Network (1976) - How To Write Satire

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Paddy Chayefsky's 1976 film, Network, continues to be one of the most relevant films ever made. Today, I take a look at the notes Chayefsky made while writing the film to figure out how Network became Network.
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Works Cited
Buy “Mad As Hell: The Making Of Network And The Fateful Vision Of The Angriest Man In Movies,” by Dave Itzkoff. ow.ly/tRkv30jD64M
Read some of Chayefsky’s notes yourself!
ow.ly/Yf1T30jD65Q
CinemaTyler’s series on the acting in Network:
Part 1: • Network (1976): Why Th...
Part 2: • Part 2: Network (1976)...
Did ‘Network’ Predict The Future of Television? ow.ly/z2s730jD678
Washington Post Review of “Mad As Hell” by Dave Itzkoff: ow.ly/BZ4d30jD693
Under The Influence: Sidney Lumet and Network: ow.ly/ToHo30jD6bc
Cinephilia and Beyond - More resources about Network, Chayevsky and Lumet: ow.ly/g00130jD6cX
Sideny Lumet on Directing Network: • Sidney Lumet on direct...
Paddy Chayefsky: The Agonies of a Screenwriter: www.unz.com/pri...
“Notes of a Screenwriter, Mad as Hell”
New York Times Article by Dave Itzkoff: ow.ly/b6Yk30jD6f2
“Mad as Hell About What?” by Fintan O’Toole: www.nybooks.com...
Paddy Chayefsky quote on art as work: ow.ly/aJwq30jD6gf
Music:
“Chill LoFi Beat (CLFB) by Divine 神聖な / chill-lofi-beat-clfb
“valentine” by [ocean jams] / valentine

[@CarloisBuriedAlive]

I honestly feel that this film isn’t discussed as much as other classics because the truth hurts

[@igg3937]

It's enjoying a resurgence of interest at the moment though, unsurprisingly!

[@rational-public-discourse]

no kidding. That's intentional. The fact that the best film award went to Rocky that year was a swipe that they wen too far. It's more than a classic. It's in the top five of best films ever made.

[@mehmeh9380]

​@@rational-public-discourse It's personally for me, out of thousands and thousands, number 1

[@rational-public-discourse]

@@mehmeh9380 I am ok with the film being ranked the best ever. It's probably my number one too.

[@michaelmunoz7913]

Hear Hear!

[@fragr33f74]

I think this movie is one of the least talked about, but most relevant for our time.

[@mulattojames]

fragr33f Absolutely. It’s the best movie I’d never heard of. Genuinely a masterpiece that doesn’t get talked about nearly as much as others. Made in 1976!

[@grantkeller8024]

Truth in movies... Edit ; 2020

[@anieltavares7991]

@@mulattojames and in the same year taxi driver came out a movie that is also really relevant

[@Music_is_Breathing]

Amen!!!! I just re-watched it-WOW-this is just what is happening now, and worse (probably won't be worse much longer-it gets worse every day. )

[@TonkaJay]

Especially now.

[@thomasfrancis9797]

Network was so ahead of its time and is so relevant especially during times like this pandemic

[@larrywhite7993]

Pandemic 1 out of 200 not 1 out of 1 out of 4

[@BPDHANA]

Yep! and that includes many podcasters and grifters that have polluted the airwaves...

[@NateSilver-dl9gq]

"pandemic" yes goyim, sure it was a "pandemic"

[@IlyaKralinsky]

Chayevsky is right: writing is work. The writing you've never heard of is art. The writers you've heard of are not the best at what they do, but the best at gaining attention for what they do. If it happens to be good, then all the better. Excellent video. Thank you for your hard work.

[@DriscolDevil]

Never thought of this before, but this makes me think of night crawler. Another movie about sensationalized news media that people felt was too extreme or too unrealistic. Makes me wonder how that movie will look in another decade.

[@joshuarose9391]

Most municipalities use encrypted frequencies now, so, it's not looking realistic at all.

