Network
/
PETER FINCH
FAYE DUNAWAY
WILLIAM HOLDEN
I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!
~ Howard Beale
Quick fox: B | 3 stars
Network is a savage satire on news media with exceptional performances and a well-crafted screenplay, though it’s lengthy and heavily philosophical monologuing may leave some viewers fidgeting in their seats.
winding dragon
The following is a real conversation between FoxDragon and their hapless intern. Any similarities to people or dragons, living or dead, is an accurate depiction and should be believed.
(FOXDRAGON’s den)
(FOXDRAGON peruses the Dragon Hoard -- an infinity collection of every film ever made.)
FOXDRAGON: Squire! Squire, come here! Where did he run off to?
BEN (Runs into the den with the FOXDRAGON’s coffee): It’s Ben, er -- Mr. FoxDragon, sir.
FOXDRAGON: I like squire better.
BEN: Um, fair enough. Coffee?
FOXDRAGON (Sipping the coffee and staring at BEN suspiciously): Did you get shorter, Squire?
BEN: Um, no. This is just my first day, Mr. FoxDragon. You fired your previous squire because he recommended films like The Emoji Movie and Beautiful Creatures.
FOXDRAGON: Hmph. Well, I hope you won’t be another disappointment. It’s so hard to find quality entertainment these days. Don’t you agree?
BEN: Um...
FOXDRAGON (Sits down on a giant mountain of chocolate gold coins, arranging their wings and tail so they’re comfy): Never mind. Just pick out a movie for me to watch.
BEN (Staring up at the infinity collection and starting to panic because this was not in his job description; mutters): This is the weirdest internship ever.
FOXDRAGON: What was that?
BEN (Getting a ladder to get a better view of the movies titles): Nothing, Mr. FoxDragon, sir! Nothing!
FOXDRAGON: Hurry up, Squire! I may be immortal but I don’t have all day!
BEN (Grumbling) Yeah, yeah, yeah... (Pointing at a DVD case) Have you seen Instant Family?
FOXDRAGON: What’s it about?
BEN: Do you know what instant coffee is?
FOXDRAGON (Making obnoxious slurping noises in his coffee cup): Yes.
BEN: Imagine that except adopting kids.
FOXDRAGON: Is it one of those feel good movies?
BEN: Um, I guess?
FOXDRAGON: Blegh. I hate happy endings.
BEN: That’s, uh...quite depressing, Mr. FoxDragon.
FOXDRAGON: I crave sadness and deep-rooted cynicism, Squire! Something that will make my worst fears about human society feel impossibly justified!
BEN (Scooting the ladder to the “N” section of the collection): Well, I suppose in that case, might I recommend the 1976 movie Network, from director Sidney Lumet and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky?
FOXDRAGON: Like The Social Network?
BEN: Yes, but 30 years earlier and a scathing outlook on television media instead of social media.
FOXDRAGON: I’m listening.
BEN: Oh, okay. Well, it stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight -- Oh! and there’s also some random guy who looks a hell of a lot like Stephen Fry but isn’t Stephen Fry.
FOXDRAGON: How disappointing.
BEN (Scanning the DVD case ): It’s also the only film besides A Streetcar Named Desire to win three of the four acting categories at the Academy Awards, so I guess that’s something cool to save away for your next trivia night. Faye Dunaway won Best Actress, Peter Finch won Best Actor, and Beatrice Straight won Best Supporting Actress. In fact, Straight is onscreen for only five minutes, an Oscars record for the shortest screentime to --
FOXDRAGON: What are the Academy Awards?
BEN: Oh, er...it’s like the Pappie Awards but less pretentious.
FOXDRAGON: Gotcha. Give me your best sales pitch for The Notebook.
BEN: You mean, Network.
FOXDRAGON: That’s what I said.
BEN (Coming down from the ladder): Of course, Mr. FoxDragon. Well, Network is about the television network UBS, a satirical version of CBS or ABC, and the prostitution of news media for entertainment values. A young upshot executive named Diana Christensen decides to publicly broadcast Howard Beale’s mental breakdown for better Nielson ratings. This greatly distresses Max Schumacher, who is a seasoned news producer and Beale’s best friend, but he is helpless to prevent the inevitable exploitation of Howard Beale’s madness. As Beale’s televised monologues become America’s hottest craze, UBS turns to televangelist antics and a domestic terrorist fringe group to keep the spectacle interesting for viewers.
FOXDRAGON (Wrapping a large fire-proof blanket around their body): Hold up there, young Squire. Did you say “domestic terrorist fringe group?”
BEN (Setting up the TV and the old-school projector machine): It, er, makes more sense when you watch it. “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
FOXDRAGON: If you don’t like your job, then you can always quit.
BEN: No, I was just, uh, quoting the film. “I’m mad as hell” is an iconic line and I was just trying to make a connection between the Howard Beale’s fury at American society and the terrorist’s extreme example on what people will do when we won’t take this anymore.
FOXDRAGON: We’re not going to take what anymore?
BEN: Twisted Sister.
FOXDRAGON: What?
BEN: We’re not going to -- I was just referencing -- never mind.
FOXDRAGON: You are a sad strange little man.
BEN: Buzz Lightyear!
FOXDRAGON: What is wrong with you?
BEN: I thought you were referencing something because I was referencing something and --
FOXDRAGON: I never reference anything.
BEN: Okay...Anyway, I guess the point is that Network is a super meta film. It’s self-aware that the brunt of the story is one monologue after another, digging further into the rabbit hole of the media’s manipulation of the masses. Which creates some incredibly memorable scenes from Peter Finch during his “I’m mad as hell” monologue and Ned Beatty’s speech about how money is the only governing force in the world. But the satire is super direct and the metaphors can get overly preachy, especially with the only significant female character --
FOXDRAGON: Diana Christensen?
BEN: Right. She kind of morphs into a symbol for the cruel, uncompassionate dredges of corporate America, which from a story standpoint forces her into the stereotypical femme fatale role.
FOXDRAGON (Eating chocolate coins, wrappers and all, by the clawful): Or is the satire equally about the corruption of innocence? If I know anything about young, upshot characters, it usually means they get in over their heads pretty quickly.
BEN: I mean, fair. She does kind of sell herself out to a terrorist group, so I guess that qualifies as getting in too deep. I think what’s most impressive about the film is how relevant its ideas are today. The conversations of media influence on public opinion are still important, and there are very few films that can rival Network in its treatment of these issues. You ready to watch?
FOXDRAGON: Roll it.
(BEN presses the play button.)