The one thing this prophetic film gets (very) wrong
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Network
SuperDevilDoctor — 11 years ago(November 24, 2014 02:54 AM)
is the notion that the corporate-controlled networks would put real honest-to-God
leftists
on TV to spout politics, such as the film's Angela Davis-type character.
Absolutely
no chance in hell
.
Extreme right-wingers and crypto-fascists, sure (they're doing it now, and have for years) but not actual leftists.
Send her to the snakes! -
johndworkin65 — 11 years ago(February 26, 2015 04:31 PM)
I think that's a pretty astute observation SuperDevil
Agreed.
However, it seems to me that Chayefsky himself was something of a pseudo-progressive. i.e.: Not quite the real deal. Kind of an intellectual-moderate posing as a "progressive/liberal." So that may be why he made that mistake. Whatever his credibility in terms of being truly left/progressive/radical (none imho), there's no denying he was often quite brilliant with his writing.
And the Angela Davis character you mention gives me my personal favorite scene in the film: When she's ranting and arguing w/ her fellow radicals and network execs over production costs, revenue, William Morris, syndication rights, etc at what appears to be their secret house location, I laugh my ass off every time.
"Don't beep with my distribution costs!"
Priceless absurd irony. Absolutely hilarious. -
GuyOnTheLeft — 10 years ago(September 09, 2015 02:24 AM)
At the time this was made,
All in the Family
was one of the most popular shows on TV. I would argue that Mike and Gloria are leftists and represent Norman Lear's true opinions.
My top 250:
http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250 -
Owlwise — 10 years ago(September 19, 2015 07:19 AM)
During the 1960s & 1970s, you could see genuine leftists on TV, at least on some talk shows & on PBS, which was far more adventurous in those days.
But I agree that the possibility of seeing anything like that today is nil. -
AndrewGS — 9 years ago(November 26, 2016 07:19 AM)
While they're not communists I think Aaron Sorkin and Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes and Lawrence O'Donnell still are leftists and NBC and MSNBC did or does give them platforms to preach their political opinions.
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jrhpax — 9 years ago(January 14, 2017 06:55 AM)
The leftists in this movie were revolutionaries using violence to achieve their means. That's why it made for successful TV. The politics themselves weren't important, as Diana Christensen kept pointing out: It was bank robberies, assassinations, bombings she wanted to show on TV.