There sre many books and films that have predicted futures that either have already come true or look like they might, and one of my  favourites in this group is https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_(1976_film) a grim reflection on our obsession with profit at whatever cost.

This film was made almost 50 years ago and is no less relevant now in our social media, selfie obsessed, look-at-me society.

At what point do you draw the line?

buoy

everyone should watch the howard beale rant at least once. this was during the 70's, when economic conditions were remarkably worse than they are now. there was a feeling of decay & despair, which led into the optimism of the 80's.

the satire here is that this character was a useful mouthpiece for ephemeral angst.

🎯

perhaps the common thread is that people reeled from the symptoms of a depreciated society, which lagged certain dilutive policies. in a spartan, industrial society, there's solid ground to hustle at times w/ ample resting period in the balance.

the further we have to race to stay in the same place, the more this trick of despair can take hold.

👇 found with /buoy 🛟

There is nothing more powerful in this world than words.

nice comparison to Nightcrawler (I assume this is the one with Gyllenhaal as the anti-hero). I thought the double presentation of both him and the assistant as "hungry" (or maybe nothing to lose) was a really useful narrative device for exposing all the other characters as being further along, but no more free or insulated. also, I think "Emily the Criminal" also figured this angle out.

the thing is, Beale was having a mental breakdown, so his resonance is sort of a "even a broken clock". I think we probably have similar circumstances where people are striking a nerve and resonating, but with similar absence of scrutinized planning. reactions play well for social animals.

ppl are apathetic, so maybe we get a similar outcome. historically, there's "glasnost". mediawise, I wouldn't doubt the "insurgent industry" genre will continue to be appealing, will be interesting to see if it falls out of favor.

Snap. 

I actually think the economic conditions are worse now, as is the apathy of those trapped within the system whom Beale intends unsuccessfully to give a voice to. The context has changed but the theatral stage of the news channel has literally just shifted to the digital, all accessible equivalent.

I think a good modern companion piece to this film is Nightcrawlers which takes the obsession to a parallel universe conclusion in a slightly updated environment.