The 'Outrageous' 40-Year-Old Film That Predicted the Future

Forty years ago this month Network was released to widespread acclaim. But its shocking satire turned out to be eerily prescient, writes Nicholas Barber.
 
Network was their furious howl of protest. It was a triumphant black comedy, winning four Oscars, being nominated for two more, and going on to be held in ever higher acclaim. In 2006, the Writers Guilds of America chose Chayevksy’s screenplay as one of the 10 best in cinema history. Last year, BBC Culture’s critics’ poll of the 100 best American films ranked Network at 73.
 
But is it really “perfectly outrageous”? It’s easy to believe that, in 1976, Chayevsky and Lumet’s bleak view of television’s crassness and irresponsibility was deeply shocking. But the scary thing about re-watching Network today is that even its wildest flights of fancy no longer seem outrageous at all. The film was so accurate in its predictions that its most far-fetched satirical conceits have become so familiar as to be almost quaint.
 
https://www.lewrockwell.com/2016/12/no_a...old-movie/

Electronic media and the dumbing down of society
 
“It is therefore possible to manipulate the nervous system of a subject by pulsing images displayed on a nearby computer monitor or TV set. For the latter, the image pulsing may be imbedded in the program material, or it may be overlaid by modulating a video stream, either as an RF signal or as a video signal.” — US Patent and Trade Office, Patent #6,506,148, 2/14/03
 
When television sets moved into homes across America in the 1950’s, families were dazzled by the dawn of a new form of entertainment that would become one of the most popular past time activities in America. Entire generations have now grown up with it, watching on average 4 hours and 35 minutes a day. Some households have more Television sets than people. What effect, if any, does Television have on us?
 
While there is considerable debate on the content of television programs, the focus here will be on the physiological and developmental effects of television on human beings. However, one recent story is worth mentioning regarding the Pavlovian conditioning of old children through Television and advertisement. As the Associated Press reports,
 
    “Anything made by McDonald’s tastes better, preschoolers said in a study that powerfully demonstrates how advertising can trick the taste buds of old children. Even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches. The study had youngsters sample identical McDonald’s foods in name-brand and unmarked wrappers. The unmarked foods always lost the taste test.”
 
http://www.oldthinkernews.com/2007/09/12...f-society/