In an on-line survey to find the Canadian Readers’ Choice Picks for the
Top 100 Best Books of all time, Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged ranked 33rd. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code was ranked the best book. The poll was conducted between June and August 2005 by Indigo Books & Music Inc., and was based on responses from 7,000 members of Indigo’s loyalty rewards program.
Category: Media Citings
Bennett Cerf on Game Show Network
From Atlasphere member Marsha Enright:
Recently, the Game Show Network has been airing a wonderful old TV show, “What’s My Line?” in which a panel of regulars uses yes and no questions to try and guess the profession of the guest.
The regulars were actress Arleen Francis, newswoman Dorothy Kilgallen and publisher Bennett Cerf. On one of the 1957 shows, Dorothy Killgalen introduces Cerf with these remarks:
“Now I’d like to introduce our regular panelist who is the publisher of one of the most exciting novels I’ve ever read which is a new book by Ayn Rand due soon, and is called Atlas Shrugged. Don’t miss it. Here’s Bennett Cerf.”
Aside from this bit about Rand, the show is well worth watching for its erudition, civility, remarkably articulate panelists and interesting guests. The women wore evening dresses and John C. Daley, who was head of the News Division of his network, was the moderator. I can’t imagine a show like this today!
'Batman Begins' Popular Among Ayn Rand Fans
An article in the Miami Herald (“Batman’s laissez-faire-weather fans“) notes that Batman Begins has become very popular among Ayn Rand fans and other advocates of individualism and capitalism:
Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan’s brooding comic-book blockbuster that opened June 15, has been embraced by its fans for many things: Nolan’s dark, shadowy aesthetic, the detail with which he has teased out Batman’s mythical origins, and Christian Bale’s wholly credible performance as the psychologically complex billionaire-turned-Dark Knight.
But Batman Begins has become something of a cult hit among fans of free markets, individualism and Ayn Rand, among other things. Perform a cursory Google search with the terms Batman Begins and “capitalism,” for instance, and you come up with a blogosphere love-fest, with conservative and especially libertarian commentators praising the film’s pro-business, anti-statist themes.
The article continues:
David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, saw Batman Begins recently at the encouragement of a friend at the Objectivist Center, which, on its website, champions “reason, individualism, freedom and achievement.”
Boaz was happily struck by the fact that the hero was a businessman, he says, “but I think what was more interesting . . . is that the movie takes a strong stand that some things are evil, some people are evil. Crime is bad. And criminals need to be punished, not to be understood and coddled and let out of jail for more therapy.”
Boaz says he was gratified as well to see a heroic portrayal of individualism and the idea “that it’s up to each person to take a stand and each person has his own talents, abilities and opportunities. Bruce Wayne, because of his money and training, has more talent and opportunities to do these things than most of us, but it’s made clear that it’s important for everybody to take a stand.”
Although Hollywood often takes the rap for touting reflexively left-wing pieties, Boaz says the ideas that run through Batman Begins actually aren’t that rare at the multiplex or on TV; he cites such hits as The Aviator, with its multimillionaire hero, The Incredibles, with its sly critiques of egalitarianism (“If everybody’s special, then nobody is”) and the gleefully libertarian South Park as only the most recent examples.
“America is basically a libertarian country,” Boaz says, “so Americans are going to put libertarian themes into the art they create, and sometimes it’s more explicit and sometimes it’s less so. But it’s not a big surprise to see individualism, anti-totalitarianism and fighting for freedom and social tolerance showing up in American art.” Kapow!
See the full article for more information.
The Atlasphere in Time Magazine
Earlier today I noted that the Atlasphere has been getting an unusual number of new signups, over the past few days. And these people are finding us by typing the name of our site into various search engines — meaning, they’d heard about our site from somewhere else. Somewhere … big.
Now we know where: Time magazine has included the Atlasphere in its June 13th roundup of the latest trends in online dating:
?ATLAS HUGGED Need to narrow the choices? E-daters this summer are flocking to a growing number of super-specialized singles sites. Bikers, smokers, Democrats, NASCAR devotees and people with sexually transmitted diseases can surf sites of their own. Even randy Ayn Rand aficionados can gather at TheAtlasphere.com to flirt over Atlas Shrugged.
Leave it to Time magazine to lump Ayn Rand’s novels together with sexually transmitted diseases…
Thanks to Atlasphere member Jonathan Rick for giving us the heads-up!
Ayn Rand's Legacy on Talk Radio 580 in Ottawa
The Atlasphere just got a call from Anchor/Reporter Kris Sims, from Talk Radio 580 CFRA News in Ottawa.
She recently read Atlas Shrugged (loved it) and will be producing a segment on the Ayn Rand centennial for the afternoon drive show with Rob Snow this Thursday. Check it out if you’re one of our members in Ottawa or surrounding areas.
