From all the times I've seen the "mad as hell" speech referenced in conspiracy theory documentaries I had pictured this to be a very different movie. I was especially disappointed In Beale's total philosophical conquering at the hands of Jensen. I thought he was gonna end up leading a movement that would eventually grow bigger than just having everyone yell out their windows. Instead he was completely mesmerized by Jensen and did a complete 180
shareSo did Glen Beck😆.
If you are a young man you might not appreciate how precient this movie is. There were no Glen Becks, no Rush Limbaugh's in the 1970's. In America we had a law that gave equal time to Democrates and Republicans on any given show. This made most news programs dull and factual. This law was scrapped in 1986, Rush Limbaugh appeared in 1987.
The film accurately depicted the role of capitalism has had in infiltrating news programs. Which has blurred the lines between news, commentary, and reporter objectivity.
So did Glen Beck what?
shareWanted to start a movement, he had his lemming followers wrapped around his every word. Beck started to have meetings in public places, his head started to grow. The CEO at the station he worked (CNN?) realized that his head was getting too big and cut him loose, despite having killer ratings.
Glen Beck IS a modern Richard Beale. He has no credentials in government, no higher learning degree, Beck was a top ten DJ at a radio station at one point in his career.
That was the point.
Beale was not a profound leader or even a sage. He spoke rubbish on his new talk show and didn't offer any palpable solutions to the very issues he highlighted as problematic (inflation, unemployment, war, social norms unraveling, etc.). What is profound is that his very persona can be found in today's social media icons who also lack any real-world experience or have a grasp on how to deal with hot button issues they see as problematic.
You're selling Howard Beale short. He had one significant advantage over the throng of media meatheads that pollute us today like Rachel Maddow, Sean Hannity, Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon, etc. Beale was genuinely funny and articulate. Sure, he was channeling Paddy Chayefsky, but he was a riot. Today's "news" celebrities are only capable of channeling clichés and the prejudices of their narrow-minded target audiences.
share