The writer who made the mistake of referring to Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” as a story of “courage and self-sacrifice” is lucky. With 100,000 DVD’s and Blu-rays released that refer to Rand’s magnum opus about rational selfishness as being about selflessness, the producers- not the writer-took responsibility for the mistake.
If the writer’s name were printed above the copy, such a major error would surely be embarrassing and could even be a little damaging to a copy writing career. After all, anyone who knows anything about Rand’s philosophy knows that she was adamantly appalled by the idea of valuing selflessness. Clearly, someone forgot to do some research. Literally- any research at all. Not even a quick search for the name Ayn Rand on the internet.
Luckily, copy writers enjoy the luxury of anonymity, so the writer shouldn’t have trouble finding more work, although it would be surprising if Atlas Productions hired the same one again. It would certainly not be in the company’s best interest, since clearly the writer had never become familiar with the works of Ms. Rand. Or her philosophies. Or the new movie.
Still one has to wonder what the copy writer’s reaction was to finding out that so many were not only printed, but already in stores before the mistake was discovered. Apparently, it was something barely noticeable. But fans of Rand’s work that purchased the movie were quick to notice such a glaring error.
If the person who wrote that bit of copy for the cover knows anything about rational self-interest, he or she will probably just keep quiet about the slight mix-up. Then again, it sounds as if they’re not familiar with the concept. It might help to start with a book called Atlas Shrugged. Or maybe the person could just watch the new movie coming out with the same title.
For people who purchased the new DVD, it might be wise to keep the misprinted cover in the name of self-interest, even though Atlas Productions is offering a corrected copy. The ironic goof-up on the original cover is the one that is far more likely to become a collector’s item. The new one can go over it, but keep the original no matter what.
Though we’ll probably never know for sure just what the writer’s reaction was, based on their thoroughness and attention to detail- it’s pretty easy to imagine.
In all likelihood, the “Atlas” copy writer just shrugged.