BioShock Cultural References

!!!This article may contain spoilers!!!

Introduction
Bioshock is an amazingly complex game and may have some of the most interesting references such a game has yet employed. This article is meant to explore some of these possible refernces and influences.

Possible References

 * The name Atlas probably came from Ayn Rand's famous book Atlas Shrugged.
 * The construction of Rapture may have been based on Ayn Rand's books, too, Atlas Shrugged being the most important influence.
 * Ayn Rand's philosophy, called Objectivism, also greatly influences the story of Bioshock. Objectivism is the idea that one should follow their own self-interest and profit from their own abilities and ambitions while being virtually uninhibited by others.  This is the idea on which Anrew Ryan's city is based.
 * The name "Fontaine" may be a vague reference to the title of another Ayn Rand book, The Fountainhead.
 * Much more likely, however, the name Fontaine is a reference to a 17th century poet named Jean de la Fontaine, who wrote a fabel called The Monkey and the Cat. In the story, the cat, Raton, gathers chestnuts that are roasting on a fire and the monkey, Bertrand, eats them all.  In Bioshock, Jack, like Raton, seems to do all of the work, allowing Fontaine, like Bertrand, to reap all of the benefits, while Jack is left worse off than he was before.  The full stroy can be read here:
 * ADAM and EVE are references to the Creation story in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. Like in the Bible, ADAM and EVE end up ruining a utopia because of greed and ignorance.