Movies

Many commercially successful movies have had unexpectedly libertarian undertones this year. Of course, the long awaited Atlas Shrugged tops the list of libertarian films for 2011. Seeing part 1 of Ayn Rand's magnum opus adapted for the silver screen was a thrill for many, and the producers' innovative marketing campaign was a great example of business acumen as well.

But other films this past year also exhibited libertarian ideals. Many of them, like Soul Surfer and 127 Hours, told inspiring stories about real people who surmounted seemingly insurmountable obstacles through individual initiative and creative problem solving. Others, like Company Men, The Social Network, and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, provided a fresh look at business models. Still others, like Super 8 and Attack the Block, offered hope in the guise of a new generation of self-reliant kids who save the world from aliens with little more than pluck, bicycles, and the contents of their backpacks.

And then there were the films of Anthem... We presented thirty narrative features, documentaries, and short subjects, all with libertarian themes, all made by budding new filmmakers who instinctively recognize the need to push back against the threat of an ever-expanding government encroaching on their lives. We applaud these filmmakers for their skills, and for their courage to make films that promote self-reliance.

Jo Ann Skousen, founder and director of Anthem, has been a movie reviewer for several years. She also teaches writing and literature at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry New York and at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. You can read her reviews at http://www.jaskousen.com/ and http://libertyunbound.com/

If you would like to contribute a review to Anthem, send it to reviews@anthemfilmfestival.com

Suggested Reading

*Bastiat, Frederic. The Law: The Classic Blueprint for a Free Society (1850).

Published in June 1850 in response to Marx's Communist Manifesto (1848) and the revolutionary upheaval in Europe, The Law carefully and logically explains that the proper role of government is to defend "life, liberty, and property," and to "prevent injustice from reigning." Governments should not be allowed to plunder the fruits of others through slavery, unjust taxation and redistribution schemes. Frederic Bastiat, the French economic journalist, was an optimist: "If everyone enjoyed the unrestricted use of his faculties and the free disposition of the fruits of his labor, progress would be ceaseless."

*Boaz, David. Libertarianism: A Primer and The Libertarian Reader: Classic and Contemporary Writings from Lao Tzu to Milton Friedman (Free Press, 1998).

This is a well-written introduction to the great libertarian thinkers and their philosophy.

Browne, Harry. How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World (1973).

Subtitled "a handbook for personal liberty," this book shows readers how to use libertarian principles to direct their personal lives, becoming freer in the process. The book identifies mental traps people often fall into that limit their own freedom, and offers techniques for gaining greater freedom from government and societal restrictions, and even from problems imposed by business, friends and family.

*Clason, Roger. The Richest Man in Babylon (1926).

Arkad, the richest and most generous man in Babylon, was once a stonecutter like his friends. When his friends ask him how he ended up so much better off than they are, he explains the secrets to financial freedom and success with such truths as "A part of all you earn is yours to keep," "Pay yourself first," and "Those who act are blessed with good luck." Written in parable form, this book is profound, worldly wise, and fun to read. Self-reliance works! Recommended for all ages.

*Frankl, Viktor. Man’s Search for Meaning (1946).

Frankl's poignant description of his experiences at Auschwitz describes the shock, then apathy, then dehumanization of irrational incarceration. Yet he celebrates the freedom that can be found in the mind, even when the body is imprisoned. His book emphasizes the importance of having a reason to live, and the idea that meaning can be found in every moment of living.

*Gates, Henry Louis Jr., ed. The Classic Slave Narratives. New York: Penguin Books. (Includes the autobiographies of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Olaudah Equiano, and Mary Prince.)

Each of these slave narratives focuses on a different aspect of finding freedom, even in slavery. Douglass found freedom when he recognized that he had the choice to flee or to stay. Jacobs found freedom in outwitting her master and in publishing her story. Equiano found freedom in trade, buying and selling goods for a profit as he sailed the seas with his master, a sea captain. Mary Prince's 1831 autobiography was the first written by a black woman, and had a galvanizing effect on the abolitionist movement. All embody the principles of freedom.

*Heinlein, Robert. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961), The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966).

Like many science fiction writers, Heinlein explores the conflicts between good and evil, freedom and duty, and individuality and the State in many of his fine stories. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress contains the famous libertarian acronym TNSTAAFL, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."

*Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha (1922). (especially the lovely translation by Joachim Neugroschel, Penguin Classics, 1999.)

This "Indian Tale," as Hesse called it, relates the story of a man who has everything he could need, but still feels empty. He seeks happiness first in the stoic life of deprivation as a Buddhist monk, then in the physical world of business and sexual pleasure, and finally in the balance between the two. Ultimately he learns that truth comes "from your own seeking, on your own path." The middle section on business is especially interesting, although Siddhartha never quite understands the good that can come from using money productively.

*Lane, Rose Wilder. Discovery of Freedom (1943).

Lane was a journalist in the early 20th century who traveled around Europe and the Middle East between the two wars, observing and writing about freedom. "Very few men have ever known that men are free," she begins her book. It is in the discovery of our own freedom that all become free, she concludes.

*LeGuin, Ursula. A Wizard of Earthsea trilogy, 1968-72).

Long before Harry Potter and Hogwarts, there was Sparrowhawk and Earthsea. Sparrowhawk, the young wizard in this trilogy, learns that choices have consequences as he sets out on a quest of his own making in this very fine series.

*Rand, Ayn. Complete Works, especially Anthem (1938), The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957).

Born in Russia, Ayn Rand saw firsthand the stultifying effect of central planning. All of her novels focus on the supremacy of the individual over the tyranny of the majority. Anthem (1938) is a short novel about a young man in a dark dystopian future who discovers the joy of thinking and acting for himself. The Fountainhead (1943) focuses on an architect, Howard Roarke, who fights to maintain control over the designs he has created. Atlas Shrugged (1957), her longest and most definitive work, tells of a group of leading industrialists, artists, and innovators who refuse to be exploited by society.

* Read, Leonard. "I, Pencil." available at: http://www.fee.org/pdf/books/I,%20Pencil%202006.pdf

This delightful pamphlet explains how the invisible hand of the free market works as it describes all the different steps and industries required to make a pencil. No one could make a pencil all by himself, yet pencils are made of uniform size and quality every day and sold for a quarter, without any central planning or government edict.

* Skousen, Mark and Jo Ann, "Persuasion vs. Force." available at: http://www.mskousen.com/persuasion-vs-force-by-mark-skousen/

This pamphlet explains the basic principles of libertarianism, and then applies those principles to specific situations.

* What are your favorite books about liberty? Email us at reviews@anthemfilmfestival.com

Jo Ann Skousen, Director
Anthem Film Festival