41 years ago in November of 1976 the movie Network was released. It starred Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, William Holden and Peter Finch. It’s really eerie to watch it today and see how this movie predicted the erosion of our culture via kooky news shows, reality TV and morality traded for the almighty dollar and ratings. The original movie poster had a headline that read: “Prepare yourself for a perfectly outrageous motion picture.” It should have said: “Prepare yourself for a perfectly outrageous future,” because that’s what has happened! There’s six links to articles and a classic scene from the movie below and then there’s the weekly MBIP Coming Attractions for this week’s batch of posts.
The ‘outrageous’ 40-year-old film that predicted the future - This BBC article properly documents how the film predicted the media eroding into cable news channels like Fox News and it also prettiy much invented exploitative reality TV.
11 Newsworthy Facts About Network - One thing I didn’t know is that Walter Cronkite’s daughter plays the role of a Patty Hearst-like character which is funny considering that the movie is a satire revolving around a network news program.
The NY Times original review of the movie - This line from the review stands out: “I expect that a lot of people will sniff at the film on the ground that a number of the absurdities Mr. Chayefsky and Mr. Lumet chronicle so carefully couldn't happen.” Sadly it has happened and we’re living in the middle of it! Fox News, shows like MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” and the Donald Trump Presidency all could have been subplots in this movie. So sad!
I'm As Mad As Hell And I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore! - The Enduring Satire Of 'Network' - This article also notes how Network predicted the current mood of television, but it also notes how so many YouTube channels and shows also mirrors the sentiments of this movie.
Trivia & Fun Facts About Network - Trivia and also some great quotes from the film.
The infamous, “I’m Mad As Hell” scene - The eternal catchphrase from the film, brilliantly acted out by Peter Finch. How spooky is it that his speech is more relevant today than it was in 1976? Instead of the word “TV” in his speech, you can just replace it with “the internet.”
We’ve got a fun week coming up here on MBIP, tomorrow you can see our 11th vegetarian dining episode with my friend Ben at Khaki Jack’s. There’s a number of meatless items on the menu at Peoria’s only Australian themed pub and we made a delicious meal out of some of them! Tuesday we’re continuing our seven month steak tour and this week we’re going out of town to a classic restaurant in the Central Illinois area to sample a unique steak dinner. Wednesday is going to be a celebration of the 60th anniversary of Flores Music with a special cake from Trefzger’s Bakery, photos of both stores and photos of the Flores family with the man who started this musical legacy, Jesse Flores! Thursday I’m finally going to debut the new weekly series here on MBIP, it’s going to be simple but fun and feature a different Peorian every week. Okay, that’s all for now, I have to go get ready for today’s road trip! Have a great Sunday and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Sunday Links: Kennedy Assassination, Curly and Coney Island.