RoR: Forum

Post 0

Wednesday, May 14 - 3:10am

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I think I have a Real World reference for John Galt. He is none other than Nikola Tesla.

I read that Ayn Rand used Frank Lloyed Wright as a partial model for Howarard Roark.

Do any of you Objectivist Folk know if Rand might have used Tesla as a model for Galt (at least for his scientific doings)?

Bob Kolker

Post 1

Monday, May 19 - 8:01pm

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I too have heard this speculation. Google "tesla rand galt."

Post 2

Monday, May 19 - 8:23pm

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There was an interesting, albiet mostly fictional, depiction of Tesla in the movie "The Prestige." An excellent film BTW.

Post 3

Monday, May 19 - 11:05pm

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Phil wrote:

> There was an interesting, albiet mostly fictional, depiction of Tesla in the movie "The Prestige." An excellent film BTW.

I agree Phil. The Prestige is my favorite film of the past few years. I took a look into Tesla after that film and was surprised to read that he did experiment with some ideas on the edge of the mystical/supernatural and did experiment with teleportation. The lighting of the town of Colorado Springs and the illumination of light bulbs stuck into the ground were true.

Have you seen the movie Memento by the same director, Christopher Nolan? If not, I think you would enjoy it.

Regards,
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Jeff

(Edited by C. Jeffery Small on 5/19, 11:27pm)

Post 4

Tuesday, May 20 - 6:07am

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wait a second - why did you guys like the Prestige? Did you not think that the end of the movie was a complete cop-out? I mean, it was "real magic" is total BS - it should have been a reality based ending.

Post 5

Tuesday, May 20 - 8:05am

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Kurt:

I don't have a problem with movies like The Prestige that have a SiFi component so long as that element is solidly grounded within the plot-universe of the movie. And in this case, I find that it was very well done through the character of Tesla. I hesitate to comment further on this, not wanting to spoil the movie for those who have not seen it, but I didn't find this element of The Prestige any more fanciful and difficult to accept within the framework of the movie than I did a motor running on static electricity in Atlas Shrugged. In both cases there was at least the plausibility that everything could be explained through physics rather than just offering up a complex plot element as simple magic.

I think I understand where you are coming from in your comments. You approach a movie for a couple of hours with it building towards an expected conclusion and then find yourself knocked off the rails when a surprise twist turns everything on its head and veers in a totally different direction. I have experienced many movies where I was also greatly disappointed by this "trick" when I don't find it well done. In The Prestige, I was very satisfied that the groundwork to all the surprises has been sufficiently prepared for so that they maintained a strong plausibility within the movie's universe. However, at the end of the day, it is a very personal reaction to this sort of movie stunt. M. Night Shyamalan is famous for having these twist endings for his movies, and while I have enjoyed them and think he is a wonderful storyteller and movie director, many people are put off by this element of his work.

Now, compare The Prestige to The Illusionist, another movie with a very similar theme that came out at almost the same time. This movie relies much more heavily upon "real magic" with only the thinnest veneer of an attempt to attempt to "explain" how some of the illusions are accomplished. Nevertheless, I also enjoyed this movie for the overall story line and the performances by Paul Giamatti and Ed Norton. Have you seen it, and if so, what did you think?

Regards,
--
Jeff

Post 6

Tuesday, May 20 - 8:52pm

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*Spoiler Alert* (I'll try to be vague. But The Prestige and Momento are excellent, and should be seen fresh. So please rent them before reading.)(By the way the same director did Batman Begins and the upcoming Dark Knight. Oh Joy!

Kurt,
Funny, I would have expected a sense of life criticism to have come up. In the film, magic = parlor tricks, but real magic = real power, real genius, and originality. The sense of life presented is that humans are afraid of the light. Although, one could replace humans with "the many" or "the mob"...

A cop out (in this context) is a convenient way to tie loose ends that cheats the artistic vision or the plot's dramatic momentum. Yet in the movie Tesla gives a warning that serves as a major theme. "Real magic" shows the psychology of the people Tesla warns against (even the good ones). Afraid of the light. Evasion. The use of the term "real magic" serves to heighten the theme. It magnifies the tragedy of the passionate, and the stagnant nature of the common man. Quite the opposite of a cop out.

What a great film. I think I'll watch it tonight.

Post 7

Wednesday, May 21 - 6:16am

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Thanks for the perspective - I did not dislike the film, I was just disappointed in that kind of ending as I see it so often in movies - but your points are good.

Post 8

Wednesday, May 21 - 9:08am

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Tesla and Galt were both inventors who worked, sometimes independently (though Galt made his greatest invention as a corporate employee), in the first half of the 20th century. You need more - either a detailed, point-for-point similarity or an explicit acknowledgement on Rand's part.

Post 9

Saturday, May 31 - 10:39am

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My niece gave me The Prestige novel. I found it to be very good. I haven't seen the mvie though. I often find that seeing/reading one spoils the other for me.

Who is John Galt?