Good points about the perspective of the Right and on feelings.

I am really enjoying the ARI course. They really provide an in-depth analysis of the book, each character, and the themes. My comments on Dominique were based on the change in her actions - mainly going from sabotaging Roark to assisting him with destroying Cortlandt Homes and defending him in court. It wasn't something overtly stated, yet there was an underlying current. The ARI course identifies many of these nuances that are not really available at first glance. It's like reading the book again with a deeper appreciation. My guess is it's similar to what you are doing with Caesar.

I'm sorry to hear that you are having technical glitches with the video. I have had the choppy video experience myself, although it was intermittent so I assumed perhaps my connection was spotty. Glad to hear you reached out to ARI and they are addressing the issue. I started their courses earlier this Summer and have noticed a significant improvement in the quality of the courses and the user experience since that time. So it seems like they take such feedback into account and iterate on their product.

Thanks for providing your address. I will reach our in the next day or so and look forward to continuing the conversation.

Atlas Shrugged was a movie I saw before reading the bestselling book first.I don’t usually do that. I really liked the first two movies. I felt after reading the book that they could haunted Dagny with the missing composer and his music a bit more. The musical score could added to the suspense line, The first run on the John Galt line could have been more suspenseful as well. You could feel the tension in the book of how much was riding on the success of the line. Adding what you mentioned would have built that tension too. Many livelihoods hung in the balance. I need to take notes also because that’s all I can think of. ;)

Hi John:)
Yes, Rand used the term "mysticism" generally. I'm just saying that I haven't heard the Right talk about her as being evil because she is down on faith. It's all the time that she's evil because she doesn't believe in the Lord:(
John, our feelings often have within them cognitive information not otherwise available to us. When we repress our feelings, it also cuts down much or even all the information associated with that feeling. That's why Caesar got assassinated, actually. The main assassins were his "best friends"!!
I like what you said about Dominique's appreciating it when Roark finally was successful. There were no lines in Fountainhead about Dominique's anger towards Roark going away!
I wanted to check out ARI's course on the Fountainhead but the video stalled about every 20 or 30 seconds. I contacted ARI about this, and they said they would get it fixed. Never happened:( I don't have this problem with netflix nor with YouTube.
I really appreciated it when you felt Roark's pain, John. I would talk more about this, but not on a public list such as this. If you'd like to exchange thoughts more personally, I'm at mikerael30@yahoo.com

Hi Lucky:) I wasn't serious when I talked about her thinking in Russian. It's obvious to me that she thoroughly mastered English, in writing, speaking, and thinking. The only part she never mastered was her Russian accent.
So Lucky, what is your opinion about the AS movies? And what is your first name? I dislike using monickers instead of actual names. That feels more chummy to me:)

My interpretation is that Rand used the term "mysticism" to include all organized religion in its present forms, meaning an organization or belief that asks its members to forgo independent thought in lieu of collective faith based on spiritual belief as opposed to rational, objective thought.

The interactions of the Julius Caesar story seem fascinating and it is indeed true that one must consider their feelings to some extent. After all, some judgement may based on a "gut feel" which is really just a culmination of experience.

The Fountainhead course is from ARI. I literally just finished the section on Dominique, she is a really interesting character! I haven't considered the alterior motivation of Dominique being out to destroy Roark. My impression was that she believed that greatness could not survive in the world and wanted to put him out of his misery. Once she saw Roark triumph over the world she learned that she was mistaken and that greatness could survive in the world, and thus gave up her quest.

Toohey really is a fascinating character, as is Wynand. It's interesting how Toohey represents collectivism in the flesh and is basically an anti-Roark. As you mentioned the Wynand plot was interesting as he thought he controlled the masses, although it was really the masses that controlled him. I could practically feel Roark's pain as he was trying to save Wynand even though he was beyond salvation and reverted to his former self.

The Fountainhead was really an excellent book and I am enjoying the ARI course nearly as much.

Have a great night!

Hi Mimi:) I haven't really thought about it that much as yet. I just noticed one thing after another that I felt needed change. I hate to talk this when I haven't really thought about it. I do recall that I wished the director were able to include the scene where everyone in Taggart Transcontinental voted with their feet to volunteer to work on the John Galt Line. The problem, though, is that might have brought the picture over budget. There were *many* problems I noticed, though, that clearly were not budgetary. Tell you what. Tomorrow I'll look at Atlas Shrugged I again and take notes. OK?
How about you, Miss? What were your thoughts about the pictures thus far?
Best always,
Mike

