Who is Howard Roark?
The question "Who is John Galt?" is familiar to those who have read Atlas Shrugged. The subtitle to the book has become "Now non-fiction". What I mean is that even though we seem to be in some sort of pause in our progression, make no mistake, the People's State is proving that it will not go quietly. It has been growing for over a century, and it's roots are deep. All the promises made to us by the GOP are turning out to be typical political BS.
Atlas Shrugged was broken into 3 parts, and made into movies a few years ago. The movies are hard to follow, as each one the actors are different, and while there was a lot of good stuff in them, they were low budget. Rumor is that there is a miniseries project in the works, to tell the whole story, in a format that will allow a much fuller version. But as evidenced by the title of the post, I wanted to talk about another of Ayn Rand's works, The Fountainhead. A much earlier novel, it is nearly as long, is much more individualized, and tells the same story as Atlas, but from an microscopic view.
By the way, I would strongly encourage watching the movie made in 1949, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. The screenplay was written by Ayn. It was a big time Hollywood movie, and the quality shows.
Simply put, it is the unyielding Howard Roark, an architect, fired from Architectural school for refusing to comply with the norm. Coming under the wing of a modernist who had fallen out of favor. He refuses to compromise his style, and will only build his designs his way. The primary antagonist is Ellsworth Toohey, who works for a rag of a paper known as the New York Banner. I won't dive into plot detail too much. There are subplots, lessor antagonists, a heroine, but the main key takeaway is that it is the individual vs. the collective. Whether an individual has a right to his property, whether intellectual, or otherwise. Or whether "society" has a right to demand of you certain things, with no payment (you know, slavery, kind of like a "right to healthcare", sorry, wrong post)
The main plot of the movie is true to the book, with small details adjusted to the times. The book is well worth the time to read, and I think in many ways it is more important than Atlas (Heresy! Objectivists everywhere with pitchforks and torches) It explains the best way collectivists have to destroy individuality. Destroy achievement, and you destroy the individual. Does that sound familiar?
How about even though over half of High School students are receiving "A's", SAT and ACT scores have NOT improved. Harvard, the gold standard for universities has been caught in grade inflation scandals, and I am sure they are not alone. Or maybe I could mention "participation trophies" Nothing deflates a kid like giving them the same trophy for going undefeated as you are giving the team that lost every game.
The Creators vs the Second-handers. In a way, it explains the 2016 Presidential election.
Howard Roark is a creator. A man of integrity in a world largely without it.
Atlas Shrugged was broken into 3 parts, and made into movies a few years ago. The movies are hard to follow, as each one the actors are different, and while there was a lot of good stuff in them, they were low budget. Rumor is that there is a miniseries project in the works, to tell the whole story, in a format that will allow a much fuller version. But as evidenced by the title of the post, I wanted to talk about another of Ayn Rand's works, The Fountainhead. A much earlier novel, it is nearly as long, is much more individualized, and tells the same story as Atlas, but from an microscopic view.
By the way, I would strongly encourage watching the movie made in 1949, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. The screenplay was written by Ayn. It was a big time Hollywood movie, and the quality shows.
Simply put, it is the unyielding Howard Roark, an architect, fired from Architectural school for refusing to comply with the norm. Coming under the wing of a modernist who had fallen out of favor. He refuses to compromise his style, and will only build his designs his way. The primary antagonist is Ellsworth Toohey, who works for a rag of a paper known as the New York Banner. I won't dive into plot detail too much. There are subplots, lessor antagonists, a heroine, but the main key takeaway is that it is the individual vs. the collective. Whether an individual has a right to his property, whether intellectual, or otherwise. Or whether "society" has a right to demand of you certain things, with no payment (you know, slavery, kind of like a "right to healthcare", sorry, wrong post)
The main plot of the movie is true to the book, with small details adjusted to the times. The book is well worth the time to read, and I think in many ways it is more important than Atlas (Heresy! Objectivists everywhere with pitchforks and torches) It explains the best way collectivists have to destroy individuality. Destroy achievement, and you destroy the individual. Does that sound familiar?
How about even though over half of High School students are receiving "A's", SAT and ACT scores have NOT improved. Harvard, the gold standard for universities has been caught in grade inflation scandals, and I am sure they are not alone. Or maybe I could mention "participation trophies" Nothing deflates a kid like giving them the same trophy for going undefeated as you are giving the team that lost every game.
The Creators vs the Second-handers. In a way, it explains the 2016 Presidential election.
Howard Roark is a creator. A man of integrity in a world largely without it.
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