Indulgence

"Atlas, please stop shrugging..."

Anonymous
Culture is what is left after you have forgotten all you have definitely set out to learn.

I finally finished Atlast Shrugged and I am so happy to be over with it. This supposed monumental work of fiction, this supposed masterpiece of one of the twentieth century's greatest thinkers is really just 1074 pages of propaganda. I can't believe I read through it all. Ayn Rand is the type of writer whose characters can explain the complex emotions of being two months away from a person you love and when, they smile, they understand the complexities of everything they feel -- from the remorse they felt of the action, but the acceptance of whatever decision it is they feel. I've met many people in my life and I know that people are never that expressive, through the eyes or the smile.

Ayn Rand is the kind of writer whose heroes are all beautiful and exceptional and extraordinary while all her antagonists are mindless, depraved and are physically inferior to her heroes. There are no gray areas in Atlas Shrugged, only the absolute principles of her vision.

She has written a book, a 1074 page book, for that matter, so that the story can eventually lead up to a 30 page monologue of a man who espouses her idea of the world and what it should be like. Over 30 pages!!! I didn't read it. I've already understood in, being said in so many different terms, throughout the rest of the book. I could not stand another lecture.

I understood everything the moment I had reached the end and discovered she was born in Russia at 1905. She suffered in the hands of Communism and was saved by the American capitalist mindframe. She was growing up during the times of the great depression that struck in the 1920s and it explains the sort of story-telling and the over-dramatic way of how some of her characters think and speak. But I believe that the book is horribly out-dated. Horribly, horribly out-dated.

But if anything, I'm glad to have read it just to say that I have read an Ayn Rand book and I can say that I don't like her writing and be fair about it. Some people have told me to read it and I always said "No, thanks. My Dad said it wasn't the kind of book for me..." but that wasn't a fair statement to make. I was moving on the recommendation of my father; not my own. And at my age, I should be making my own decisions, right?

What I like about reading the book is that it gives me a larger grasp of the world. I see through the eyes of someone who truly believes in the capitalist machinery. It was a good education and if ever I find myself teaching Literature again and I reach a student who speaks about Ayn Rand in a positive manner; I have the proper tools to defend whatever opinions I might have to say in regards to it.

The weekend was enjoyable again, for me. Saturday, I was celebrating my niece's first year birthday. I was zipping for the amusement of whoever wanted to watch. My niece had a grand time that she kept jumping from the arms of each of the guests. She reached out to be held by another pair of hands and enjoyed all the attention. She is such a darling. The most magickal moment was when she was brought up front to blow the candle out of her cake and what took her attention was everyone looking at her. She paid no attention to the candle, just to the people as she smiled at them, sparkles in her eyes and began to wave. She is royalty because she acts like a princess and she knows she is loved. What a darling child!

I finished the book on Sunday and went out with my brother, his wife and my mom and watched Terry Gilliam's The Brother's Grimm and while I enjoyed myself, found it fun. I was a little disappointed. I preferred 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I found The Brother's Grimm enjoyable but not as deep as his previous films. And while there is nothing wrong with making an enjoyable film; I guess I was sort of expecting more from Terry Gilliam, who is one of my favourite directors of all time.

There was a trailer, though, that really grabbed my attention. In Her Shoes with Toni Collette, Shirley Maclaine and Cameron Diaz; the movie looks absolutely moving and wonderful. It also helps that I totally love Toni Collete and I truly think she is one of the best actresses we've got right now.

We also ended up buying a lot of books, so I know that I'll be able to get rid of Atlas Shrugged from my mind pretty soon.

Another good weekend. I keep gathering them like beautiful, coloured marbles. I think it's good for me. I wasn't able to fit in an hour of wall-climbing, though. That's something I got to work on soon.

posted by wanggo @ 3:27 PM