I enjoyed this film but….
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AndrewGS — 9 years ago(November 25, 2016 09:30 PM)
I don't get why Beale readily accepted Jensen's monologue when that in itself was part of what he was railing against.
I think he was just convinced by Jensen's claims that capitalism (or some broader system of exchange, with communism not that different) was inevitable and necessary and overall beneficial and specifically that corporations were better and truer than nations; even if it dehumanized people a corporate- rather than nation-centered world involved less brutality. -
skay_baltimore — 9 years ago(May 15, 2016 05:41 AM)
Just look at Jerry Springer WWE Howard stern. That's the point. The movie foreshadowed this kind of mindless entertainment.
More than thatit showed how something as supposedly objective as the news became little more than entertainment for ratings. And that has certainly happened. Plus, 24 hour news shows like CNN didn't exist then but came into being 4 years after this film came out.
"Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in." Will Rogers -
AndrewGS — 9 years ago(November 25, 2016 09:33 PM)
Just look at Jerry Springer WWE Howard stern. That's the point. The movie foreshadowed this kind of mindless entertainment.
More than thatit showed how something as supposedly objective as the news became little more than entertainment for ratings.
Although even Max at some points derided the idea that even the glorious early days of television news were really that great and early on he didn't deny that the pre-Diana-sensationalism news was pretty tabloid-y. -
parris2003 — 11 years ago(December 29, 2014 12:01 PM)
I think the great man himself says it best in this interview
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNa019FaNW0 -
PsychoDingo — 11 years ago(December 29, 2014 07:09 PM)
That's a good interview. It's included in the extra features on the double-disc DVD release of the movie.
Do you know who the wise-cracking guy on the left side of the screen is? My dad and I both feel sure we know who he is, but neither of us can place him.
He was so crooked, he could eat soup with a corkscrew. -
franzkabuki — 11 years ago(January 03, 2015 05:04 PM)
A very large part of the point was made by that same Ned Beatty speech you claim to love. And there is also probably something symptomatic in how he managed to bully and intimidate this divine insight-stricken madman into doing 'his' bidding from then on.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
Balthazar Bee — 11 years ago(March 02, 2015 07:58 AM)
Jensen is an interesting character.
On the surface, he appears to be the epitome of the pragmatic businessman. The content of his rant would seem to suggest that his bottom line is nothing more than profit, as one might expect from such a figure or corporation.
On the other hand, he seems to revive something in himself as he's bellowing at Beale. At the end of that scene I'd argue that both characters have undergone a change.
"And I have chosen
you
to preach this evangel."
Clearly Beale is overwhelmed by this experience, but Jensen too (at least based on the fiery quality of the speech itself and his actions afterward) seems to lose track of his priorities. In short, the propagation of the message becomes more important than achieving the desired result "where the rubber meets the road".
Jensen is "adamantine" that Beale remain on the air, despite the problems this creates for the network as a whole. Having the mad prophet give his sermons about globalization and dehumanization becomes an end in itself.
It's ironic that, after yelling about the fact that there isn't any genuinely meaningful ideology in the world and that's good, because profit is all that matters this media mogul has decided that
that
, in and of itself, is the ideology, and to hell with the profits that he's losing by keeping Beale on the air. -
pturman-929-979676 — 10 years ago(April 12, 2015 12:40 PM)
There's no way to respond to your comment other than stating the seemingly obvious. Either go back and watch it again (and pay attention this time) or stay away from movies that don't have action figures and roman numerals in the title.
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BobbyDupea — 10 years ago(May 29, 2015 06:20 AM)
Beale was both insightful and right AND mentally ill. It is difficult to tell when his behavior reflects reasoned, intelligent criticism of the economic and media systems and when it simply reflects the addled percolations of a troubled mind. At a certain point, Holden's character realizes that Beale's behavior is neither healthy nor rational, but by that time it is too late to stop the other forces dictating what happens at the station.
You're on the right track in guessing that a major theme is the abandonment of quality in favor of ratings and money. But the script also suggests something more going on, in the form of the abandonment of integrity and honesty along with meaningful content in television programming and meaningful relationships between people.
This movie's themes and the way it conveyed them were very startling and contrarian at the time this movie was released. We don't see them in the same way today because we have been conditioned to accept the degradation of media content depicted in the movie, and our sensibilities have been dulled by the very changes in the media and in our lives about which the film is a warning.
My real name is Jeff -
AndrewGS — 9 years ago(November 25, 2016 09:23 PM)
The message isn't entirely clear but I think it generally amounts to
-Television networks are willing to put anything on for popularity regardless of content and the film writer and director had a lot of disdain for that, that people should care a lot more about the content.
-Populist rage can be helpful, or at least have some value, in bouts but television ultimately diffuses whatever anti-establishment views it may air.
-Kind of at odds with the previous two points, corporations may be willing to take losses to air their preferred views; regardless of whether they do or not, it does matter who owns a network.