Network: The Ethics

Ethics, or lack thereof, are a theme that is running rampant throughout this film. From the get go, most of the characters don't appear phased in the slightest by doing things that are unbelievably unethical. Only one person bats an eyelash at any of it, and that is Max. Howard would probably care if he wasn't completely out of his mind. But everyone else has dollar signs for eyes, and ratings on the mind.

The moment we first meet Diana, we know that she doesn't care what they are putting on the screen, only what kind of ratings she gets. She watches the footage of the bank robbery and decides it would make a good t.v. show. Not a t.v show about bank robbers, but a show where these people actually commit crimes and film it. The clip below pretty much sums up all she cares about. (Some profanity)




Once she discovers that Howard Beale as that raw outrage she is talking about, she goes about exploiting him. Hackett is not portrayed as a very caring guy, and he isn't. Once he is convinced of the money that could be made he has no problems getting rid of Max and his protests against using Howard instead of getting him help all for the money. I know I posted his scene on the review entry, but it helps my point here.




That night Howard does exactly what they want, he goes on the air and rants and raves, and ratings sky rocket...



Soon they have a hit show of Howard just blasting off on things, they don't even care what it's about. Just as long as the ratings continue to climb...



Nobody at the Network cares about what this could be doing to Howard...Nobody cares that they are no longer presenting the news because money is being made. Which is never more present in the film than when the president of the corporation takes Howard aside (Howard has been ragging on the conglomeration company that is in charge of the network) and the acting is brilliant. It shows that the people behind these big corporations (at least as depicted in this movie) are only out for money, at whatever cost:




And finally, proving that these people are completely morally bankrupt. When they are faced with losing the ratings and the money they have gathered because of it, they decide to commit a capital crime, and kill Howard Beale. What's great about this scene is you think they are joking, only to find out that they are dead serious and are in fact going to have Howard killed because Jennings won't take him off the air.



It's a long line of unethical decisions and how it changes these people. Max can't handle the cold unfeeling Diana and leaves her, because all she cares about is ratings. I loved that about this movie, that so many of these people forgot that real life was happening, that it wasn't a t.v. show. Only Max seemed to understand that.