Plato’s Cave

I recently watched ‘Network (1976)’ again and my admiration for it re-blossomed. The speeches made by Howard ring as true today as they ever did

Edward George Ruddy died today! Edward George Ruddy was the Chairman of the Board of the Union Broadcasting Systems –

and woe is us if it ever falls in the hands of the wrong people. And that’s why woe is us that Edward George Ruddy died. Because this network is now in the hands of CC and A the Communications Corporation of America. We’ve got a new Chairman of the Board, a man named Frank Hackett now sitting in Mr. Ruddy’s office on the twentieth floor. And when the twelfth largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamned propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this tube?

So, listen to me! Television is not the truth! Television is a goddamned amusement park, that’s what television is! Television is a circus, a carnival, a travelling troupe of acrobats and story-tellers, singers and dancers, jugglers, side-show freaks, liontamers and football players. We’re in the boredom-killing business! If you want truth, go to God, go to your guru, go to yourself because that’s the only place you’ll ever find any real truth! But, man, you’re never going to get any truth from us. We’ll tell you anything you want to hear. We lie like hell! We’ll tell you Kojack always gets the killer, and nobody ever gets cancer in Archie Bunker’s house. And no matter how much trouble the hero is in, don’t worry: just look at your watch — at the end of the hour, he’s going to win.

Howard Beal explains his rage

We’ll tell you any shit you want to hear! We deal in illusion, man! None of it’s true! But you people sit there — all of you — day after day, night after night, all ages, colors, creeds — we’re all you know. You’re beginning to believe this illusion we’re spinning here. You’re beginning to think the tube is reality and 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 think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs! In God’s name, you people are the real thing! We’re the illusions! So turn off this goddam set! Turn it off right now! Turn it off and leave it off. Turn it off right now, right in the middle of this very sentence I’m speaking now –

And who can forget:

We are in a lot of trouble, because you people and millions of others do not read books, because a lot of you do not read newspapers, because the only truth you know is what you get on the tube! Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that did not come out of this tube, this tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation, this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime minister, this tube is the most awesome god damn force in the whole godless world, and where were us if it falls in the hands of the wrong people and when the largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole world who knows what shit will be played over truth on this goddamn network!

So you listen to me, television is NOT the truth, television is a goddamn AMUSEMENT Park, television is a circus, a carnival, a group of acrobats, story tellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, side show freaks, lion tamers, and football players! But you people sit there day after day, night after night, all ages and colors, Tube is all u know! Your beginning to believe the illusions spinning on the tube, you beginning to think the tube is reality, and that your own lives are unreal, you do whatever the tube tells you! You dress like a tube, dress your kids like the tube, you eat what the tube tells you to eat, you even think like the tube!! This is mass madness u maniacs! In gods name…We are the real thing! We are the illusion!!!

Howard talking to camera

The last thing the men behind the curtain want is a conscious, informed public capable of critical thinking. They seek to keep us distracted and in a naive bubble!
I don’t have to tell you things are bad, everybody knows things are bad! The dollar buys a nickels worth, banks are going bust, shop keepers keep guns under the counter, punks are running wild in the streets and there’s no one anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breath and our food is unfit to eat. We sit watching our T.V’s while some local newscaster tells us today that we had 15 homicides and 63 violent crimes as if thats the way its suppose to be, we know things are bad.. worse then bad – they are crazy, its like everything everywhere is going crazy so we don’t go out anymore, we sit in the house and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller and all we say is please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms, let me have my toaster, my T.V. and radio, and I won’t say anything, just leave us alone — Well I’m not going to leave you alone! I want you to get MAD! I don’t want you to protest, I don’t want you to rod, I don’t want you to write to your congress man because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation, the government and the crime in the streets! All i know is FIRST -YOU’VE GOT TO GET MAD!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO SAY-I AM A HUMAN BEING GOD DAMN IT — MY LIFE HAS VALUE!!!!

Howard pleads to the nation to stop the madness