[@DriscolDevil]

@@joshuarose9391 What do encrypted frequencies have to do with anything?

[@josefk5659]

It's all I thought about when I watched Nightcrawler. It's not a bad movie but compared to Network, it's a child sitting at the grownups table.

[@DriscolDevil]

@@josefk5659 That still doesn't answer the question, what do the frequencies being encrypted have to do with that movie? It's about a guy selling footage, not a guy playing some hacked broadcast. Are you thinking of a different movie?

[@josefk5659]

@@DriscolDevil I didn’t read the frequencies comment until now. It’s nonsense. Both movies are about the news being a source of entertainment. They share the same central theme

[@jordel2010]

One of my all time favorite films. I didn't know that Chayefsky had such trouble coming up with the script, so this was quite informative to me. Kudos.

[@weareallbronies9031]

He definitely earned that oscar

[@r.jclark4641]

To make something brilliant you have to work extremely hard.

[@anarchist_parable]

Never forget that Diana was a Baby Boomer and that the critique of their relationship to television as a medium was really on point.

[@nelumbonucifera7537]

The Chile idea wasn't random. Chile's socialist government had nationalized the assets of some US multinationals. The CIA laundered money through multinationals in order to finance the coup that overthrew Chilean democracy. The coup was in 1973.

[@vicenteortegarubilar9418]

Nelumbo Nucifera I'm from Chile. And yeah that is common knowledge here.

[@ZaxorVonSkyler]

I think he thought it meant the red chile pepper!

[@DoveAlexa]

+Zaxor I doubt that on every single possible level. Give him more credit.

[@ZaxorVonSkyler]

DoveAlexa, sorry...

[@JoshuaFagan]

I was just about to post this myself. Network was released in 76. The coup was only three years removed at that point.

[@Keithustus]

Has been and continues to be a favorite movie for decades. Thanks for being the only feature film I know that has zero background music. (All music in the film is heard by the characters, and is mostly the themes of the TV networks themselves.)

[@Torus2112]

Holy shit Network is one of my favorite movies, thanks for doing this.

[@JustWrite]

Happy you enjoyed it!

[@vicenteortegarubilar9418]

Before a new video: I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore. After a new video: Oh..cool

[@Poseiden2]

An absolute masterpiece of a film in such a mid-1970s way: I saw it as a student and have loved it since. Revolutionary, dark, cynical, pessimistic and as cutting as a sharpened scimitar. Peter Finch's staggering performance deserved its posthumous Oscar - up there with Heath Ledger's Joker.

[@diandrar2896]

The fact that this video doesn’t even touch how smart and sophisticated the dialogue of this film was speaks to how brilliant the screenplay is

[@zyrrhos]

Chayefsky's "The Hospital" is another prescient masterpiece of satire. Coporations began their seizure of the government in earnest in the 1970s as outlined in the Lewis Powell Memo - a corporate blueprint to dominate democracy, and artists like Chayefsky could see the writing on the wall.

[@abnyland]

Great work as always, Network is one of my favorite movies and this was a fantastic look at the writing process behind it.

[@JustWrite]

Thank you!

[@HxH2011DRA]

I needed that ending message. The Network is one of my favorite movies!

[@thomasgrindol9124]

Please do what writers should learn from Charlie Chaplin.

[@timy9197]

This!!!!!

[@evilsexyhamlet6399]

*cheese is underneath the hamburger*

[@arpitdas4263]

The correct answer is everything

[@eg1641]

we watched this movie in my ap us history class after the exam was over and even though it's from the 70s it feels like it could be a 2020s movie it was a head of its time

[@theshawshankinception1220]

Put this video in the Blu-Ray special features! Thank you for recognizing this fantastic film!

[@bobbyh2720]

I know this isn't really your style but I'd love to see you do a cause of death autopsy of a movie, as in find a flaw in a movie that undid what could have been great as a lesson. Such as the flanderization of Jack Sparrow being one of the primary factors n the degrade in quality of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies

[@arman0612]

This movie has the best movie screenplay ever written in my opinion. Brilliant analysis and amazing video overall!

