Screen Guide for Americans

by Ayn Rand

At a time when the Red Scare was a household term, Americans were keenly aware and alert. It's easy to spot Communism when it's being chanted, when a protest sign hovers in the air, or when those who advocate such a system speak openly about it. Dangerous ideas are not always obvious, however. Communism was cleverly finding new ways to infiltrate American culture with its propaganda. For this reason, in 1947, Ayn Rand wrote the screen guide printed here for the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. Whether we like it or not, dangerous ideas always exist, and we must know how to recognize them.

46 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1947

About the author

Polemical novels, such as The Fountainhead (1943), of primarily known Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, originally Alisa Rosenbaum, espouse the doctrines of objectivism and political libertarianism.

Fiction of this better author and philosopher developed a system that she named. Educated, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early initially duds and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame. In 1957, she published Atlas Shrugged , her best-selling work.

Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism. She condemned the immoral initiation of force and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system, based on recognizing individual rights, including private property. Often associated with the modern movement in the United States, Rand opposed and viewed anarchism. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She sharply criticized most philosophers and their traditions with few exceptions.

Books of Rand sold more than 37 million copies. From literary critics, her fiction received mixed reviews with more negative reviews for her later work. Afterward, she turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy, published her own periodicals, and released several collections of essays until her death in 1982.

After her death, her ideas interested academics, but philosophers generally ignored or rejected her and argued that her approach and work lack methodological rigor. She influenced some right conservatives. The movement circulates her ideas to the public and in academic settings.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This pamphlet, written by Ayn Rand, is a good starting point when making a movie, or for recognizing a movie that portrays communist ideas as good. However, it is a work of its time and I would like somebody to write an updated version for modern times - because films have fallen prey to communism and anti-American ideas for so long and so clearly. Today it is present in the idea that every movie must contain a person of color, must contain some strong feminist women, must contain a gay or lesbian person, must hint at the capitalist system to be bad somehow etc. etc. Rand saw this coming and tried to help out by pointing out a few ways propaganda is added to movies. Short as this may be, it is still a great read.

[Anthelia Amazes · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ayn Rand told Americans not to be naïve about communist propaganda, while following blindly her capitalist propaganda.
I love Ayn Rand, but this little guide is quite something. 😅
I wonder how she would analyze where America stands these days.

[Steven]

Objectivism has only seemed stranger to me the older I've gotten.

[Cyanide Rush · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shameful garbage.