2081
I watched 2081 on video the other day -- it claims to be based on a Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron, which I will have to take on faith because I never read that short story. The film is only 20 minutes or so long, but I thought it was a pretty powerful statement on egalitarianism. Recommended.
MarkH:
Interestingly, Vonnegut's short story was originally published in National Review. Here it is:
http://www.nationalreview.com/nroriginals/?q=MDllNmVmNGU1NDVjY2IzODBlMjYzNDljZTMzNzFlZjc=
http://tinyurl.com/2e4lt7g
November 17, 2010, 3:14 amSol:
Harrison Bergeron is a real classic, and will take you less time to read than the film did to watch. (I'd say libertarian classic, but that's not quite right... can't think of a word to properly describe it. Of a piece with Rush's "The Trees", I guess.)
November 17, 2010, 7:44 ammorganovich:
i remember first reading harrison bergeron in high school.
it is still one of my all time favorites.
if you like that, try "sredni vashtar" by saki. it's about 4 pages long and absolutely riveting.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/sk-vashtar.html
November 17, 2010, 9:53 amJason:
How good was the film, so sad though, but a really powerful statement on the logical end of the "equality of outcome" mentality.
November 18, 2010, 3:31 pmPaavo Ojala:
Sol: Rush's The Trees seems like a bad parable for libertarians, as the competition that makes trees so tall seems just wasteful. The amount of light is limited and growing taller to get more of it is a zero sum competition.
November 18, 2010, 5:22 pm