AS - Let's talk about sex.
[On review, I suppose this post should come with a SPOILER ALERT. Though it IS in the "Books" category. You've been warned.]
Yes, you read that right. Specifically, I would like to start a conversation about the significance of Dagny's physical relationships with Francisco, Rearden, and Galt, and why they were altered/ left out of the movies entirely.
First off, these relationships are not fluff or filler for the novel. Rand includes them because they reveal important aspects of the characters and help illustrate the values of Objectivism. The question is whether removing them from the movies actually detracts from Rand's message or is there enough content already in the movies to get the story and philosophy of Objectivism across. I'd like to hear your thoughts, Gulch members.
Here's what I think:
Yes, the relationships are necessary. And in their full "violence" (Rand's word, but you know what I'm talking about). The film scene at Ellis Wyatt's house between Dagny and Rearden was so... polite. Let's not forget that, in the book, Dagny wakes up from her first night with Rearden to find "a bruise above her elbow, with dark beads that had been blood." And she SMILES. This is a woman who knows what she wants, and sets out to earn it. She celebrates sex as "an effect and an expression of man's sense of his own value" (ASII ch IV). Rearden does not understand that a man's physical desire is a response to his mind, so the reader is led on a journey of discovery with him.
And then there is Galt. I guess we'll have to wait for part III to see what happens there, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
It could be argued that films have time constraints. Fair enough. But at a time when "Fifty Shades" is still going strong on the NY Times bestseller list, it seems the general public would be quite receptive to the type of Dagny-Rearden action presented in the book. It could even broaden the film's audience. Some people might not understand it at first, but I've mentioned this before--I find people are a lot more receptive to discussing or reading Atlas Shrugged when they have some initial interest of their own.
Here's something from Francisco to think on:
"Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I'll tell you his entire philosophy on life."
Yes, you read that right. Specifically, I would like to start a conversation about the significance of Dagny's physical relationships with Francisco, Rearden, and Galt, and why they were altered/ left out of the movies entirely.
First off, these relationships are not fluff or filler for the novel. Rand includes them because they reveal important aspects of the characters and help illustrate the values of Objectivism. The question is whether removing them from the movies actually detracts from Rand's message or is there enough content already in the movies to get the story and philosophy of Objectivism across. I'd like to hear your thoughts, Gulch members.
Here's what I think:
Yes, the relationships are necessary. And in their full "violence" (Rand's word, but you know what I'm talking about). The film scene at Ellis Wyatt's house between Dagny and Rearden was so... polite. Let's not forget that, in the book, Dagny wakes up from her first night with Rearden to find "a bruise above her elbow, with dark beads that had been blood." And she SMILES. This is a woman who knows what she wants, and sets out to earn it. She celebrates sex as "an effect and an expression of man's sense of his own value" (ASII ch IV). Rearden does not understand that a man's physical desire is a response to his mind, so the reader is led on a journey of discovery with him.
And then there is Galt. I guess we'll have to wait for part III to see what happens there, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
It could be argued that films have time constraints. Fair enough. But at a time when "Fifty Shades" is still going strong on the NY Times bestseller list, it seems the general public would be quite receptive to the type of Dagny-Rearden action presented in the book. It could even broaden the film's audience. Some people might not understand it at first, but I've mentioned this before--I find people are a lot more receptive to discussing or reading Atlas Shrugged when they have some initial interest of their own.
Here's something from Francisco to think on:
"Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I'll tell you his entire philosophy on life."
