bigideas

When network news anchor Howard Beale faces the sack for his falling ratings he announces his planned suicide live on air. The network’s ruthless producers see an opportunity, and soon Beale is back on the air as a manic demagogue with his cry of ‘I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more’. Throw in a left-wing terrorist army and a Saudi conglomerate who buy out the network, and you have one of New Hollywood’s most trenchant critiques of the power and cynicism of global media. Our showing, followed by a discussion, is at the Paradise by Way of Kensal Green: a characterful pub just off the Harrow Road, close to Kensal Green (Bakerloo Line) tube and Kensal Rise overland train stations. It takes its curious name from a poem by G. K. Chesterton and from its proximity to the local cemetery. It’s here.