Mountainhead Is a Shallow Satire of Tech Billionaires
If you couldn’t immediately tell that Mountainhead, the name of the new direct-to-HBO movie from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, was poking fun at Ayn Rand, the movie is there to remind you, with not one but two Rand puns in the first 20 minutes. The film is set largely inside the confines of a snowbound mansion retreat called Mountainhead, which, as one character notes, sounds like Rand’s novel The Fountainhead. The charmlessly expensive but characterless interiors of the luxury villa prompt a further snarky remark about how the owner must have hired an interior designer named Ayn Bland.Â
Mountainhead, if you haven’t guessed, is a satire of tech billionaires. More specifically, it is a satire of their philosophies, from transhumanism to post-Democratic capitalism to AI Singularity Utopianism. It attempts, like Succession, to present a scathing comic portrait of the vapidity and soullessness of the rich and powerful—the ways in which they are overmatched by human events and careless about the forces they are unleashing on the world. Like the show, the movie is powered by quippy dialogue, clever puns, and tangles of buzzwords, all stitched together with artful vulgarity. There are times when the relentless volley of zingers lands a hit, or at least a chuckle. But the movie’s unceasing smugness is its undoing: Mountainhead wants to be a movie about how tech billionaires don’t understand ordinary people. Instead, it’s a movie that doesn’t understand billionaires.Â
Armstrong’s prev
Article from Reason.com
The Reason Magazine website is a go-to destination for libertarians seeking cogent analysis, investigative reporting, and thought-provoking commentary. Championing the principles of individual freedom, limited government, and free markets, the site offers a diverse range of articles, videos, and podcasts that challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for libertarian solutions. Whether you’re interested in politics, culture, or technology, Reason provides a unique lens that prioritizes liberty and rational discourse. It’s an essential resource for those who value critical thinking and nuanced debate in the pursuit of a freer society.
