In their monthly newsletter, the Objectivism Defense Society included a small section on cinema that, having raised eyebrows among many, is reprinted here.
“Many people ask for my opinion on films as an objectivist, and I’m always happy to oblige. As I’m sure the majority of our readers know, the first part of the Atlas Shrugged film trilogy is being released on DVD next month. While most of you may be tempted to buy it, if for no other reason than to show support for the ideology, I strongly recommend that you restrain yourselves and refuse to purchase this film. Now, why would I suggest that we objectivists boycott the film version of the book that encapsulizes our perspective? Because, after earning less than five million dollars with a budget of over triple that, it does not deserve to be watched. As objectivists, we cannot eschew our beliefs for the sake of playing favorites. With box office results as dismal as this movie’s, the film must be completely terrible.
And if you’re going to spend your hard-earned money (or at least as much as the government hasn’t stolen to build schools or feed the poor) on a film, you should spend it on a good one. Quite a few great movies came out this year. In fact, with a global box office of over $1.3 billion, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow: Part 2 is the third best movie ever made (right behind Avatar and Titanic, respectively). Another truly fantastic film that was released this summer is Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon, which, with a gross income of over $1.1 billion, is the fifth best movie ever made.”
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