Hi John:) Yep, it's nice to meet you too. I hope we get to know each other more over time.
About the problems with the right:I think it's more an issue of atheism than mysticism. I've met folks who believed in God who believed deeply, passionately I haven't met such who were into mysticism with that same kind of deep feeling. Actually, thinking about that, I would argue that, while our emotions have been learned earlier in life, it's nonetheless super-important for us to take them seriously. Rand had problems in that area, as I recall, resulting in paranoia as she excluded maybe 90% of her original "collective" over time. That is the primary issue of "Julius Caesar" I might add, though it is not brought up as something to be studied as intently as folks are when they talk about studying the Bible. Caesar was assassinated, you may recall, because he dismissed the fears of his wife and having such fears apparently tarnished his self-image as the Great Courageous Warrior. The dismissal of such fears led, over time, to emotional repression, resulting in his not being able to distinguish between true friends as Anthony and pseudo-friends like Brutus who envied his position, one moment, while praising him the next.
Since you are studying the Fountainhead (is it from ARI's online course?), have you considered that Dominique's motivation for destroying the career of her lover rings false? It's a fun characterization, and one that reflects those days that Rand felt despairing about the culture, but I believe that Dominique was motivated by repressed hostility, rather than the desire to spare Roark from future pain!
I think I like Toohey's characterization the most. I don't recall seeing in print before the Fountainhead a villain who was super-evil, but was at the same time super-conscious of his own motivation! It was also interesting to me to think of Wynand who, though a brilliant newsman, had the same motivation of a Toohey. Both of them wanted power over others. Toohey, though, knew that he could only exist as long as he led the crowd along the road they wanted to begin with. Wynand actually believed he had the power to influence them to his ideas when they were counter to that of the crowd.
Anyways, time to go now and exercycle. I got some excess weight to lose!:)
Best always, John,
Mike

Hi Mike - My first name is John, but I go by J.R.

I was speaking from a perspective point of view, not from a written language standpoint. What you are saying makes sense, as the "why" is important when considering a book, movie, or anything else for that matter. I just thought our differing perspectives were interesting - I recall the first movie didn't really resonate with me, but felt the second one did. It wasn't 100% but felt closer to what I was expecting. I can't really nail it down to a specific scene, but mainly just the overall feel of each film. This conversation was the first I've had about the movies with someone who had read the book, so I found your perspective intriguing, although different from my own.

Agreed that many out there are opposed to Rand. I recall hearing when she released Atlas Shrugged that she had isolated herself from nearly the entire population - she had offended the left with her anti-collectivist themes and the right with her views opposing mysticism and altruism. Critics were bashing her from both sides. Although the book sales speak for themselves, this criticism and condemnation from both sides continue to this day.

It seems like you are doing some interesting work. In my opinion Rand is absolutely brilliant. She has a way of taking really deep philosophical themes and imparting them on fictional characters, which in reality exist in the real world, albeit under different names. I am making my way through a course for The Fountainhead and it's absolutely amazing the level of depth for each character and the interplay between each.

It is nice to meet you and I look forward to further discussions with you here.

Your first name is secret? Cool!

rocky?

It's a secret.

Hi, JR. First off, what's your first name? I'm Mike!
Actually, more folks are passionately opposed to Atlas than are for it, I believe.
A translation? That makes me feel that Rand was talking in Russian, rather than in good, old-fashioned American English:)
You mean a translation to a different genre, as from book to movie, I guess. I don't think it's an issue of selective focus, J. It's more *why* a person likes or dislikes any part of the movie.I've tinkered mentally with writing a book that details all the problems I've had with the movies, so far. But frankly, I'm rewriting Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" currently, for clarity but also as part of a long-term project in self-development. Shakespeare was a master psychologist, generally unrecognized as such by folks who think of him strictly as a playwright. It'll be fun to see the light in people's eyes as I read. Going back to Rand, I know that Branden doesn't think of Rand as a psychologist, but compared to many of the psychologists out there, I think Rand is light-years of ahead of them in theoretical knowledge.I love the way Rand develops how folks acting upon definite premises must act. The resulting actions sound much like what Dr. George Weinberg has detailed in "Self-Creation."

I had done the same, I am a huge Netflix fan and usually use it to catch up on shows/movies without having to commit to a schedule :)

It always interests me how different people can pick out different aspects of movies. It must be incredibly difficult to make a movie (or movies) based on such a respected work as Atlas Shrugged. There are just so many people who are passionate about the novel and in my opinion Ayn Rand had such a way with words that any translation might be difficult to compete with each individual fan interpretation in their imagination.

Hi JR:)
I looked at both movies through Netflix. The second movie has too many spots for my taste as purely action adventure. I recall more of what Rand actually said in the first installment, though there could have been many changes, usually with Rand's own words, that would have improved the movement of the movie. When Francisco first met Rearden at the party in movie !, I'd have graded the conversation at about B. Wasn't bad! In movie 2, as I recall, Francisco gave the money speech and it sounded artificial. I'm wondering if the director was out to lunch or smoking some weed:( I'm also curious about movie 3 to come. I have no great expectations though. I dunno, JR. I wish I were a director helping out the regular one.

OK, oh RMP:) Got me curious, now, though: what is your first name?

Just for clarification, Mike, RMP *is* a woman.

So, when you talk with her, you are talking to a pirate woman.

Pirate gold = good.
Pirate women = that would be a no.

Danke schon, amigo:) I'm curious about your name. Did you yearn to be a romantic-style pirate, every now and then? Thinking about it, I admit to longing for pirate gold and pirate women:)