Even though I saw this movie a few months ago, the current news climate makes this post more than topical. In the past week or two, all we've been hearing about is Julian Assange and his ragtag group of whistle blowers over at WikiLeaks. In case you've been living under a rock or are a member of the ignorant masses that say "THE NEWS IS BORING AND NOT RELEVANT TO MY LIFE" (aka most people I know), WikiLeaks has released thousands and thousands of classified U.S. diplomatic cables. Some of the information contained in these documents is quite shocking and even unbelievable (for example, the U.S. has been monitoring Canadian television for years for "Anti-American" jokes and content). Assange has effectively become the most wanted man in the world, and many in the U.S. are calling for blood. I said it in my last blog, but Network's message is even more relevant now than it was in the seventies.
Network is about an aging "big network" newscaster named Howard Beale who used to be loved by millions, but has gradually lost more and more viewers over the years. Because of this, he does the nightly newscast on a crappy, sensationalist network called UBS. This film was made in 1976, when the only national networks were CBS, NBC and ABC. Think of UBS as Fox when it started out-titillating shows that "push the limits" and controversy for the sake of controversy. Anyway, the execs at UBS decide that they've had enough of Beale's declining ratings and decide to remove him from the airwaves. Beale has a breakdown, and begins using a multitude of expletives on his program one night. The producers at UBS are shocked, but it gets higher ratings! They decide to give Beale another chance, and he delivers the tirade you see in the blog post before this one.
Viewers like what Beale has to say. He is declared "The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves" and is given a slot back on UBS delivering speeches discussing what a sham the world is. He gets ahold of a communique between the U.S. and the Middle East and gives the dirty details of it on his nightly program., and the powers that be decide that Beale must be stopped. SOUND FAMILIAR?
The movie also has a subplot about Beale's friend Max Schumacher and his deteriorating home life, which is superbly examined. I could go on and describe more of the plot, but that leaves no fun for you, does it? It's time for me to get all analytical.
The film touches upon every trend that is effecting America, and the world, right now. The film delivers a long monologue about Globalism before Globalism was even an academic buzzword. This blew my mind- at the end of the film, a character declares:
"You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no Third Worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems. One vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multi-varied, multi-national dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rands, rubles, pounds and shekels"
Wow. That line gave me chills when I heard it. In 1976, I'm sure that people thought "What?!", but the movie is WAAAY ahead of it's time. The writers and director saw the way the world was going. They observed the trends. They came to a conclusion that turned out to be 100% correct.
Network also predicted the current face of television. As Beale's ratings grow, UBS determines that what people want is to be shocked, to be offended and above all- to be constantly entertained. The network begins airing programming that is extremely similar to the "reality" programming of today. News media on the network begin using scare tactics and report sex crimes and horrifying murders on a nightly basis. Again, SOUND FAMILIAR?
Network is expertly written and every actor gives the performance of a lifetime. It includes many of the greats of the era: Faye Dunnaway, Robert Duvall, Peter Finch- true masters at their craft. The speech in my blog post below is just one of a myriad of monologues that will have you going "PREACH IT!".
I can not heap enough praise on this movie. If you're a person that is cynical of the current trends in this world or a thinking person at all, see it immediately.
