Review of Network (1976) by Sapphire G — 19 Jan 2013

"You're television incarnate: Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You're madness. Virulent madness.".

"We're all you know. You're beginning to believe the illusions we're spinning here. You're beginning to think that the tube is reality, and that your own lives are unreal. You do whatever the tube tells you! You dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even *think* like the tube! This is mass madness, you maniacs! In God's name, you people are the real thing! *WE* are the illusion! So turn off your television sets.".

Scary how relevant this is today. My feelings exactly about the media and television in general, and precisely why I prefer to avoid it. Every time something terrible happens, the media's eager, hungry, insensitive, opportunistic coverage of the tragedy depresses me even more, makes me wonder if we are all really turning into humanoids.

This is a brilliant film of astonishing depth, and rich, insightful dialogue/monologues. A masterpiece.