Incidentally, according to the CFRA web site, Kris herself can be heard reading the news on Talk Radio 580 CFRA on weekend and weekday evenings.
UPDATE: The segment is scheduled to run from 4:30 to 5pm, Thursday, February 10th.
The Miami Herald: Ayn Rand's Influence
The Miami Herald has printed an article by Phil Kloer (“Many hearts still held captive by Ayn Rand“) examining Rand’s influence among her readers. It begins:
Fay Stephenson’s old copy of Atlas Shrugged was turned into soggy mush when her basement flooded and ruined a bunch of stored books. Bill Fallin keeps his copy of the novel in his desk and re-reads sections occasionally. Ron Mahre read The Fountainhead in college and plans to give his battered copy to his daughter Bethany, 17.
Like a first rock concert or a first slow dance, some people never forget their first encounter with Ayn Rand, the passionate, controversial author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, creator of the philosophy called objectivism, patron saint of libertarians (both capital “L” and small “l”) and galvanizer of several generations of intellectually inclined teenagers.
See the full article for more information.
Ayn Rand and the Atlasphere in San Fran Chronicle
Alan Saracevic has written a somewhat-goofy article for the San Francisco Chronicle, discussing Ayn Rand’s 100th birthday and the fact that there’s even ? get this ? a DATING SERVICE for admirers of her novels.
Here’s an excerpt from the article (“Objectifying online dating among Ayn Rand fans“):
Her books have sold more than 30 million copies, with hundreds of thousands still flying off the shelves every year. Her philosophies have influenced some of the most powerful business figures of this generation, including Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan and CNN founder Ted Turner.
At her centennial, she is as relevant to societal discourse as any author of the 20th century.
So I set off on the path of research and discovery only to be waylaid, yet again, by the lowest possible common denominator, while a copy of “Atlas” sat forlornly on my nightstand.
Get this: There’s a dating service for Ayn Rand followers. On the Internet, of course. It’s tied to the Atlasphere, an online site where Rand followers post philosophical essays and links to related material.
The site is fascinating, the essays intriguing, but the dating service got me going.
So lemme get this straight — a society dedicated to rugged individualism and self-interest also tries to set people up on dates?
Makes sense on a certain level. Who better to discuss the burden of welfare with than a like-minded colleague, eh?
Apparently it works. Atlasphere boasted 5,597 members as of Friday, with 2,157 of them posting dating profiles.
Actually, I’m not sure whether the relatively high percentage of Rand- ites seeking dates proves that the service works or that it doesn’t work, but that’s beside the point. Just picturing the dates is a full breakfast, so to speak.
Joe: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jane. I thought we’d go to a little Thai place I know up the coast.
Jane: I prefer Chinese, Joe. Goodbye.
And the article ends with this:
OK, OK. I’ve had my fun. And before all you randy Randovians pick up the pen and start sending the evil my way, lemme say this:
You guys won. The world is yours. People talk about capitalism, and communism, and existentialism and evangelism.
But it was objectivism all along — and with a capital “O” — that carried through the century and won over the hearts and minds.
Most of us just didn’t realize it.
For more details (and bad Objectivism jokes) see the full article.
Peggy Noonan: Ayn Rand's Sister Comes to America
In an Op-Ed in The Wall Street Journal, Peggy Noonan discusses the favorability of President Bush’s proposed Social Security Reforms to young people because of their eagerness towards having options, and is reminded of the story of when Ayn Rand’s sister came to America:
She walked into an American supermarket for the first time and was overwhelmed: too much choice, a thousand kinds of cereal, doesn’t it all give you a headache? Rand was impatient; her sister came from the land of No Choice, and wasn’t up to the battle. A young person of course would not be overwhelmed by options but revel in them.
Read the full article if you’d like.
On Point: Life and Legacy of Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand makes an appearance on another NPR show: “On Point”. In this hour long show aired on February 1, several guests discuss Rand’s life and her legacy on American culture and politics. Guests listed as appearing:
–Scott McLemmee, freelance writer
–Edward Hudgins of The Objectivist Center
–James Sterba, professor of philosophy, University of Notre Dame
–Barbara Branden, biographer and former friend and colleague
–Jack Beatty, senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly
Listen to the show…
NPR: Marking the Ayn Rand Centennial
In the “Book Bag” segment of the February 2 edition of NPR’s show “Day to Day”, Nick Gillespie, editor of Reason magazine, presents his thoughts on Ayn Rand’s legacy in American culture. Gillespie notes many of the places that Rand has popped up in culture from The Simpsons to Alan Greenspan. Gillespie also discusses what he calls her “disheartening personal life”.
Listen to the audio commentary…