In 1976 an American satirical dark comedy-drama movie named Network became a critically acclaimed hit that swept the Academy awards in 4 categories. Paddy Chayefsky won for his screen play and the cast won 3 acting awards. Faye Dunaway for best actress, Peter Finch for best actor, and Beatrice Straight for best supporting actress. Directed by Sidney Lumet, it tells the story of UBS, a fictional TV network, and its difficulties with bad ratings. The all star cast also included Ned Beatty, Robert Duvall and William Holden.
Network has been preserved by the Library of congress for it’s cultural significance. In the film the evening news broadcaster Howard Beale gets his two weeks notice, cancelled for low ratings. He losses it during his following broadcast and vows to commit suicide live on the air for his last show. He is almost fired immediately, but promises to recant and apologize during his next broadcast. Instead he goes off script complaining about the Bullshit of life. The outburst cause a ratings spike and the Network heads decide to cash in on the new found popularity.
Beale encourages viewers to yell out their windows.”I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.”, galvanizing the nation.
