Network Critique - Movie Review Example

The reality of networks in television programming is only gaining more roots in our society, with talk shows earning the most popularity in ratings. A significant proportion of the public only wants to be entertained, and media celebrities are becoming a large attraction in the television industry. Anyone who has watched the 1976 film Network will agree that the movie was in essence as prophetic as it was meant to serve. The network is depicted to be a scathing indictment of American democracy in the television age. Network replaces the rational deliberation of issues with shrill and base emotionalism. This state of affairs created by the network is just harsh; kills everything. An investigation into the state of affairs as depicted by Network every player in the industry: the corporate moguls, the ambitious media executives, and the couch-potato public all have a blame to take. This survey reviews the film with a view of showing what blame every player stated here plays in destroying television.

The basic plot of the movie follows the story of Howard Beale (Peter Pinch) who is an ageing news anchor with Universal Broadcasting System (UBS), a fourth-rated TV network. Beale has just learned he is about to be sacked due to a drop in his ratings on his nightly news hour program. The desperate Beale announces on air that he will "blow his brains out" the following week on and asks the public to tune in (Network). Beale would surely have been sacked was it, not for his friend Max Schumacher, the news director's intervention requesting that Beale be given a dignified farewell. The network agrees to the request after Beale promises to apologize for his earlier outburst only for him to speak his mind out the next time he is on the air alleging that life is “bullshit” (Network). The outburst earns Beale a spike in his rating and the company’s management to exploit Beale’s openness to maintain the soaring rating. Beale becomes an Icon to UBS and hence to Communications Corporation of America (CCA) gradually the takeover control of UBS (Network).

The management sees in Beale news show, the fortunes for network programming. Diana is the programming director; she is ambitious and wants a chance to develop the news show under entertainment. Max is, however, not happy with the management; he sees the new state of affairs where the network sacrifices integrity for money as a slow decay of television (Kaufman). Though he objects to Diana's proposal, Beal would soon be hosting The Howard Beale Show, which became the highest-rated program. This was actualized by the convincing power of Diana who approaches the network executive Frank Hackett; Hacked consequently bullies the other executive members to allow Diana’s request (Kaufman). In the program, Beal articulates public rage surrounding controversial issues of that time for instance the economic depression, and the Vietnam War. The public appreciates and worships his ability to speak his mind; they view him as the “ladder day prophet proclaiming the prophecies of the time” (Network). Howard’s power in the broadcasting network is evidenced by how the public followed him and idolized him. At one point, he asked his audience to speak their minds and scream “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore” (Network); the audience observed this. In another instance, he asked the public to express their rage about Arabs growing economic success and takeover of power in the US, by sending a million telegrams to the white house, his call earned over six million letters (Network). This was after Beale had learned that CCA, which owned UBS, was to be bought by a larger Saudi Arabian Corporation. They have to tame Beale, who since the merger was essential for their survival given the huge debt load they faced. Hackett has Beale meet the CCA chairman Arthur Jansen, who persuades Beale to abandon his populist messages for a new “evangel”.

Beale on understanding the corporate cosmology as explained by Jansen and takes on the new preaching but the already spoilt audience is not ready to buy depressing sermons on the dehumanization of society and his ratings fall (Dirks). Meanwhile, the new Mao Tse Tung Hour a program run by Diana involving a terrorist gang, Ecumenical Liberation Army, and which followed Beale’s show was gaining popularity. Realizing that Jensen was not ready to allow Beale to be fired, the executive read by Diana and Hackett assassinated Beale on the air, using the Ecumenical Liberation Army. This marks the beginning of Mao Tse-Tung Hour’s season two; the public would continue getting the kind of program they wanted to watch, rationality was destroyed and all that mattered to the executive was to get a big audience.

Looking at how the events unfolded, we find that the decay of television was encouraged by the public who preferred the subjective reporting that Beale found himself in to coverage of real issues. The news show's rating only started to soar when Beale poured out his emotions while on air. With his new show, Beale could create the news on air and get followers all the same; the audience began doing just as he told them. Beale pointed out “You're beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you. You dress like the tube; you eat like the tube, and you raise your children like the tube. You even think like the tube. This is mass madness “(Dirks). But this is all that was of value to the UBS executive, integrity was no more relevant (Kaufman). The executive was ready to do all that it took to attract a bigger audience and high rating even killing Beale on the air. Similarly, the corporate moguls would do anything to keep off losses.