Network
Sometimes, a movie comes along that seems out of place.
Either because the story doesn't make sense, the characters are not relatable,
or... it is portraying a world we cannot see yet. Or even, a world we would
find it hard to believe would ever exist. But that's the power of foresight.
The brilliant "Network", released in the peak of
the 70's cinema revolution, tells the story of our relationship with the news.
It also explores the power it wielded back in a time before mobile phones,
before the internet, social media or AI. Where aside from the newspaper and
radio, we all turned out television sets on to absorb the nightly news. The
anchors were celebrities, highly respected and had the nations viewers in the
palm of their hand.
So, when once such long-serving news reader is given the
sack, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Filled with a sense of
defeat, he turns that into anger and proclaims "I'm not gonna take it
anymore!" Telling it like it is to an audience of sixty million Americans,
he doesn't hold back, becoming something of a preacher dispensing the raw,
harsh truth to a society who had been brainwashed by the fabrication of facts.
As quick as his rise to power is, so is his downfall, as the
producers behind the scenes shift from wanting to take advantage of the news
reader, to wanting to get rid of him... all in the name of ratings.
Network is a bold, daring film, which takes an honest look
at what happens behind the news; before the cameras go on and in the boardrooms
of city skyscrapers. Showing us the people behind the propaganda, you may
struggle to like any of the characters, but you will find it hard to disagree
they are not fascinating.
Driven by power, greed, money, fame and influence, each
character in the film has their own unique journey, from those on the way out
of the news world, to those keeping it going, and those who want to change it
forever. At a time when the TV nightly news was gospel, it's fascinating to
watch this and see how much things have changed in today’s world.
Where our news today can't always be trusted, and it's hard
to decipher what is real and fake, Network takes us back to a time where we all
put our faith in one source of news, or even one newsreader. It explores the
dangers that follow when one person’s ideas are taken as gospel, and equally as
dangerous to the person who decides to dispense that idea in the first place.
Let's just say, our characters don't necessarily become better people, as the
battle for ratings will always prevail over honesty and integrity.
No comments:
Post a Comment