The hit series The Bear has finally concluded. The final episode is so uplifting that most reviewers appear to believe the arc of the show’s main character follows suit with a redemptive arc. But the connection to Ayn Rand’s famous book The Fountainhead might reveal the opposite meaning. The show’s main character Carmen Berzatto, portrayed beautifully by Jeremy Allen White, shows us a prototypical Randian archetype who understands everything and learns nothing. The deeper subtext of the show is the tension between the upper and working class, the pursuit of both greatness and a paycheck, and whether individual accomplishments supersede collective success. It’s a uniquely modern American theme being played out in real time between two of the most famous men in America. Elon Musk is the avatar of Rand’s objectivist theory, while Zohran Mamdani leverages his fame and status for the collective.

Resources

The Bear

Ayn Rand: The Fountainhead

The Bear, “Napkins”

The Bear, “Replicants”

Ayn Rand Institute: The Mike Wallace Interview with Ayn Rand

Wednesday Journal: The Bear visits Oak Park’s Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio

New Ideal: Howard Roark and Frank Lloyd Wright

UNFTR Resources

Video: Class War in The Bear: Individual Genius vs Collective Good

Episode: Ayn Rand Was a Dick.

Essay: The Bear and the American Male Archetype.

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