Atlas Shrugged: The Tea Party Movie?

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It's bizarre that so many tea partyers identify with Rand's philosophy, while also identifying with the Christian Right. Rand held no punches in her takedown of the Judeo-Christian religion as one of the leading proponents of the "Morality of Death", and of the looters (e.g. banks and corporations) that the faithful blindly allow to rob the country. Rand nailed the self-defeating nature of blind faith based upon the sacrifice of reason, yet many professed Galtians on the Right still march to that drumbeat of mystical brainwashing.

Sten 11:08PM April 23, 2011

One of those things that everybody ought to know about movies and books... the books are always better than the movies.

Bill of MN 8:35AM April 16, 2011

The book , the story, the underlying message is one of personal satisfaction and struggle, hard work and standing tall with intelligence and vision.
Having said that, and having met many tea party members and members of other political spectrums, if this movie is being geared towards those in the tea party (members often featured for their racist, homophobic and incredibly ignorant viewpoints), then you can tell it's a bastardization of a beautiful work of literature, and thus making a mockery of those who truly believe in these ideals.
A truly rational person does not care for politics, bigotry of any kind and least of all ignorance just facts, truth, and and the value of work itself.
I'll stick to the book thank you.

Jag Nth Lo of NY 1:11PM April 15, 2011

Mr. Bedard-
I echo the sentiments of Geoffrey; while I believe that most Tea Party sympathizers will enjoy this move- if it is faithful to Rand's novel- I also believe than many in the MSM have tried to tie it to them in an effort to marginalize the movie.
When considering that this work is over 57 years old, viewers will be amazed- and probably disturbed- by the parallels between the movie's theme and 2011 America. In my opinion, it is easy to see the negative impact on our economy today of intrusive government and interpolate the inevitable destination found in the book/movie.
Rand would probably be amused that her work would be labeled "right wing" by so many due to her economic worldview, as she herself was a commited atheist and was extremely liberal socially. As a conservative Christian, it makes me wonder that if we on the social right left more matters of faith to the heart, and not a core of the political environment, our political allies would be much more numerous and the economy would not be on the socialist path on which the Obama has placed it.

Paul Williams of GA 5:54PM April 13, 2011

Mr. Bedard:
You're correct that many members of the Tea Party share the individualist, pro-liberty values embodied by Atlas Shrugged; yet, it's important to remember that many conservatives, libertarians, anarchists, and---yes---even some moderate liberals share some of those values as well. Ayn Rand would most certainly have rejected the anti-immigrant, anti-trade policy positions of many Tea Partiers and conservatives just as vehemently as she would have rejected the Keynesian economics of liberals.
Atlas Shrugged: Part I is a movie about the dangers of over-regulation and the value of personal achievement. Regardless of one's political ideology, one can find value in any film that draws attention to the potential pitfalls of a planned economy and government intervention in the private sector. Don't cloud the value of Rand's message by insistently tying it to the Tea Party movement---especially since the filmmakers have gone to such lengths to show that the message of Atlas Shrugged is timeless and universal.
Best,
Geoffrey

Geoffrey of DC 4:38PM April 13, 2011