5/1/07: Network (1976)

The deep thinkers are busy, so it’s left to us to write about Network while Rosie O’Donnell cashes in on her moronic brand of madness. Of course, there’s nothing particularly insightful about comparing O’Donnell to Peter Finch’s notorious depiction of Howard Beale—still a pop-culture fixture as the deranged network anchorman who urges people to lean out of windows and shout a moronic call to arms.

The thing about Network is that people have forgotten how Paddy Chayefsky wrote a clever satire of Leftist self-delusion. Faye Dunaway is totally liberated as UBS entertainment executive Diana Christensen, who’s buying into the post-hippie malaise that would soon give us Jimmy Carter. She thinks people want to watch Howard Beale because he’s significant.

The network hands over the news division to Christensen, but the ratings start to decline. Christensen is also busy developing a network series about a real-life Communist revolutionary who’s leading a terrorist gang similar to the Symbionese Liberation Army. The proud leader, of course, becomes a good capitalist when it's time to negotiate a contract.

31-YEAR-OLD SPOILER: In the end, UBS uses synergy to get the terrorist gang to murder Beale. The executives have no choice. Beale’s ratings are in the cellar. They look for a new loon while continuing to pander to the goofiest instincts of the American public.

The public presumably keeps watching—but it’s 1976. There’s no Netflix or even a place to rent a VHS tape. On the other hand, The View’s been doing great. Oh, well. It’s hardly a surprise that Paddy Chayefsky continues to matter.

Make it your own: There was a 2-disc Special Edition released last year, and plenty of attention goes to Chayefsky. We’re also reminded of how self-pitying Leftist news icons love to treat Network like some kind of vindication. We’ll remember that it was left to Chayefsky to take the podium and properly condemn Vanessa Redgrave when she complained about evil Zionists during the Oscars. He condemned her as self-important.

 

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