Movie Review: Network
Student’s name
Institution
Course
Tutor
Date
The network movie was written by Paddy Chayevsk and directed by Sidney Lumet. This film predicted forty years ago about how the media would be today. It shows how the media has changed in almost all aspects. The network was also a good example of how people are really not as intelligent as they think they are. In this film, even if you poke a little bit, you poke a lot because there is a lot going on inside the movie. There is so much going on in the movie that it gets confusing to actually see what is going on. It shows what can happen if people break the laws and do unethical things. If this happens to be true, these kinds of TV programs won’t last long. In this day and age media plays a huge role in people’s life both in good and bad ways. Media has been playing an important role in a different cause.
The article talks about the decline of journalistic integrity. It states that there has been a great smash in the television industry since Trump took power as the United States president. It says that the president has allowed the biased views of large media to get on their news programs. It also talks about how there has been a decline in investigative journalism in network TV. It says that it is getting so bad to the point where major networks are not doing investigative journalism anymore, and this will lead to a decline in trust from viewers. In recent months, media companies have abandoned long-held principles, such as a commitment to balanced or fair reporting. Reports show that President Trump’s administration is pushing for certain outlets’ favorable coverage while others are being demonized. The article also claims that television today is a circus and does not contain the truth. It also claims that elections have changed to become another business venture.
The New York Times article talks about the success of the Network film in illustrating the rise of American terrorism by politicians. The film director Paddy Chayefsky presents an indispensable resource for understanding contemporary American politics. He does this by working to depict real-life events that are highly relevant today, including Vietnam, McCarthyism, Watergate, and Iran-Contra. There are few other films that offer such an extensive understanding of the connections among the country’s politics in general and politics in Congress in particular. The film depicts the rise of George Babbitt (Laurence Olivier) , a political neophyte who is elected mayor of New York City. The movie’s message is clearly stated by Babbitt when he says: “I refuse to accept any limitations on our national purpose. If we cannot control our environment it is our duty to change it.
In my opinion, I believe that the Network movie has illustrated a lot about democracy in this current times. This film is a critique of the media and the public relations industry. It illustrates how corporate America works in tandem with big money to unfairly depict what is happening in society. They twist the story into something that only benefits the powerful, and leaves in their wake a wasteland of truth and consequence. “Network,” like today’s society, also reveals how mass media can actually brainwash people into believing what they see on TV or hear on radios; turning consumers into mindless obedient drones.
References
Opinion | How the Rage of ‘Network’ Went From Prophecy to Nostalgia (Published 2018). (2018). Retrieved 25 November 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/opinion/culture/network-broadway-howard-beale.htmlThe 1976 film “Network” predicted the presidential election a little too closely. (2016). Retrieved 25 November 2021, from https://www.newsweek.com/network-quotes-donald-trump-howard-beale-517091
