by Christopher Barr
“Because less than
three percent of you people read books. Because less than fifteen percent of
you read newspapers. Because the only truth you know is what you get over this
tube. Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything
that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the Gospel. The ultimate
revelation! This tube can make or break Presidents, Popes, Prime Ministers.
This tube is the most awesome, god-damn force in the whole godless world. And
woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people.”
- Howard Beale (Network, 1976)
Anchorman 2 follows
the legend of Ron Burgundy, a true legend in his own mind. The movie is a wacky comedy with crazy
characters and over the top jokes, on the surface. Underneath it is a very contemporary
telling of what went wrong in America, the fact that the country has sold
itself out and lost its core values in the process.
This movie takes place
in the late 70’s and early 80’s but feels very now as it deals with self-indulgence,
racism and corporate integrity or lack thereof. The concept of synergy is discussed in
a Will Farrell movie, briefly but discussed. Synergy from the corporation stand
point is what occurs when corporations interact congruently, when they
financially benefit by merging with or acquiring another corporation.
What does this have to
do with Ron Burgundy? It
has to do with corporations altering the broadcast news to suit their corporate
agenda. In the case of the
movie, Ron was going to do a piece on airplane parts falling off of planes in
mid-flight and then crashing into the earth killing people. Seems like a responsible story to
bring to the public, only problem is, the News Corporation and Airline Corporation
fall under the same multinational corporate umbrella.
Part of how corporate
synergy works is by supporting each other and protecting the sum of all its
parts. By doing this, by
changing the news, they become irresponsible and bias which goes against the
very core of journalism. This
form of fast food propagandized journalism can now be seen on all major
networks with FOX News standing proudly at the top. The culture is eating itself and the news is
reporting none of it, save the odd case here and there about depression. But generally this is followed by what
medication can be purchased at the local pharmacy, to numb your negative side
effects toward enslavement.
"In a culture
like ours, long accustomed to splitting and dividing all things as a means of
control, it is sometimes a bit of a shock to be reminded that, in operational
and practical fact, the medium is the
message. This is merely to say that the personal and social consequences of
any medium - that is, of any extension of ourselves - result from the new scale
that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any
new technology."
– Marshall McLuhan
Today the news is
filled with a high level of inaccuracies and mistakes that are regularly left
uncorrected. The news
sensationalizes its stories and fills its programming with car crashes,
kidnappings, murders and high-speed chases along with weekly sex
scandals. The news has poor
coverage of important issues that affect our very lives and on top of that the
news never covers itself. Hard
news apparently is bad for ratings so the viewer gets info-tainment and
advertorials and an increase on conformity of viewpoint and the ultimate suppression
of genuine debate.
So why does the news
do this? Why not be ‘fair
and balanced’ like FOX News claims to be but clearly is not? Corporate and government business
agendas have railroaded the actual news because if they reported the truth the
people would rise up against them. People
don’t realize that they have been lied to and stolen from, by the very rulers
they have put their trust in and the very companies that are believed to
benefit mankind, not enslave it.
“Television is not the
truth. Television's a god-damned amusement park. Television is a circus, a
carnival, a traveling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers,
jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the
boredom-killing business.”
The 1976, American
cinematic masterpiece Network tells the story of a suicidal newsman that became
a powerful network ratings commodity, only to be killed on the air at the end
because his ratings dropped. The film at
the time was praised for its outstanding film making and clever screenplay but
it was thought to be over the top. It
was thought to be an exaggeration of the news, it’s only now, years later that we can
see just how prophetic the film truly was.
The film covered corporate corruption, manipulation, apathy and
desensitization of younger people by the media culture. These are all contemporary issues that we are
dealing with today on an exponential level.
The film also encouraged people to fight back, by standing up and saying
that they are not going to take this anymore. The sad news to report is they lost the
fight. At the time in 1976 the film was
a call to arms, against the news corporations and unfortunately now it’s a Shakespearian-type
tragedy. 
Nowadays these so-called journalists are just McDonald's line cooks claiming to
be red seal chefs but they're not, most of them should be ashamed of
themselves. Like some politicians coming in with a good heart, they too
have sold themselves out to play with the big boys, and the big boys want to
control the score at all times, in their favor of course. That’s where we are at now, we live in a
complete Orwellian-style media controlled circus and it’s looking like there is
no stopping it. I get my news from Max Keiser
or RT or LIP TV to name a few, I read from the internet to find out what’s
really happening in the world. It’s the news
we need to keep our freedom because the truth is; it’s being stolen from us
inch by inch, day by day.
So with movies like Anchorman
and the superior Network, it’s nice to see some real truth behind the laughs
and the willingness to fight back, against the very corporations that are plat-forming
the media these movies are projecting their symbolic message from.
“To those who say
people wouldn't look, they wouldn't be interested, they're too complacent,
indifferent and insulated, I can only reply -- there is, in one reporter's
opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are
right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this
instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the
tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost.
This instrument can teach, it can illuminate - and yes, it can even inspire.
But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it
towards those ends. Otherwise, it is merely wires and lights in a box. Good
night, and good luck.”
- Edward R. Murrow (Good
Night and Good Luck, 2005)
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