TALK RADIO

(December 1988, U.S.)

In 1988, the films of Oliver Stone were solidified in my brain and in my moviegoing enthusiasm. His last three films, SALVADOR, PLATOON and WALL STREET had left impressions on me that, at the time, could not be equaled to any other active director, except perhaps, Steven Spielberg. Stone could've made a film about the damn phone book and I would've paid good money to see it. TALK RADIO, for me, seemed to represent Stones diversity to cover a variety of subjects, from war to the financial world to the media world I only personally knew of back then through the voice of Howard Stern, whose name is important to note here, because in effect, I would not have equated his name with the spirit of true talk radio. In the 1980s, Stern was political, controversial, and managed to abuse and insult his listeners on an almost daily basis. But it's always been my opinion that Stern was more of an outlet for entertainment and comedy than what serious talk radio is supposed to represent. Admittedly, I know almost nothing of true talk radio because it's not what I listen to. Men like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Mark Levin are not what I chose to occupy my ears and senses when I'm driving in my car or sitting at my computer writing (as I am now). As for Howard Stern, I haven't heard the man's voice since he left KROCK 92.3 FM in New York and began his broadcast on Sirius XM Radio in 2006, the reason being that I refuse to pay a monthly charge for radio that can still be heard for free. Still, the purpose behind this post is to not only interpret Stone's film, but to also cast my reflections on talk radio of the past.

Based on the play of the same name by Eric Bogosian and Tad Savinar, as well as the 1984 assassination of Denver, Colorado talk radio host Alan Berg, as depicted in the book Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg by Stephen Singular, the film TALK RADIO stars Bogosian as a Jewish, Howard Stern-type, Dallas, Texas radio personality who runs his nightly show, Night Talk, with a sarcastic, condescending, controversial and bitter sense of humor that almost always pisses off his audience, who more often than not, disagrees with Barry's liberal political views. When we're introduced to Barry's show, the man is on fire, attacking everything from the current establishment, the legalization of all drugs, and the repeated calls he receives from angry, bigoted white nationalists. The one constant through all of Barry's nightly antics is that no matter how much he insults and tears into his audience, they keep coming back for more. In a world where all of them could simply turn off his show, they choose to listen, night after night, for reasons none of them are ever able to justify when he confronts them with it on the air. At a live appearance at a sporting event (where he's abruptly booed off the platform), he righteously defends himself to a meek woman who hates him, by citing that her attacks and accusations against him have no credibility because she keeps listening to his show. Love Barry or hate him, he makes a very valid point in his defense.

As his show prepares to go nationwide, we see the personal side of Barry's life through vignettes with his much younger girlfriend (who's also his producer) and some rather unnecessary flashbacks to his early life when he started out as just a married suit salesman and manages to (by chance, really) land himself a job on the radio. In fact, when you see what Barry looks like in his younger days with his long hair, you can understand why Howard Stern himself panned the film's release back in 1988, claiming that Bogosian had literally ripped off his life (whether that's true or not is up to your own judgement). Barry is a rebel born out of the 1960s and seems happiest when he's fighting someone, be it his audience, his boss (played by Alec Baldwin), the show's new head honcho (played by John Pankow) or even his alienated ex-wife Ellen (played by Ellen Greene), whom he still has obvious feelings for when he asks her to fly to Dallas to support him during the show's new transition. But even those momentary feelings of love and remembrance Barry displays for Ellen are ultimately shattered when Barry's talk radio persona takes over and he blasts her on the air while the entire radio staff listens in horror. As one of Barry's listeners puts it, he's a pitiful man who doesn't know how to love.

