English 103
Dr Luke Vasileiou
Salvatore Saviano
15 November 2010
Network: Reality, Illusion or both?
Have you ever seen a movie that moved you on many different levels? A movie that had hope, fear, reality, fantasy and a surprise ending; I believe Network had it all. This movie takes place in New York, 1975. It is a cynical view on corporate America, ideology, how a television network is run and the process that management goes through when making executive decisions. Since depicting corporate America, naturally, it is quite ugly. The movie may seem to be a completely fictional story, but the realities behind it are truly scary. Network is widely regarded as a masterpiece in the field of cinema. There have been few movies that capture the dark qualities of our society, while keeping them with in believable parameters. When comparing Network to the real nineteen seventies culture, I find that it was surprisingly on point despite the dark image the movie cast on society. Of course we have to make provisions for the lack of disco references. When examining the way people interacted and communicated on a social level in Network, I find it to be dark and accurate indeed.
During the nineteen seventies, New York and America were undergoing serious change. There were social and political events taking place that was reshaping society. There was an economic recession during the mid nineteen seventies and there were many contributing factors. One being the end of the economic boom America was going through since the end of world war two and the beginning of a recession. Another factor was the oil crisis and energy crisis that the New York and the whole world were feeling. (1).
1861 1916 1971 2006
Oil consumption chart. Source: Energy Information Administration (2)
The economy was not showing signs of improvement, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Most people were already living in poverty, and times were just getting harder.
Graph depicting the economic recession of the seventies. (3)
Society was in upheaval as civilians began developing an attitude gearing towards change. Former President Richard Nixon resigned from his position as commander and chief. This was largely due to the Watergate scandal (4); a heinous act of dishonesty that epitomized the executive mentality in this country perfectly. The Republican Party that sponsored Nixon hired five men to break into the democratic national committee headquarters in hopes of tipping the scales in Nixon’s favor; showing blatant disregard of ethics and morals. Even the highest ranking government officials were as corrupt as a modern day mobster. Every country has the government that they deserve; so what does that say about seventies society? Nixon resigned to avoid any further disgrace and embarrassment and relinquished his role as leader of the country to vice president Gerald Ford (4).
Gerald Ford finished Nixon’s term as president but did not seem to gain any more popularity. There were two attempts on Gerald Ford’s life with in a three week time span in nineteen seventy five (5). The first attempt was in Sacramento, California where a female attempted to shoot him as he was walking but the gun didn’t go off. She was still sentenced to life in prison. Three weeks later, a former FBI informant, Sarah Jane Moore pulled out a gun from her purse while attending a speech ford was giving to the foreign affairs committee in San Francisco. She fired once, but it was high and a disabled former marine stopped her from getting off a second shot (4) All over the country, there was outrage and anger. In New York, social change was more important than political change.
The civil rights movement was in full swing in New York, as women fought for feminist rights. There was a feeling of awareness that was unlocked with in every one during the late sixties and it carried over into the nineteen seventies. This was evident by the sudden need for expression within the public. Either there was more injustices occurring than ever, or society was “mad as hell and they weren’t going to take it any more” as Howard Beale put it. Other social groups also began to fight for their rights in the seventies.
It started in nineteen sixty nine in New York; gay Americans were forced to live underground; they were forced to live two separate lives because homo sexuality was illegal. There were gay clubs and bars placed throughout New York by mobsters who would gladly profit off of discrimination. Police routinely would raid these bars and clubs until the gays fought back one night and didn’t stop protesting for three days.(5) The first gay pride parade was held in 1971 in New York relatively shortly after the fiasco. Later, in 1973, homosexuals succeeded in officially removing homosexuality from the list of mental dieses (5).
Census data shows that a majority of New Yorkers were not living in the middle class range, but the lower class range at this time. Approximately 19.7 percent of New Yorkers fell into salary range of 19,000 – 25,000$. 39.2 percent of citizens made between 10,000$ and 25,000$. 45 percent of New Yorkers made less than 10,000$ a year. This was portrayed accurately in the movie, where it suggested on numerous occasions that money was scarce, and people were experiencing dark times both socially and financially (6).
The television was destined to become a powerful weapon and important tool for social change during the seventies. Ninety five percent of people in New York owned a television (that’s 5.6 million people) with roughly nine percent of people falling into the category of “below poverty level” (that’s about three hundred and fifty six thousand) (6). As Howard Beale said in Network “This tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers... This tube is the most awesome God-damned force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls in to the hands of the wrong people”. Howard Beale was well aware of corporate incentives and corruption and was trying desperate to make everyone else aware of it too. With the depressing economy and social inequities evident in all facets of society, people were expressing their feelings discontent.
There was very little compassion in the society portrayed in Network. In the opening scene of the movie, Howard Beale, a newscaster for the U.B.S network, announces on the air that he is going to lose his job due to poor ratings and has decided to end his life. He even makes a comment about his suicide being good for ratings; which projected his spite and disdain for the Network. Naturally, any one in touch with their emotions could tell what state of mind he was in; depressed, psychotic and lost. The network brass however, was initially outraged. Then, after inspecting the ratings, they decided that a angry, loose cannon on television was exactly what the network needed to boost their ratings and finally turn over a profit.
