Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of Jensen's "World Is a Business" Speech

Introduction: The Speech and Its Context

The speech by Arthur Jensen in the 1976 film Network is given to an audience of one — Mr. Howard Beale, a network television news show host. It takes place in a large conference room that Jensen has nicknamed "Valhalla." It lasts just over four minutes, and its effect is profound: it produces a radical transformation in its sole audience member. Mr. Beale returns to his position as news show host and delivers, in turn, a speech to his own audience that essentially confirms the cynical worldview Mr. Jensen has impressed upon him. Why is Jensen's speech so effective? As Leff and Sachs (1990) point out, it is not just "what was said" but "how it was said" that made it so persuasive. From a Neo-Aristotelian perspective, the parts of Jensen's speech add up to make a convincing whole. This paper provides a rhetorical analysis of Arthur Jensen's "The World is a Business" speech from that perspective in order to show how content can be made even more persuasive when it is given a dramatic delivery.

Audience and Setting: Staging Persuasion

Jensen's speech is perfectly tailored to his audience, Mr. Beale. Beale has risen to the top of the ratings by loudly and evangelically criticizing the mass media and the powers that be, urging his viewers to take action and stand up for themselves — to say, "I'm a human being, my life has value!" After going too far for the network head's tastes, Beale is summoned to "Valhalla" to receive a reprimand from Mr. Jensen.

Jensen essentially one-ups Mr. Beale in terms of style and ethos. If Beale represents the common man — short of answers but full of passion — Jensen represents the corporate world: totalitarian, monolithic, and unstoppable. He sets the stage and tone of the speech by walking Beale into the vast, cavernous conference room, then takes a few moments to theatrically darken the room by drawing the shades at the push of a button. He saunters over to the head of the long, twenty-chaired conference table and stands — Mr. Beale seated at the other end, gaping — as Jensen imposes himself on the scene by shifting from a warm, happy demeanor to the grim, dark, brooding authority figure he now appears to be. He then thunders the opening lines of his monologue with absolute disdain: "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, Mr. Beale! And I won't have it!"

His speech is as rhythmic as it is assertive, and his body language is perfectly attuned to his words: his arms go out at his sides, rise up like a conductor's, then make fists that are shaken at Mr. Beale as though they would like to bounce down the table and pummel him. The dim lights, the spotlit face and body of Mr. Jensen in an otherwise darkened mahogany room, and the long table all serve to create an unforgettable impression. Would this speech be half as effective if it were given in a less imposing setting? That question may be unanswerable — but the strategic delivery has clearly been premeditated: Mr. Jensen aims to drive his point directly into Mr. Beale.

Immersion, Agency, and Transformation

From the Neo-Aristotelian perspective, Jensen's speech follows the aesthetics of the medium outlined by Murray (1997) — that is, immersion, agency, and transformation. He first immerses his audience in a sealed environment from which there is no escape, isolating Beale at the end of a long table and placing a spotlight on himself so that there is nowhere else for Beale to focus. Then Jensen delivers his oratory with a booming voice that explodes out of nowhere, raining down on his audience with measured insistence and burying him beneath a tidal wave of sound and fury. This is the immersive part of the process — the mode of expression that grips Mr. Beale and hammers him with one thrust and blow after another. It is what gives the speaker his "personality" and gives his speech its force.

Conclusion: The Effectiveness of Jensen's Speech

Mr. Jensen's speech is effective not simply because of what he says but also because of how he says it. He knows that he needs to convince one of the most watched persons on television that what Beale is preaching is wrong — and to do that he employs immersion, agency, and transformation: tactics that bury Mr. Beale beneath an avalanche of sound, intimidation, and empowerment. Jensen both takes power and bestows it by showing Beale a new "light" — the light of consumerism — followed by transformative clarity.

Mr. Beale goes on to preach the gospel of Mr. Jensen the following night on the network news show, telling his own audience that there is nothing left, no reason to get up and get mad. The common man no longer exists as he did the day before; now it is a world run by corporations, and everyone had better get used to the idea. It is, of course, not a very empowering speech, and audiences soon tune out. That outcome is exactly what Mr. Jensen wanted: a voice that was once preaching against the evils of the corporate monolith has been subdued. The ratings drop, and Mr. Beale becomes an insignificant, meaningless anchor. Mr. Jensen's speech has been profoundly effective by every Neo-Aristotelian measure.

References

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