It was meant to be a warning.
Posted on 09/15/2026 4:09:19 PM PDT by Publius
For those of you who were assigned to read Ayn Rand's 1957 novel "Atlas Shrugged" in high school, you have my deepest sympathies. Running over 1,100 pages, the book is a massively pedantic, defensive, argumentative tome that is more interested in philosophy and making strawman arguments than telling a story or getting involved in a fascinating drama. And, to make matters worse, its central ideas are of dubious value at best. You may be familiar with the following joke: There are two works of literature one can read in high school that will ruin their life, namely "Atlas Shrugged" and "Lord of the Rings." One of them is a wild, outlandish, magical fantasy full of evil monsters, and the other one is "Lord of the Rings."
(Excerpt) Read more at slashfilm.com ...
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They went so far as to post a website and Instagram page asking people for suggestions as to who should play Dagny.
In looking for progress, I ran across a list of active productions, and the entry for “Atlas Shrugged” had only one word:”Canceled.” This explained why Caleb Robinson and Jeremy Boreing, two line producers for the Atlas project, had quit Daily Wire. It explained why Mike Richards, the new boss at Daily Wire who reports to Ben Shapiro, was mum about what was going on.
Inquiries at Bonfire Legend have produced no answers. No one wants to talk about it.
This also explains why this article stops at the three Atlas movies of more than a decade ago. It looks like those movies are the end of the trail.
Atlas ping.
“Atlas Shrugged” is one of the most prophetic book ever written. We’re living it today.
The author says it’s stupid because it was over her low IQ head.
I wondered what happened..........
I’ve heard it will be made into a 3hr movie by a major studio soon.
In so many ways.
Can you provide me with a source? I’ve scoured the Internet for information about the project.
It’s fair to ask. My source is a principal, but I haven’t seen it made public yet.
Atlas should be a long term Amazon Studios type project.
There is just so much material.
The two things I had to read that were not enjoyable at all were “Catcher in the Rye” and “Death of a Salesman.” The latter was the literary equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me.
I read “Atlas Shrugged” a few years ago. I read most of it, but I skipped most of the speech because it seemed excessive.
I never had to read LOTR in school.
It was meant to be a warning.
because it celebrates capitalism, success, achievement, accomplishment, self reliance, and a work ethic.
They also hate it because it repeatedly highlights the dangers of socialism and big, authoritarian government.
I think it’s a great and important book. It really is prophetic and everyone should read it.
I also think Rand should have had an editor.
It’s too long.
The speeches go on forever.
The sexual relationships in her novels tend to be a bit odd and off-putting.
If she had allowed herself to be slightly tolerant of Christian values, and maybe added just a touch into the book, a heck of a lot more people could have read the work without cringing.
I doubt even 3 hours would adequately tell the story. I wrote a 12-episode series of one-hour episodes that handled it well, I thought. But even that wasn't easy.
I HAVE READ IT 12 TIMES OR MORE
ALWAYS FIND MORE GEMS
I love Atlas Shrugged! It is one of my favorite books. It is very telling of the times in which we are now living. But it is not for everybody.
Who is this literature “critic”? Another wannabe writer? Most of these poisonous “writing experts” are. Failed writers completely overwhelmed with jealousy for successful authors.
Agreed.
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