Uncharitable Thoughts (“Atlas Shrugged” Movie Edition)

Have you ever had an uncharitable thought that was completely and totally justified?

I had one last night.  I guess they’re making an Atlas Shrugged movie, which I managed to avoid all mention of — in fact, I still wouldn’t know about it if it hadn’t been one of those random Bing-sponsored advertisements at the bottom of another webpage.  Maybe objectivists are opposed to aggressive marketing?  I mean, a product should stand or fall on its inherent virtues, in the glorious Randian revolution world.

Anyway.  Uncharitable thoughts.  Mine were not about Ayn Rand’s philosophy or the various embarrassing attempts of people to treat it like a serious model for society, nor for Atlas Shrugged‘s merits as a book, which I’ve already discussed here.

My uncharitable thought sprang into my mind as soon as the movie project’s homepage loaded.  I saw this graphic:

My immediate thought was “so is that how long the whole movie is, or just the John Galt speech?”

Seriously!  It wasn’t a snarky witticism in my mind; it was my real goddamn interpretation of what that huge clock graphic must mean.  Of course I immediately realized my error; the clock is, obviously, just a countdown until the movie launch.  But I can’t shake the thought that my uncharitable thought was, at some level, wholly rational and justified.

Do literary works ever provoke uncharitable but wholly understandable thoughts in you?  Or have you, like O Best Beloved, been forced to listen to the Atlas Shrugged audiobook on a long car trip?  Very long, I can only assume.  Drop a comment and let us know!