[@PeakedInterest]

I'm a huge fan of the network so this was a really interesting video.

[@mrplatink]

Watched this the other week, actually. Chayefsky's perseverance and focus is not to be surpassed. The industry in the man is something never to be understated, but always hoped for to be attained.

[@salj.5459]

Honestly, I didn't even get that this movie was supposed to be satire because this is the news environment that I've grown up in

[@Awesomepedia]

Surprised you made a video on Network without mentioning the two greatest movie speeches of all time (Mad As Hell and You Have Meddled With The Primal Forces of Nature) but I like the tack you took! Those are some really interesting notes.

[@JustWrite]

Plenty to dig into with those speeches, but if I tackled it, I'd probably use it as an example in a larger video about writing speeches. I wanted to focus just on Network in this video, so they might crop up in another episode in the future.

[@Armon1990]

Tons of good dialogue in this film

[@jasonblalock4429]

Yeah, the "Mad As Hell" speech isn't anything special. It's vapid. It's DELIBERATELY vapid. It's literally an old man yelling at clouds. There's little or no intellectual content, just pure anger and venting - which, again, is the point. He's articulating the popular rage. It serves its purpose in terms of the plot, but there's just not much to dig into. I mean, the movie itself deliberately undercuts Beale's rant (and demonstrates its vapidity) by immediately tuning "I'm as mad as hell" into a catchphrase chanted on-cue by a studio audience. The real gem, in terms of Beale's speeches, is the "Turn Off Your Televisions" rant. There Beale's anger has a singular focus, and Beale gets to deliver some of Chayefsky's main talking points about the corrupting nature of TV's seductive unreality. "You do everything the tube tells you! You eat like the tube, you dress like the tube, you raise your children like the tube. You even THINK like the tube! This is mass madness!" Then pretty much everything Beale predicted in that speech ends up coming to pass by the end of the film, with Max's reality being increasingly shoved aside in favor of Diana's TV-style gloss and manufactured drama.

[@d1want34]

"....and tell me there's someone somewhere who does know, thats the god bullshit.." that speech was quite often overlooked but its profound

[@seanmortberg7317]

I loved Schumacher's final lines to Diana.

[@pittdave]

The writing of this show is just incredible. All of the major characters all have their own great soliloquy. It is just incredible. I know its called satire but its too prophetic and real in these days to call it that. Strangelove is satire.. this is real life drama

[@vernonmeidlinger870]

Always makes my day to see a new video from this channel

[@JustWrite]

Thank you!

[@CommanderHuggins]

When writing I’ve frequently had a lot of that same kind of conflict trying to figure out what the hell it is I’m making. It’s nice to see that Im not the only one questioning just about everything I’ve put to paper hehe

[@ayandak47]

Finally bro... been waiting for something from you.

[@JustWrite]

Glad you stuck around!

[@andybaldman]

There a need for more videos about Network right now (and more people need to know about it), as it's mindblowing how prescient it was, and how accurately it descibes the current times. I assume everyone commenting here has seen it, and if so, show it to two people you know who haven't (and then have them do the same).

[@ryancarless7921]

Great video. I really didn't expect this movie to be so good!👍

[@pacificostudios]

Very good video. I love the challenge of writing, and "Network" is a great example of a writer hitting it out of the park.

[@The3rdGunman]

Network is a damn good film!!!

[@Thessalin]

My longstanding co-worker asked me what I was doing after work. I told her going to my second job. And she said, "Have fun writing!"I was listening to this driving from my day job to my night job of writing. I laughed.

[@zomat7955]

Great stuff. My own writing tends to be highly allegorical, but I know I often struggle to form an engaging story out of that. To see that even such a masterpiece had this problem initially, and how some foundational ideas had to be changed for it to work, is really inspiring to me. Thanks a lot for this great analysis.

[@alejoparedes2388]

Watch CinemaTyler's video on the acting on "Network" after this one.

