I recently rewatched the movie “Network” for the first time in decades. I was quite surprised how well it held up and how many lessons it has for us today.
A quick summary is that a veteran TV newsman has a breakdown on camera and the network, facing economic difficulties, decides to run with it, turning him into a prophet of the times, at least as long as he draws ratings. The phrase, “I am as mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!” is at the heart of this movie.
Movies from earlier eras do not always maintain their watchability. I am surprised at how many “major” films that were extremely successful in their era just seem like poor films to me. I often come away with a “Is that it?” thought. Sure, later movies often benefit from earlier groundbreaking films, but later movies often fall into tropes and being bad copycats as well. Most movies today struggle to be original, which is something that most older movies did have.
The 70s especially is a film era of a lot of hit-or-miss productions. Of course, many of these films have not been remastered and some were shot on cheap filmstock so there isn’t much to be done. But I have been really underwhelmed in a lot of films from the 60s and 70s.
Enough of that. Here are some thoughts I had about “Network”. Network comes from the era of only a handful of TV networks and stations, before cable news, when it was easy for the powers that be to control a narrative. There were some positive aspects to this, as the 50s and 60s (up to the JFK assassination) were the Consensus Era and most people got along with people from different parties. JFK ran to the right of Nixon in 1960 on many issues, so it was just a different world.
By the 70s, society seemed to falling apart. The Boomers were coming into their own and rejecting the ideas of the past. Vietnam was unpopular and broke the patriotic consensus. The economy was changing, especially as we saw the beginning of globalization. The Ford and Carter years led many to believe that America was on its way to collapse.
At the same time, it was the “me” era. New Age and Self-help movements helped people to cast off old ideas and “find themselves”. Yuppies were beginning to make their impact on business and politics. Forgotten by most today is that Carter ran as a New Democrat, a technocrat innovator much like Clinton modeled 16 years later.
Here are some lessons on the movie for us today.
One, populist rage will always be available to be tapped by demagogues, though it will be rarely to turned to useful purposes.
Two, the media is focused on doing whatever will gain attention.
Three, most people are zombies and easily controlled.
Four, most people are unwilling to stand up to oppression until someone stands up first.
Fifth, the corporate masters are divorced from national concerns and are globally focused. Their goal is a single governing entity, not many countries.
The movie is remarkably fresh and worth watching. One could look at the movie as a time machine and see a very different world, but one that is still controlled by similar forces as ours today. Where they had the major networks, we have social media.
In many ways this movie helps show why the rise of Trump happened. So many are just wanting a leader to help them express their anxiety about the world they live in. Trump acts like the voice for many today. May we all say, “I am as mad as hell and not going to take it anymore!”