Review of The Film Network
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Review of The Film Network
#1
Paddy Chayefsky is an old play writer who was frustrated by the turn being taken by the newsrooms since the mid-twentieth century. Chayefsky was born of immigrant parents and was initially named Sydney in the Bronx. His first words of writing came from experiencing injuries from an exploding landmine. He is said to have loved his writing more than his marriage. His importance in the show Network is due to his intensely troubled and character of a control freak who was dispirited in the world. He was overly paranoid about the influence of Arabs in the world, which cast his career in a tailspin. His sensitivity to changes occurring in the media and around the world makes him an essential component in the development of this film.
#2
The film was set representing the tendency of politicians to sway voters and influence citizen’s views by controlling the media. It was set two years after the suicide of an anchor Christine Chubbuck while the audience watched. The media presidents were in control of what was to be broadcasted by the news anchors. The work culture is stressful, and the employers exploited the rage of Howard Beale to boost the plummeting views (Lumet, 1976). The political and work culture interacted to stress the workers, influence the news, and stress the media workers.
#3
The quote, ‘the medium is the message,’ was said by Marshall McLuhan. The quote associated with his theory reflects on the evolution of media from print and visual forms to modern means such as televisions, films, and computers, which have affected the way the audience perceives the world. The mediums have paved the way for various forms of information and manipulation of the way people receive the message and view the world.
#4
Chayefsky gives the character Beale, the bewildered traits of the television reporter who had committed suicide, Chubbuck. Beale, upon learning on the ploy to fire him, threatens to commit suicide on his last show, which increases the television ratings dramatically. Chayefsky is determined to demonstrate that the media was profit-oriented, with little concern on the content being aired (Teeman, 2017). Through Beale, the society expresses its rage through a slogan coined in, ‘I am mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’
#5
The film, network changed the American media significantly. Other than being conservative and profit-oriented, the media changed to address the angry views of fed up politicians or citizens (Lumet, 1976). The film was cast to demonstrate the capitalist constraints of television. The influence of this film is evident in the present-day freedom of media to represent the truth to citizens via the shows without fear of victimization.
#6
In the film, Max Schumacher is represented as a traditional American man due to the loyalty he held for his friends, evident when he told Beale of the plot to have him fired (Lumet, 1976). His loyalty is manifested with his general old fashioned style, although, like the traditional American man, he was not loyal to his long time wife. Additionally, opposed to the new face of journalism. Diana, on the other hand, is a female working amidst men and whose presence indexes change in the operation of the media. She was symbolic of women’s empowerment and independence, which was to be perpetuated by feminism.
#7
The movie was reviewed as an outright attack of the television, the media presidents, and the viewers supporting this hypocrisy (Teeman, 2017). It has been stated as a prophecy of the profit centeredness and the politics of the media, to which I would agree with. Television news especially is controlled significantly by politics, as opposed to the requirement for impartiality, which is indirectly hinted in this film.
#8
Chayefsky feels that the state, through the presidents of the media such as UBS are in control of broadcast media. This way, they control the messages and content being broadcasted in the media. There were power struggles, politics in the media, and obsession with ratings from the shows being cast. Chayefsky calls upon the viewers to express their disdain for this factor, express their frustration to the customized television shows being cast, which would allow the anchors to present their voices and anger of the citizens without being controlled by ratings or the government.
References
Lumet, S. (1976). Network [Film]. Metro-Goldwyn Mayer.
Teeman, T. (2017). Paddy Chayefsky: The Dark Prophet of ‘Network’ News. The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 May 2020, from https://www.thedailybeast.com/paddy-chayefsky-the-dark-prophet-of-network-news.