Yet by all accounts, despite everything that can be despised about Barry Champlain, he is loved by all within the sound of his voice, and he's loved by those of us who sit in our seats and cling to every word he says. Stone knows how to grab us by the balls from the very beginning, and refuses to let go (well, during the talk radio sequences, anyway) right up until the very moment that Barry is shot dead by one of his crazed, right wing haters. But even before that ever happens, we're held in Barry's grip when during his second show of the film, he has what appears to be an epiphany on the air and slowly comes to realize just what sort of entity his audience really is. On air, Barry reveals his true self, admitting his hypocrisy of his personal gains and fame rather than the social ills he addresses, while refusing to apologize for them. He bitterly declares his fear of his listeners and berates them as morons who have nothing worth saying, even as they tolerate his abuse and ask for more. In fact, look carefully at Barry's face, and you'll see there's one moment where his expression of disgust is so obvious in his eyes and his mouth, you would think that's he's personally attacking the very microphone that has served as a nightly tool for all of his outrage toward the world and those who populate it. It's an unforgettable moment...

When TALK RADIO is over, we cannot help but feel the loss of a major media figure, as the camera pans over the city of Dallas to the electronic music of the Police's Stewart Copeland. But even more important is the reflection on the role talk radio once played in a world that did not yet know the meaning of the words of social media. Today, when we can all easily and anonymously voice our opinions, vile and disgusting as many of them often are, on outlets like Facebook and Twitter, we must recall a time when such verbal action had to bypass the radio airwaves, as well as the radio host, first. Many of us, even while often repelled by what other human beings stand for, cannot live without them through media channels that can safely keep them at a distance. Radio, besides catering to our own individual musical tastes, was once a powerful tool of human connection that could inflame our thoughts, our passions, and our anger. Radio was social media once, but sadly, is now nothing too much more than optional pay channels, in my opinion. But even today, in a world where angry opinions are like assholes (everybody's gone one!), I still believe in the power of traditional radio. Even as I sit writing this blog post, I'm listening to not only my favorite classic rock songs on Q104.3 FM New York, but I also take comfort in the sound of the DJ's voice accompanying my actions. It reminds me that radio, while still a very valid form of media, may never again be what it once was, for the simple reason that many of would rather express our voice and listen to our music through the channels of the home computer and the hand-held iPhone.

We live in a sad, sad world. Barry Champlain would've hated it more than the one he hated in the '80s. Like the words he first speaks at the beginning of the film..."The worst news of the day!"

Favorite line or dialogue:

Barry Champlain (on the air): "I'm a hypocrite. I ask for sincerity and I lie. I denounce the system as I embrace it. I want money and power and prestige. I want ratings and success. And I don't give a damn about you, or the world. That's the truth. For that I could say I'm sorry, but I won't. Why should I? I mean who the hell are you anyways you...audience! You're on me every night like a pack of wolves because you can't stand facing what you are and what you've made! Yes, the world is a terrible place! Yes, cancer and garbage disposals will get you! Yes, a war is coming! Yes, the world is shot to hell and you're all goners! Everything's screwed up and you like it that way, don't you? You're fascinated by the gory details! You're mesmerized by your own fear! You revel in floods and car accidents, unstoppable diseases! You're happiest when others are in pain! That's where I come in, isn't it? I'm here to lead you by the hands through the dark forest of your own hatred and anger and humiliation! I'm providing a public service! You're so scared! You're like a little child under the covers! You're afraid of the boogeyman, but you can't live without him! Your fear, your own lives have become your entertainment! Next month, millions of people are going to be listening to this show and you'll have nothing to talk about! Marvelous technology is at our disposal, and instead of reaching up to new heights, we're gonna see how far down we can go! How deep into the muck we can immerse ourselves! What do you wanna talk about, hmm? Baseball scores? Your pet? Orgasms? You're pathetic. I despise each and every one of you. You've got nothing, absolutely nothing. No brains, no power, no future, no hope, no God. The only thing you believe in is me! What are you if you don't have me? I'm not afraid, see! I come in here every night, I make my case, I make my point, I say what I believe in! I tell you what you are! I have to! I have no choice! You frighten me! I come in here every night, I tear into you, I abuse you, I insult you, you just keep coming back for more! Whats wrong with you? Why do you keep calling? I don't wanna hear anymore, stop talking! GO AWAY!!!