NETWORK

I watched the movie ‘Network” (1976, Faye Dunaway) recently; if you haven’t seen it rent it. It’s a great film. It’s about a TV news anchor who has a breakdown and says he is going to kill himself on his show. When a network executive realizes how high his ratings are, they put him back on TV. It’s witty, satirical and very relevant today. From it’s take on the dark times (the recession of the 1970’s, the War in Vietnam) to the corporate take over of the world (just beginning then) it is a great parallel to the times we are in today. The main character ‘Howard’ is exploited by the Network until he says something on the air that hurts the networks parent company. When the CEO of the company requests to see Howard, he explains to Howard how the world and the Network really works: Corporate power and Money. Howard then takes a very dark world view and his high rating begin to decline. The Network then has to figure out how to get rid of him…

The film was way ahead of it’s time. It takes a postmodern look at not only TV, but characters, screenplay/story structure and the way the world works. It’s a neo-noir film that is comedic in its darkness and witt. After I watched it, I realized, it’s a great look at how America works. It’s interesting, scary, and available for your viewing pleasure.