AmateisGal
I'll Lock Up
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I recently re-watched the outstanding movie Ford v Ferrari (original comments here:#27140).
I noted the first time that the story is basically an Ayn Rand novel not written by Ayn Rand. Watching it again only reinforced that view.
So, in that spirit, here's how the characters in Ford v Ferrari align to Rand's famous novel and movie The Fountainhead.
Race-car driver Ken Miles is architect Howard Roark, the brilliant individualist who has his own vision for how his job should be done and won't "play the game" of getting along and compromising when he feels that his and his work's integrity are at stake. He is everything the collective, the commune, the state, the bureaucracy hates as he won't bow to its edicts while his existence rebukes its ideology of "collective" work, achievement and responsibility.
Race-car builder Carroll Shelby is editor Gail Wynand, the man who understands the value of the Ken Miles' and Howard Roarks of the world, but doesn't have the strength of character (Wynand) or opportunity (Shelby) to be one himself. Instead, he becomes the individualist's most passionate supporter fighting the collective on behalf of the individual.
Ford executive Leo Beebe is evil socialist Ellsworth Toohey, the man who hates - absolutely loathes - and tries to destroy the individualist. Toohey/Beebe's skill is "playing the game" of manipulating others - sucking up to those above / browbeating those below. He has an abject fear of those with true creative talent, genius and individual spirit, in part, because he can't really manipulate them and, in part, because their skills belittle by comparison his smarmy "people and process" skills.
Lee Iacocca is pandering architect Peter Keating, the man who works for a group-think collective, Ford in Iacocca's case. He tries to be an individualist, but compromises too often. Finally, crushed by the collective's soulless hatred of true independent thought and ability, he hires an outsider, an individualist, to do the work his Borg can't (Keating hires Roark to build a housing project in Keating's name and Iacocca hires Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles to win Le Mans for Ford).
Henry Ford II could have been Roger Enright, the man who runs a company, but knows he needs an individualist like Roark or Miles to accomplish something brilliant. However, "The Deuce" couldn't really, truly give up control, so he keeps sicking his corporate stooges on Miles. Conversely, Enright "gets it," he knows that if you hire a genius, you then have to, like with any great thoroughbred, just let him run.
Finally, Mollie Miles is Dominique Francon, the woman who not only sees and understands the individualist (and marries one), she has the talent herself to be one. Fortunately, Mollie appears to have Dominique's talents without her, um, odd sexual behaviors.
This was a fantastic movie. Cried at the ending, though.