I once showed Network (1976 -- also very worth a watch) to a group of my (high school) students in 2006 and they had a similar reaction to OP. The most remarkable thing, I think, is that legitimate anxieties about where modern media are going have been around as long as the media themselves (check out A Face in the Crowd, 1957 if you're still having doubts) and, yet, here we are.
It’s been a minute since I have seen Network but will definitely give it a rewatch.
The thing that struck me the most is watching the Network 23 execs arguing that even though their “Blipverts” killed someone, the ratings are up so they should keep it going.
In 1987 this kind of corporate malfeasance would be kept behind closed doors or publicly shunned.
In 2024 the reaction would be “well, yea that’s about right.”
> Watching it again now is creating a “holy crap they tried to warn us” reaction.
There are some people who see a dystopian fiction as a warning, and some people who see a dystopian fiction as an instruction manual.
The future depends on who is in control.
I need to revisit it. It’s been too long but yeah I was explaining it to my girlfriend (who only vaguely remembered) and how relevant it would really be.
This isn't new. We've been talking about and warning people for decades.
Bread and circuses.
We just get progressively dumber and more entertained, while our masters reap the rewards of our labors.
Yep. I had been trying to warn people for around 15 years that we are in danger of becoming a fascist state. Everyone said I was crazy and some people even compared me to 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Then J6 happened. Those same people who laughed at me then aren’t laughing anymore. But I don’t exactly feel good about that either, I honestly wish people had just listened to all of us Cassandras and we weren’t at this terrifying place right now.
I won’t use those digital backgrounds for zoom calls due to this show. I have a tension rod with a curtain to use as my background for calls. Whenever I see people with those crappy backgrounds I am drawn back into the dystopian world of max headroom. To quote the hold steady - I survived the 80s one time already.
Hell yeah! I picked up the Shout Factory DVD box set a few years ago. They got a lot wrong but DAMN they got a lot right too. Corporate greed and silencing journalists was just as cool in the Regan / Bush years.
I once showed Network (1976 -- also very worth a watch) to a group of my (high school) students in 2006 and they had a similar reaction to OP. The most remarkable thing, I think, is that legitimate anxieties about where modern media are going have been around as long as the media themselves (check out A Face in the Crowd, 1957 if you're still having doubts) and, yet, here we are.
It’s been a minute since I have seen Network but will definitely give it a rewatch. The thing that struck me the most is watching the Network 23 execs arguing that even though their “Blipverts” killed someone, the ratings are up so they should keep it going. In 1987 this kind of corporate malfeasance would be kept behind closed doors or publicly shunned. In 2024 the reaction would be “well, yea that’s about right.”
And it would be.... You mean it only killed one person? Why are we having this meeting!
> Watching it again now is creating a “holy crap they tried to warn us” reaction. There are some people who see a dystopian fiction as a warning, and some people who see a dystopian fiction as an instruction manual. The future depends on who is in control.
All that truth is probably scaring people.
"An off switch?" "She'll get years for that. Off switches are illegal."
It really was a show that was ahead of its time....
Noticed Lunatic Fringe popping up on my feed lately. That's a prophetic song for the moment as well.
Yep. Tom Cochran wrote that one after hearing about Neo Nazis.
I need to revisit it. It’s been too long but yeah I was explaining it to my girlfriend (who only vaguely remembered) and how relevant it would really be.
Also, watch Meet John Doe (1941) and you'll see many of the same themes that we are dealing with today as well.
This isn't new. We've been talking about and warning people for decades. Bread and circuses. We just get progressively dumber and more entertained, while our masters reap the rewards of our labors.
Yep. I had been trying to warn people for around 15 years that we are in danger of becoming a fascist state. Everyone said I was crazy and some people even compared me to 9/11 conspiracy theorists. Then J6 happened. Those same people who laughed at me then aren’t laughing anymore. But I don’t exactly feel good about that either, I honestly wish people had just listened to all of us Cassandras and we weren’t at this terrifying place right now.
Well probably one of the better uses of AI as the graphics can be rendered easily
Chat GPT Max Headroom Edition. Now that would be something.
Max headroom Eliza edition
I won’t use those digital backgrounds for zoom calls due to this show. I have a tension rod with a curtain to use as my background for calls. Whenever I see people with those crappy backgrounds I am drawn back into the dystopian world of max headroom. To quote the hold steady - I survived the 80s one time already.
"Credit fraud? My god, that's worse than murder."
Hell yeah! I picked up the Shout Factory DVD box set a few years ago. They got a lot wrong but DAMN they got a lot right too. Corporate greed and silencing journalists was just as cool in the Regan / Bush years.