Strange that Gary Cooper, whose performance in High Noon came to symbolise the struggle against McCarthyite tyranny, should also have starred in this, the most deeply fascist of all Hollywood epics. As in Ayn Rand’s novel, character and subtlety are sacrificed at the altar of political point scoring, her utter, blackhearted contempt for humanity (the mob, the man in the street, the demon ‘public’) seeping through in every frame. Strange, too, that a woman should construct such a wildly phallic fantasy, with Cooper competing with the ‘mediocrities’ of architecture to see who can construct the biggest, shiniest erection, while Patricia Neal lies all but subservient to the visionary men in her life. It doesn’t even work as a film- the dialogue is trite and pompous, and Max Steiner’s score is ludicrously intrusive, exploding to crescendo at the least provocation. But Rand’s ideas are apparently still taken seriously in the US- witness the fruition of her vision in the likes of Ann Coulter.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: DVD
27 Aug 2006 9:45 AM | Comments (4)
I didn’t much like this movie either, but there’s nothing “Fascist” about it. A real Fascist USES the “mob” and the “public”, flatters them, plays to the crowd, and thereby obtains his power.
Consult Wikipedia under “Fascism”: “Fascism exalts the nation, state, or race as superior to the individuals, institutions, or groups composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness”, etc.
This seems to be exactly what is opposed in The Fountainhead (albeit in a completely unsubtle manner, as you are right to point out). A “blackheared contempt” for the mob is the mark of a curmudgeon or a cynic, perhaps, but definitely not a fascist. Most criticism of McCarthy, especially in dramatic forms like film, centers on or at least includes this idea, pointing out his pandering to the prejudices of the “ignorant mob” of America to push his agenda, at the expense of some heroic intellectual or other. Sound like any movie you’ve seen recently? So which is the fascist, eh? Would you like it BOTH ways?
dictionary.com defines ‘fascist’ as, among other things, ‘a person who is dictatorial or holds extreme right wing views’- i’d say this movie is both those things. Okay, perhaps in a strict sense ‘fascist’ was the wrong word to choose. But the film brooks no argument: like Nazism, it exalts the cult of the individual and his achievements, regards those who, for whatever reason, get left behind as not worthy of the struggle, and carries a strong undercurrent of racism (the ‘pure white marble’ scene is particularly unsettling) and sexism. It’s a small step from believing in one’s own superiority over others to deciding you ought to be the one making their decisions for them.
Ayn Rand was not a fascist. A deluded right-wing libertarian fruitcake who appeals to Rush fans and similar lepers, maybe. But not a fascist.
Rand is not a fascist, and The Fountainhead is by no means a fascist film. Rand was a true libertarian, with all the positives and negatives that go along with it. She rejected all totalitarian governments, from Communism to Fascism. It is important to note that an Italian film version of We The Living, which was made under Mussolini’s government, was banned because of its contempt for authoritarian regimes. Rand is vastly misunderstood. Coulter, Limbaugh, and those types really just pay her lip service. They’ve probably never read her books (and probably can’t read anyway)….
Eiki Martinson
30 August 2006
12:28 PM
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