[@IamColt13]

So cool to see all his notes and relive his process of thought! Makes me feel not so alone on my own work!

[@thegovernment0usa]

1. The two white cards after 3:15 both made me laugh out loud because they're excellent satire... albeit they wouldn't have worked in the movie. 2. Holy fuck I loooved watching you dissect [parts of] the path the screenwriter took to arrive at the final project! As a writer who has never and probably will never write anything of substance, this is enthralling.

[@creatinotionchannel2680]

Thanks so much for highlighting a favorite of mine. If you never saw it check out A Face In The Crowd. It covers similar territory to network but came out in the late 50s. It starred Andy Griffith playing a homespun folksy entertainer who is a megalomaniac when not on camera.

[@JustWrite]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@kissmyasthma3155]

I saw that movie, the parallels to Donald Trump are uncanny...

[@TotemPoleNation]

What a wonderful movie. Wow! Anyone else have any other recommendations on this line of satire?

[@theshawshankinception1220]

Network is one of my favorite screenplays and movies. I know you wouldn’t agree, but I think it should’ve won all the academy awards that year.

[@Little1Cave]

The Shawshank Inception Do you think Peter Finch or William Holden deserved to win Best Actor?

[@theshawshankinception1220]

Little1Cave Peter finch hands down. Ned Beatty was horribly robbed though.

[@Little1Cave]

The Shawshank Inception I haven’t seen All the President’s Men so I can’t compare Robards to Beatty in that regard. Lol

[@theshawshankinception1220]

Little1Cave All the President’s Men is a great movie. Would definitely recommend it. Much better than The Post. 1976 was a great year for movies. Rocky and Taxi Driver also were released that year.

[@JustWrite]

My heart says Rocky is better. My head says Network should have won.

[@Horror-Man]

I literally watched Dog Day Afternoon for the first time ever just yesterday!

[@JustWrite]

Love that movie.

[@lesgoe8908]

Excellent presentation.

[@Advent3546]

I feel like you and Cinema Tyler would collaborate well.

[@shakeitup156]

I wish this video was much Longer...Great breakdown!

[@itierney]

Best.Film.Ever.

[@edward4840]

Saw it in a theatre with Bryan Cranston and it was brilliant

[@MWNazyna]

I would love to see an analysis of "The Horse Whisperer" as I think it is one of the most underrated movies of all times ;) please :D

[@ThePepgirl1234]

I know I’m a year late, but your analysis of this film reminds me of the film Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler is the center of the news but more psychological and thrilling in my case. I didn’t do an analysis of the film.

[@Kolajer]

1:44 I just the little bit of laughter that slipped while reading that passage :)

[@zippoboyshaneshank8954]

You should totally do an episode about COWBOY BEBOP, now that you've seen it. I think the characters are very well written, and would love to see some analysis.

[@carlosroo5460]

I'm an Artist and I love to make stories and I wanna do Comic Books, so this videos are help me to re-think somethings, so thank you.

[@thiccboss4780]

Dave Chappele had a joke with the same setup , this generation is exposed to so many frequent tragedies that it's all been desensitized

[@grlewycky]

It's coming to Broadway. I can't wait

[@Dimipim1]

Man, the only problem with this video is that it's short haha. This movie intrigues me a lot, and it was really interesting to see all this information about it. Thanks

[@canetu]

The Chile angle he removed is quite relevant at those days since in 1970s Chile was hotbed of social Democracy and in 1979 US organized a coup and took down Allende regime with the hand of Pinochet

[@catsmom129]

Came here to see if anyone made this comment. Thanks.

[@urb-n]

this helped my current work THANK you

[@timy9197]

Nobody talks about this movie but it's essential in talking about writing.

[@TheJoshuamooney]

-Good afternoon, Mr. Beale! -I MUST MAKE MY WITNESS! -Sure thing, Mr. Beale!

[@jonnyd6809]

Neil Postman; Amusing Ourelves To Death. An old book now, but bang on the money - just like this film.

[@judahosborne8868]

I first found this on Netflix and it was amazing

[@petersurdo4984]

Brilliant then and even more now.

[@justmadeit2]

One of the all time great films

[@hossfilm7971]

One of the best take aways is in the last 30 seconds.

[@ckaz007]

A great movie from a great screenwriter, which predicted reality tv.

[@Alfredo78666]

Love the movie, ahead of its time and with a big set of balls!

[@kaitlynmartin2075]

This video didn't teach me how to write satire. It just talked about the movie.

[@HairHoFla]

This movie. Along with "A Face In The Crowd" are 2 must watch films to understand the subliminal power of mass media

[@HairHoFla]

Still my ALL Time fav and its got the Oscars to show for it

[@kathleenphillips6445]

Just checking in 2021. Still mad as hell.

[@davidkaiser]

When the movie came out I had been a news junkie all my young life, and I didn't like it. Couldn't take it seriously. And was I ever wrong!

[@Zombiesnyder13]

What Writers should Learn from M. NIGHT SHYAMALAN Seriously, there is a lot you can learn from the worst What writers CAN DO, and SHOULD NOT DO

[@JustWrite]

I agree. Got a bit into his writing tendencies in my Last Airbender review, but there's definitely more to be explored.

[@Zombiesnyder13]

As an aspiring writer, you got to learn from the mistakes of the others When I started writing, I was so convinced that my work would become a hit, that I planned tons of sequels without even finishing the first work. But back there, in the middle of my ego, I developed a perfectionism, realizing there was something terribly wrong about my work. So over the years, I rewrote countless times until it could become acceptable, gave up my crazy ideas for the sequels and became more realistic. I used to be as delusional as Shyamalan, and now I am as perfectionist as Kubrick Seriously, the ego is the biggest enemy of an artist Make a video about that. Talk about Shyamalan, Tommy Wiseau, George Lucas and so on.

[@uralwong799]

The worst? 6th sense, unbreakable, The village. Ok, the last one is debatable but 6th sense and unbreakable are almost universally praised. Last air bender fanboys are ridiculous in my opinion. I saw the film but have never seen the cartoon. I can say the film is not good and is full of holes but it's nowhere near as bad as people make out. People judge how good or bad something is in relation to something else. You judge the cartoon as great so that's your bench mark for judging the film. If, like me, you haven't seen the cartoon you're free to judge it in relation to other big budget YA adventures and so the film becomes a lot less bad.

[@IAteFire]

@Adrijana Radosevic Shamalamadingdong writes his films. Lmao

[@r.jclark4641]

The worst thing about network executives turning the news into "entertainment" is that half the time it isn't even entertaining.

[@LOGICZOMBIE]

GREAT WORK

[@ireneraptis2634]

I love your videos! please do what writers should learn from shape of water

[@blackpilloverdose1013]

His speech is badass "I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth. Banks are going bust. Shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street, and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it! We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TVs while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be! We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's 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 and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get MAD! I don't want you to protest, I don't want you to riot, I don't want you to write to your congressman, because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad! [shouting] You've got to say: 'I'm a human being, goddammit! My life has value!' So, I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window, open it, and stick your head out, and yell: I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! I want you to get up right now. Sit up. Go to your windows. Open them and stick your head out and yell: 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not gonna take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!...You've got to say: I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE! "

[@NJGuy1973]

That's the second-most badass speech in the movie.

[@eliseoperez4523]

Beautiful video...Thank you

[@smuu1996]

In Germany we have TV that is not financed by ads but by laws that force everybody who watches to pay for it. This means that the news can be 100% independent because they don't need to worry about money.

[@Savelion]

yeah the scream-arguing newspanel shows have not reached the Netherlands yet either for the same reason

[@michaelweir9666]

That's not bad, but also the problem there lies within the government's influence on the network. With the authority to pull funding at any time, the network simply cannot afford to ever deliver an honest news format that would work against the will of those in charge of the federal branch

[@smuu1996]

Michael Weir The good thing about this system is that there is no branch of government that controls television simply because we've had bad experiences with state-controlled television in Germany, so it's so important for the press to be financially independent.

