Howard Beale giving an unhinged monologue on the air in Network
By
Ben Sherlock
Published Feb 8, 2026, 10:45 PM EST
Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
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50 years later, Sidney Lumet’s Network still feels surprisingly (and hauntingly) relevant. The media landscape has moved on, but the bones of the film’s satirical commentary are timeless. The dominance of broadcast news is over — the traditional TV networks are fighting a losing battle — but media companies are still exploiting mad-as-hell talent like Howard Beale for money.
Released at the height of the American New Wave, Network captured the zeitgeist with both a finger-on-the-pulse satire and a gritty, captivating soap opera about deeply dysfunctional, deeply human characters. As a TV network struggles with poor ratings, their recently ousted news anchor becomes a surprise star when his on-air nervous breakdown captures the hearts and minds of the nation.
At the 49th Academy Awards, Network received an impressive 10 nominations, including a coveted Best Picture nod, and won four, including Best Original Screenplay for the legendary Paddy Chayefsky. Chayefsky’s script is so brilliant that, in highlighting the cracks in the foundation of news media, he predicted what its downfall would look like over the next half a century.
Network's Satire Of Unscrupulous Media Practices Was Decades Ahead Of Its Time
Faye Dunaway in the newsroom in Network
Network was decades ahead of its time in depicting the corruptibility of mass media. Although the media was created to inform and entertain, it’s since become a cesspool of unbridled capitalistic greed. That change happened pretty quickly, and it’s only gotten worse over time.
Media corporations have increasingly monetized people’s eyeballs. If you can get eyeballs on a TV network or a website or any other kind of platform, then you can make money — and the more eyeballs you have, the more money you can make. But those eyeballs can only look at one thing at a time, so it quickly devolved into a Highlander-esque there-can-only-be-one battle royale.
Back in Network’s day, 50 years ago, the competition was between a small handful of channels on a single device, and it was already a ruthless arms race. In 1976, Lumet and Chayefsky exaggerated the cutthroat nature of the media for satirical purposes, but by today’s standards, it just feels realistic.
Howard Beale Was A Precursor To Controversial Influencers & Exploited Popstars
Peter Finch at the news desk in Network
At the beginning of Network, veteran anchorman Howard Beale is fired due to declining ratings. With two weeks left on the air, Howard tells his viewers he’s going to take his own life on next Tuesday’s newscast. The following night, when he’s sent out to apologize to the nation, he instead starts ranting and raving about the miserable state of the world.
The network’s initial instinct is to dismiss him on the spot, but his outburst causes a huge spike in viewing figures. Rather than firing him, the network makes Howard their next big thing. Throughout the film, the worse Howard’s psychosis gets, the higher his ratings are. America is tuning in to watch a man lose his mind live on television.
Today, Howard feels like a precursor to two very specific types of modern celebrity: controversial influencers and exploited popstars. Howard’s “angry man” schtick deliberately pokes the bear with profanity and radical ideas and anti-establishment chants. These unsubtle provocateurs can be seen all over the current social media landscape, spreading toxicity and disinformation to an impressionable fan base.
But the way the network treats Howard is closer to the ways that money-grubbing managers and soulless record labels treat pop idols. It’s plain to see that Howard is suffering, and he needs psychiatric help, not a national stage, but the network executives place their quarterly earnings above Howard’s wellbeing. They’re happy to keep exploiting his mental illness for money.
Network Has One Of The Greatest Casts In Film History
Faye Dunaway leaning over a desk in Network
Three of Network’s four Oscar victories were acting wins: Best Actress for Faye Dunaway, Best Supporting Actress for Beatrice Straight (with just five minutes of screen time), and a posthumous Best Actor win for Peter Finch. And those are just three of the all-time great performances in this movie. William Holden, Robert Duvall, and a show-stopping Ned Beatty all give standout turns, too.
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Dive into the world of movies and TV shows with Screen Rant, your source for news, reviews, and exclusive content. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Finch brings an unforgettable gravitas to his unhinged delivery of Beale’s iconic mantra, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take this anymore!” Straight earns her Oscar with a single monologue, confronting her husband with his infidelity and capturing the true tragedy of the situation from her point of view. Dunaway and Holden share believable chemistry as lovers who both want different things from the relationship.
Network Is As Heartbreaking As It Is Hilarious
Beatrice Straight looking furious in Network
Network is one of the funniest movies of the ‘70s, but it’s primarily a drama, and it’s as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. Chayefsky’s script is full of great gags, like a contract dispute over the absurdly provocative Mao-Tse Tung Hour TV show, involving fictionalized stand-ins for Patti Hearst, Angela Davis, and a Black Panther leader. It’s like a political cartoon come to life.
But for every racy, razor-sharp satirical gem, Network takes a break from the laughs to explore its characters on a human level. Everyone in the ensemble serves a comedic function in the overall satire of the media, but they’re also richly drawn, three-dimensional, real people.
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