“I don’t want conventional programming; I want television that will articulate the rage of the public”. This social commentary highlights New Yorkers tendency towards sycophantic programming. At the time, there were only three broadcasting networks in the country so it was highly competitive. The east coast, New York particularly was the largest market share so that’s who the networks gear their programming towards. This is a accurate portrayal, considering televisions history of producing low cost, high profit and low quality programming.
The social realities of the film seemed to be fairly accurate. Generally speaking, the common man portrayed in the movie was well represented. Poor people lived in poor neighborhoods and wealthy people lived in wealthy neighborhoods. The movie shows the segregation of class throughout New York City in the seventies; you see wealthy business executives being chauffeured around in beautiful, shiny cars. You also see the angry masses chanting in unison from there balconies and out there windows “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore”. The complexes range from project buildings, smaller apartment complexes, to small family homes. The message was clear however; the citizens of New York City were upset at the way their society was developing and they vocalized it. This is accurate based on my research of the many civil rights movements going on and the numbers back it up.
Economically speaking, Network director Sidney Lumet, went out of his way to make sure the viewers understood the dire economic straits of the time. In virtually every scene possible, the poor economic, political and social situation was stressed. Whenever the Executives of the network meet, they take into consideration the low profits of their programming and try to deliver cheap programs that are going to take people’s minds off of the recession and corrupt politicians. If someone was to question the ethics behind their programming, they would not hesitate to threaten to fire them citing “good luck finding a job in this economy”. That also goes back to the social realities of the time; virtually no compassion between their fellow man. It’s like every one lives together with the same problems, but still cannot find common ground and a reason to place ethics above monetary incentives.
Politically speaking; Network made the bold claim that “democracy is dead” and only corporate practices exist. Coverage of the political scandals of the times has become repetitive to their target audience; society had acknowledged the unfortunate political situation. “You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale, and I won't have it!! Is that clear?! You think you've merely stopped a business deal. That is not the case. The Arabs have taken billions of dollars out of this country, and now they must put it back! It is ebb and flow, tidal gravity! It is ecological balance! You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multi-national dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, Reichmarks, Yen, Rubles, Pounds, and Shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today.” –Arthur Jensen: a fictional character and president of the UBS Company. I believe this to be case back then and still to this day; society has not come that far.
The inhuman way of approaching Howard’s suicidal situation represented in my mind, was an accurate portrayal of corporate protocol. It shows where their priorities were; not with the individual but with the profits of the corporation. It is understandable to be concerned with profits; after all it is the lifeblood of any business, but what is not ethical by any means is the exploitation of such an event. They were not even viewing Howard as a man with problems. They viewed his pain as a tool they could use to create a connection to the “angry public” and increase their ratings. This kind of inhuman like behavior was the clear and blatant motif throughout the movie. I believe this is an accurate portrayal of what would happen if such an event was to occur.
Even though Network was a supposed to be a cynical view on our society, I believe it was one of the most accurate portrayals of American culture. Most movies have a story line that revolves around noble causes and heroic deeds; Network however revolved around the opposite, but that is reality. Our society is filled with a lot more injustice then happy endings. It is not realistic for movies to end happily when so often in life, situations do not end up the way we want them too. Largely due to existential factors, like social and political barriers.
The influence television has over our society is scary. Most people watch television; it was the most powerful mass medium at the time and as such, was very volatile. “You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here, you're beginning to believe that the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal. You do. Why, whatever the tube tells you: you dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God's name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion.” –Howard Beale. I know a lot of people who grew up receiving an education from television rather than school and I can assure you, it warps your perception of reality. It narrows your perspective by telling you what’s normal and how you should think. If people could avoid falling into this bear trap laid by corporate America, we would have the will power and knowledge to efficiently fight social, political and economic injustice. This was the point I believe Network was trying to make.
Next time you watch television and notice a political debate or even a commercial, analyze it. Don’t accept what is presented before you as reality; dig deeper and think about why you are being presented this information. The conclusion you will draw will not be a happy vision; you will see that politicians lie, ads spin the truth and none of it is produced with you, the consumer’s best interest in mind. It is all in order to make money; we inherently understand that, but do we know the consequences of such ambitions? Look around next time you walk outside, buy a news paper, read the internet and you’ll see them for yourself.
"1970s - Oil Crisis." Enlightenment - The Experience Festival. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. http://www.experiencefestival.com/1970s_-_oil_crisis (1)
U.S. Energy Information Administration - EIA - Independent Statistics and Analysis. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.eia.doe.gov/>. (2)
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) - Bea.gov . Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.bea.gov/>. (3)
Bombing, By German. "On This Day: President Gerald Ford Survives Second Assassination Attempt." Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://209.73.4.141/news/on-this-day/September-October-08/On-this-Day--Sara-Jane-Moore-Attempts-to-Assassinate-President-Gerald-Ford.html>. (4)
"Gay Liberation Movement - Page 2 | St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture." Find Articles at BNET | News Articles, Magazine Back Issues & Reference Articles on All Topics. Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g1epc/is_tov/ai_2419100495/pg_2/?tag=content;col1>. (5)
"Access Denied." Web. 23 Nov. 2010. <http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/reportdata/htmlresults.aspx?ReportId=R10004034&ItemsPerPage=100>. (6)
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