Connectivity: Network

Network (1976) offers a satirical look at the corporate and media forces shaping modern life in the 1970s. Directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Paddy Chayefsky, the film centers on veteran news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) , who spirals into public on-air breakdowns that transform him into a ratings sensation. Seeing an opportunity to exploit Beale’s instability, network executives push the anchor toward increasingly sensationalist programming in pursuit of profit and power. The film’s portrait of media spectacle, corporate control, and audience complicity remains remarkably prescient; its anxieties about television’s role in shaping public consciousness resonate powerfully in today’s digital era of intensified media conglomeration and political fragmentation. Widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s most significant critiques of mass media, Network won multiple Academy Awards and cemented Chayefsky’s reputation as one of the era’s boldest social commentators. The Carsey-Wolf Center is proud to have presented a new 4K restoration of Network for this 50th anniversary screening. Our screening was accompanied by a critical and historical introduction by Jason Ludwig (Film and Media Studies, UCSB) , who discused this film’s relationship to our yearlong programming series Connectivity. Jason Ludwig is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Film & Media Studies at UC Santa Barbara. He is a historian of media, computing, and politics in the United States. His current book project examines the efforts of government officials, civil rights activists, computing experts, and business leaders to find computational solutions to the postwar “urban crisis.” This event is sponsored by the Carsey-Wolf Center and the James Hayman (’75) fund for CWC Classics. The Carsey-Wolf Center’s 2025-26 feature series Connectivity examines the evolving meaning of connection in our contemporary moment. While the term “connectivity” often invokes our ever-increasing entanglement with digital infrastructure and social media networks, this series reimagines the term not only as a technical feature of media, but as a humanistic value and a condition of social and public life. This series embraces connectivity as a framework for thinking critically about the ways in which people use media to connect with ideas and with one another, from the shared experience of moviegoing to the collective bonds forged through storytelling and public dialogue. The CWC Classics program celebrates cinema’s rich history, bringing classic films back to the big screen for critical viewing and discussion. These events feature filmmakers, academics, and professionals who can contextualize the production and historical impact of the films. The series occasionally presents classic films in their original 16 or 35 mm formats. CWC Classics events celebrate the history and significance of cinema’s enduring legacy.