I’ve been wracking my brains all week trying to figure out how to make this column tie in with the tragic events that occurred on Monday. While there are a ton of movies out there about characters who just don’t fit in with society or decide to take extreme measures against the world they feel is against them, somehow suggesting any of those films this week feels inappropriate. Instead I’ve decided to focus on another aspect of this week’s events: the media.
While we all rely on the media to feed us the news and keep us updated it’s important to remember that the media is still driven by ratings (or, in the case of online media, traffic). Because of this, they are always looking for that arguable angle – something that will get people to tune in and agree or disagree with what they are presenting. Reporting the news can sometimes be secondary to driving ratings.
None of this is new, however. The conflict between reporting the truth and maintaining viewers has been the subject of quite a few movies. So that’s our theme this week: madness in the media; those (hopefully) exaggerated tales where the interest in ratings overcomes the need to report the news. May they serve as cautionary tales and remind us that everything, even the pillar of truth within the news, should be taken with a grain of salt and mild skepticism.
Mad City
This Dustin Hoffman film was overshadowed quickly by Wag the Dog, which was released the same year in the middle of an all too similar political situation. While they both deal with the power of the media, Mad City looks more at how the news can take an average Joe and turn him into a hero or a villain. In this case the hero is Sam Baily (John Travolta), a security guard who is just trying to hold onto his job and makes poor decisions to do so. In director Costa-Gavras’s hands, Travolta and Hoffman both put in excellent performances and Alan Alda’s performance foreshadows his Academy-recognized villain in Aviator. It’s definitely not the powerhouse the second film in this week’s double feature delivers, but it gets its message across, and is probably the best non-Tarantino performance you’ll ever see from Travolta. Most people I chat with missed this one because of Wag the Dog, but always wind up appreciating the recommendation. If you’re like them, check it out.
Network
While Mad City features Oscar recognized actors, they were recognized for other works. Network, on the other hand, is responsible for a ton of awards and nominations on its own right, including Best Actor (Peter Finch), Actress (Faye Dunaway), and screenplay. Most people know the featured line, “I’m as mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore,” but haven’t actually seen Network, the story of a television anchor who snaps after being fired and lets loose a tirade on the air. When his venomous words cause his ratings to go up, his career finds new life as long as he vents his frustrations on the air. Sound implausible? Who wasn’t talking about the tension about Star Jones leaving “The View,” especially after she publicly announced her decision to leave. Ironically, when I was studying Broadcasting, we were required to watch Network as part of a class on ethics. Maybe if more broadcasters were required to do the same, the state of the media would be quite different today.
Other media madness worth including: Wag the Dog, Shattered Glass, Bruce Almighty, Broadcast News
Enjoy our Double Feature suggestions? and maybe we’ll use them in a future column.
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