Network (1976) ***½

Over thirty years later and the state of television as presented in Network seems more plausible today than it did when the film first premiered. It possibly could seem preachy today since the arguments are not new ones: television is exploitative, full of money-grubbing executives would would sell their souls for a greater audience share. The fact of the matter is at the time the film was made, the overall statement regarding the nature of television was quite prophetic and revolutionary. At a time when America had grown disillusioned with the government due to the Nixon administration scandals and the end of the Vietnam War and social revolution in everyone's backyard, television entertainment increasingly took on a riskier and more provocative aura. Network is the ultimate realization of trash TV, where the dignified evening news program begins to pander to the lowest common denominator with informative and serious news briefs replaced with fortune telling, gossip and the mad rantings of a man slowly but surely losing his grasp with reality.

The UBS executives are more than willing to exploit Howard Beale's (a captivating Peter Finch, who received a posthumous Oscar nomination) mental illness for the gain of the company. The news division is overseen by Max Schumacher (William Holden), a craggy, but noble member of the old guard who, with Beale, started off in the business under Edward R. Murrow, the epitome of broadcasting elegance and excellence. Where they end their careers could not be further from that dignified beginning, as acceptable on-air behavior is determined by what will best titillate the audience. UBS is being overrun by the new owners, CCA, with Frank "Hatchetman" Hackett (Robert Duvall) leading the charge for departments to generate the profits mandated by management and to that effect ending the news division as an independent department. Needless to say that Max is incensed as such gross censorship and infringement and allows Howard to rant on the air about how life is bullshit. The chain of events is then set in motion that much like the film, echoes the prophetic nature of Howard and Max's drunken conversation in the bar. Allowing Howard to kill himself on the air would generate a massive viewing audience. As it turns out Howard's on-air demise would be the event of the season, kicking off the new series "The Mao-Tse Tung Hour" with the biggest crossover ever seen.

The film's most resonant aspect comes in the form of Diane Christensen (Faye Dunaway) who has become so corrupted and consumed by the television generation that she is utterly incapable of experiencing any real feelings and constantly views her life as a character on a show acting out numerous plot possibilities. Even when having sex all she can think about is her time slot difficulties in the new fall season. She has her entire affair with Max mapped out in the form of one of her series and knows exactly how it will end. The audience will never accept the husband leaving his family for the cold-hearted corporate sell-out. It's interesting as I've always sort of imagined how my life might play out as if it was a series. There's a certain level of comforting detachment that comes from inserting oneself into a show. You're the main character, nothing truly bad will ever happen to the star of the show. The viewers would never stand for it. It's understanding how people can become so enamored with television and film and envy the lives of people who don't exist and might not be found in the real world. Entertainment is a seductress, the promise of something better than your own dreary existence and if you come across something you don't like, you simply change the channel.

Television elevates viewership into a cult following, where someone like Beale, who is clearly disturbed and in need of serious help, can have people hanging onto his every word. Even when he is demanding that people turn off their sets, that it is corrupting their minds and poisoning their souls, that television represents the single greatest evil in the world, they still tune into The Howard Beale Show for the next episode. They cheer and applaud despite the fact that they're not even listening to the message he tries so hard to convey. People are more than willing to listen to a mad prophet advocating radical social change, but once he is manipulated by Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty) to espouse about a universal corporate philosophy which leads to the death of the individual, viewership falls fast and far. You turn to TV to brighten your day, not as a reminder about how empty and meaningless existence is. Of course, once the ratings drop and The Howard Beale Show becomes ratings poison and since CEO Jensen demands it remain on the schedule, Hackett and Christensen turn to the only recourse that remains open to them: they plot the murder of the mad prophet of the airways. The detachment that comes with television has left them devoid of any morals or guilty consciences. They coldly plot the extinguishing of a life as effortlessly as what to order for lunch. Their only concern lies with how soon it can be done to limit his detrimental affect on ratings. With the murder of Howard Beale lies the demise of social conscience and moral compunctions. Why tangle with those when there's a comedy on at this very minute?

Favorite moment: The famous "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" speech has crossed into pop culture lexicon and its influence can be felt in film and movies to this very day. My personal favorite is the rant in the series premiere of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Aside from highlighting Beale's control over a willing public, it's also the turning point where Howard changes from a man venting in a public forum to a delusional man who is hearing voices in the dark as he tries to sleep. It's also the last of formal news broadcast where Howard was making editorial commentary. The show becomes pure trash entertainment sealing the fates of all involved.