We Want Media

With yesterday’s release of the 30th Anniversary Edition DVD of Sidney Lumet’s Network, many are noting the prophetic nature of the film. The satirical look at broadcast news saw entertainment directors running news departments, terrorist groups given a timeslot to air their videos, and the rantings of a supposed newsman become a ratings hit. As Lumet recently remarked, the televised murder of Howard Beale is the only thing that hasn’t happened… yet.

But for all that has come to pass, are we really that close to writer Paddy Chayefsky’s world? Politically, we’re living in the “post-9/11 world,” but socially, we’re in the “post-Janet Jackson world.” Perhaps more disturbing than how similar we are to the world of Network is that we are, at the same time, so drastically different.

Yes, networks are such slaves to the almighty rating that we’ve seen the rise of shows like Jerry Springer, Fear Factor, and The Swan. We’ve seen degradation and humiliation exploited because it brings in viewers. We’ve seen the line between news and entertainment blurred with every Barbara Walters Special.

And yet scenes of Family Guy that aired in 2000 with no complaints are censored when re-aired today. The entire series now carries a parental advisory warning. Affiliates refused to air Saving Private Ryan for fear of FCC backlash over the film’s language. Howard Stern was repeatedly fined for sexual language and allusions, and eventually driven off the terrestrial radio landscape altogether.

Would any network actually take the chance on a real Howard Beale Show? Not today. Not even close. In fact, they’d never even be in a position to have to decide. Beale never would have gained his following if not for his initial rants on the decline of news, or his declared intention of public suicide. Today, we’re all too familiar with the fact that nearly every live broadcast is on a time delay, just for those Beale moments.

I wasn’t around in the 70s, so forgive me if I’m not quite correct in saying that it seems to me, we’ve got as many or more reasons to think things are bad now as when Network was released. Indeed, if all the talk is true, we’ve got a lot in common with the world the film depicted. Yet, it is in our differences that we suffer the most. Beale tapped into the anger and disillusionment of society, sending them to their windows for cathartic screams of empowerment.

But as long as crazed prophets are against FCC regulations, we will never be mad as hell, remaining content to take this forevermore.