The (Inescapable) Fountainhead

Although the actual content of Rand’s The Fountainhead and he ongoing work in definition and proliferation of objectivism is a testament within itself, the enduring lifespan of the text has been extended by its less than oblique and unabashed allegiance to selfish conservatism, or so its contemporary symbolism suggests.

While Rand’s work offered a viable counterpoint in the environment in which it was written, where the population was disenfranchised the leadership of the time offered little answers to the abundant turmoil. Turning to oneself was an applicable alternative. However over the years, The Fountainhead has mutated from a symbol of self esteem into some of a political shortcut in popular culture.
Consider the below examples as illustrations of this trend:

A Scanner Darkly



As the token paranoid character clings to a copy of the Fountainhead, the novel serves as a proxy suicide note. It says everything he wants to say. This headstrong self-belief is juxtaposed with the gravest act of self doubt, or perhaps it is arguing that the character is performing the most self-assured act he can, take the ultimate control of life and take it. Either interpretation you find, the implementation of the book as part of the frame is a deliberate attempt to drench an otherwise notable suicide scene with a quick shortcut to subtext and in turn invite speculation as above.

The Simpsons



Once again, The Simpsons adaptation of Fountainhead plays upon the commonly held conception of the novel as a gesture of distilled self-service. The curse of “mediocrity rules!”, is a ironic cry against the novel and film’s ham-fisted construction of irrational counter-characters. Roark’s court room speech is the only occasion that Maggie finds a voice, and the brief monologue is pictured as an impotent attempt that manages to change a worldview in sentences.

Pakistani adaptation of The Fountainhead



As one commenter on the video suggests:

“This drama was made during the dark days of martial law in Pakistan, when the access to foreign ideas was restricted and a media was totally controlled by government. This was a way to give people some light from outside under disguise of such dramas.”

While American audiences recalled the text as an overly politicized text with dubious undertones, those who were sheltered from outside politics grasped the concepts and consumed it as though it were a more sophisticated and Western alternative to their domestic politics.

Bonus rap music video inspired by The Fountainhead: