“Network” movie (1976) – In a moment of clarity, an anchor threatens to commit suicide on air. The network’s producers realize a show from which they would profit, and give the anchor a new platform for his impromptu speeches that reveal the nation’s truths and illusions. The anchor begins to act as a prophet about the decaying democracy and how the whole world is becoming “humanoid” with mass produced media misinforming due to a money-led motivation.

“There is no America. There is no Democracy. There is only IBM and ITT and AT&T and Du Pont, Dow, Union Carbide, and Exxon. Those are the nations of today.” Ned Beatty as Arthur Jensen says during a scene.

While Beatty’s statement back in the 70s, intents to show how the world is one large corporation in the movie, this couldn’t be more hauntingly relevant and real today.

As the waves of globalization restructured countries and societies throughout the years, the mass media followed the game of greed and gain. News networks prioritized profit over the traditional reportage, according to the movie.

But is it really according to the movie…or is money the force behind everything today as well? The U.S. capitalist system and its brutality shown in the movie, might as well be a depiction of the current reality.

“You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples,” Beatty says. “It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet.”

Capitalism in the U.S. is viewed positively by approximately 65% of Americans, according to Pew Research. While many believe that it encourages individual opportunity and it is essential to America, others who view it as negative support the fact that it benefits an uneven distribution of wealth and it has an exploitative nature.

Although, there is the “American Dream” which dates back to the time when “Manifest Destiny,” (1840) motivated for territorial expansion and economic opportunity, it wasn’t until hyper-consumerism in the 90s that America redefined that dream. A dream that perpetuated an illusion of possibilities.

What was least obvious was that in a capitalist society it is impossible to play the “game” under fair or equal rules when power is so concentrated in the 1% of the wealthiest people. Among that 1%, many control news networks, such as the Murdoch family who own Fox News through a family trust.

When the anchor in the movie begins to reveal the rage that the masses feel during a society affected by the depression and the Vietnam war, it is actually the same situation today, only that the facts and the dateline changes. Instead of the Vietnam war, we are dealing with the American intervention in Syria, and instead of the economic depression we are dealing with the coronavirus economical devastation.

To further the comparison of how much the movie is relevant today consider how the anchor, who is the “lunatic” and exposes misinformation, in some way resembles President Donald Trump.

While Trump is part of the 1% wealthiest people, he has been spreading rumors that news media publish fake news. His accusations usually target networks such as CNN and never Fox with whom he nurtures a relationship.

The result is a democracy that is spiraling downward, while trust in the government and in valid news outlets is decreasing.

“Nearly seven-in-ten U.S. adults (68%) say made-up news and information greatly impacts Americans’ confidence in government institutions, and roughly half (54%) say it is having a major impact on our confidence in each other,” according to Pew Research, June 5, 2019.

Today’s digital literacy is necessary to distinguish between misinformation, or even disinformation. In a similar situation during the 70s, people believed everything that was broadcasted on TV. In the 21^st century the internet has replaced, or more accurately has added into the ways that we consume information.

People today have the same feeling as in the movie: “I’m mad as hell. I am not going to take this anymore.”