case.

There were, however, many great interview scenes and topics that make the documentary enjoyable to watch and informative. The part that I enjoyed most was the discussion of the criticism that Atlas Shrugged received and how Rand dealt with it. The negative reviews of Atlas Shrugged and how it affected Rand is not new to me, having read about it a few times before, but the topic is better presented in the documentary than in any other source I know of. Additionally, the inclusion of Anne C. Heller and Jennifer Burns was great, both of whom provided a great deal of the information presented, with nice enthusiasm. Also, on the topic of enthusiasm, Al Ruddy's segments were fantastic.

Edited by RussK
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  • 3 months later...

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