[@Lilliathi]

+Michael Weir In the Netherlands, the budget is determined every 4 years when a new government is formed, it can't be pulled at any time.

[@andreaaristokrates9516]

0:19 my left ear is really enjoying the sound.

[@darksideofevil13]

Can't believe this is my first time hearing of this movie.

[@alieninstallation50]

Just read Hate Inc. or Manufacturing Consent. The reporters saying that story is unrealistic is totally on brand. Can't possibly expect reporters to say anything else.

[@freedomsglory1]

1400+ likes and not one dislike. That’s impressive.

[@kinger557]

cool message

[@mybraineatseverything7404]

Despite it being dated in many ways, the core ideas and social statements are more relevant today than they were in 1976. This is an absolutely brilliant film. You owe it to yourself to see it if you haven't already.

[@kostajovanovic3711]

Where is it dated?

[@DLSacks]

I watched this in college circa 2006, and I think some of the satirical elements were lost on me because TV News was/is so far gone already. We're talking about the era where Jon Stewart and Colbert were idolized for deconstructing the news each night a la Howard Beale (in Colbert's case literally adopting the persona of the worst news hosts from the past 20 years - he talked about it being a mashup of Stone Phillips, Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera). So Network felt heavy handed and maybe a little quaint instead of prescient. I still recognized it as an excellent movie, but your recap here is especially interesting to me because of the reaction of the Big 3 networks to it. Chayefsky correctly predicted the end of the "fairness doctrine" and a lot of other media deregulation without naming it. It makes the trajectory towards infotainment and now disinfotainment feel completely inevitable. This is the way TV wanted to go, and they'd get there eventually whether it was Reagan or whoever else decided to start altering policy. I don't quite believe that inevitability, but this video made me appreciate Chayefsky as more of a prophet than when I originally watched the movie.

[@DLSacks]

Also, kudos for an in-depth discussion of Network that doesn't even mention the Ned Beatty monologue.

[@PsikologHasanArslan]

I love your content. Can you recommend some books related to your content?

[@funktavious7098]

excellent video as always

[@thewhitewolf58]

1:28 you got to be careful otherwise your satire will just become a documentry of the future.

[@annie3180]

I really liked your analysis, well done! Just one request. Could you please warn for spoilers because when I first watched it, I hadn't seen the movie and it was a pity. Keep going ! :-)

[@alisterfolson]

So that's where System of a Down got the idea for their epic intro to the song "Sugar." It's still relevant today

[@expchrist]

wow wow wow. This is really so good.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

Maybe people do love him, but rarely put him alongside the best directors of all time. Sidney Lumet is probably the most underrated filmmaker of all time.

[@satrangire6357]

Perfect

[@gregsalcedo4857]

I just realize that the 2 movies I like best from the 70s [Nasville and Network] both ended with somebody being shot in front of a large crowd.

[@frolilapume2263]

fucking loved this video! One of my favorite movies

[@chainsaw2046]

As someone who puts the cheese on the bottom of the burger, I'm offended by the presumption that it's wrong Pickles go on top, cheese on the bottom, so that the bun doesn't get soggy

[@TheBuenaventura93]

WHAT WRITERS SHOULD LEARN FROM COWBOY BEBOP!!!!! GOO!!!!!!

[@skumomcbee1255]

Watch cowboy films, Watch Science fiction films, Listen to American Jazz, blues and bebop and let the juices flow.

[@rossjennings8264]

Have you ever done a video on P.T. Anderson writing?

[@Kolajer]

Heh, get ready for a Cowboy Bebop video somewhere down the line.

[@spookyattitude1852]

I know it’s not the masterpiece Death Note was, but I’d love to see a video from you on My Hero Academia, maybe on why it has become such a successful title compared to its competition

[@lexmax08]

Loved it.