I've been reading a lot of Ayn Rand recently. All of it, actually. Don't judge – and I know you are; I've found that anyone who knows anything about her has a tendency to get inflamed at the mention of her name. I'm interested in ideas, you see, even ideas that I disagree with, and so it has been quite a journey to read through her fictional works chronologically (her plays, We the Living, Anthem, The Fountainhead
, and, currently, 300 pages into
Atlas Shrugged
). My friends and co-workers are sick of my talking about this. I have greatly enjoyed playing devil's advocate – because, while I don't agree with most of what she says, I've found that most people who also don't agree also don't seem to understand it, at least not from her perspective, and I feel that's important. After all, you can't effectively attack someone unless you speak their language.
So, what's the point? We're here to talk about
, as you can tell by reading the title of this article. Well, I just talked about
It's a Wonderful Life
, so I wanted to put a spin on it. My point is that I've gotten a great deal of amusement at imagining, What would Ayn Rand think about this or that? I decided, for example, that she would hate the books of Kurt Vonnegut or the music of Bob Dylan, whereas Dr. Gregory House, from
House
, is kind of her ideal person.
It's a Wonderful Life
, as everyone knows, tells the story of George Bailey, a man who has been selfless his whole life, and ends up feeling as if life has crapped all over him – so, he decides to end it. Ms. Rand would approve of this message – that selflessness leads to despair. But then the angel Clarence comes and shows George how awful the world would be were it not for him. One is left to assume that Ms. Rand would not approve of his vindication.
Unless, perhaps, we apply the “'Occurrence at Owl Creek' Principle” which we discussed last time. Try it out. What do you think?
It's all connected. See
It's a Wonderful Life
on the big screen tomorrow, Saturday, at midnight at Baxter Avenue Theater, located at 1250 Bardstown Road. Further information and advance ticket sales can be found at the theater's website.
Image: Internet Movie Database
