Anyone who follows American mainstream media is familiar with Roger Ailes: one time media consultant to Nixon, Reagan, and the first Bush, and later the founder of Fox News. This is a beautifully acted and entertaining mini series that does the unthinkable - it actually generates a little sympathy for Ailes (and I do stress "a little").
A college course essay could be written about the tragic, almost Shakespearean character, Ailes was. In simple terms, he was a God-fearing Midwesterner raised on the apple pie and fireworks celebratory visions of America. Average Americans, even those living in so-called "blue states," may have someone like Ailes in their extended family. Someone who was decidedly uncomfortable while watching the movie "Pleasantville," or who gets visibly upset when a grocery store cashier says "happy holidays."
Believing that "mainstream media with a leftist bent" was primarily responsible for his mentor Nixon having to resign (and to this very day many Americans agree with him, although in actuality the media was only reporting the facts), Ailes urges notorious conservative media empire owner Rupert Murdoch to allow him to launch a news network to counter the "liberal mainstream media." In 1996, Fox News launches, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The mini series' episodes are named for the years depicted in the show: 1995, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2016. The producers felt these years were good launching points to examine Ailes and his successes (and eventual downfall). In order: The Telecom Act and preparing for the launch of Fox News (1995); 9/11 (2001); the election of Barack Obama (2008); the first year of Obama's election and preparing for the Mid-Terms (which ended up being disastrous for Democrats - much of which could be attributed to Fox and its anti-Obama propaganda-2009); the re-election of Obama (2012); the beginning of Ailes' sexual harassment charges (2015); the Trump campaign and Ailes' eventual fate (2016). The mini series could actually have been longer, starting with 1987, the year Reagan (at the strong urging of Ailes) eliminated the FCC Fairness Doctrine, which paved the way for propaganda empires claiming to be "news," without the requirement to present a strong opposing voice. And as this mini series makes clear, Alan Colmes was not a "strong opposing voice" to counter ex-house painter Sean Hannity's bullying tactics.
As any reader of this review can probably tell, I am not a Republican, yet I found this mini-series mesmerizing. Russell Crowe simply becomes Ailes, wearing padding to replicate Ailes' physical characteristics. Ailes was a hemophiliac and as he ages, this illness takes its toll to the point where he can barely walk. Sienna Miller plays his wife, who sticks with him to the very end, even after the accusations start spreading like wildfire, and unlike the conspiracies peddled by Fox News "opinion pundits," the accusers have actual proof against Ailes (Gretchen Carlson being the main subject). Naomi Watts is terrific, as expected, as Carlson.
The legacy of Ailes' dream lives on. Fox fans to this day brag about how Fox News is the number one "news" outlet on cable. The numbers do support that if you pit Fox against only CNN; however if you put CNN, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and PBS - all networks Fox fans claim as being "liberal media," and their new term of choice, "fake news" - there are far more moderate and "left-leaning" viewers out there who spread their viewership amongst five networks.
A fascinating glimpse into a frustrating, frequently despicable (although Fox fans would say "flawed") human being.
A college course essay could be written about the tragic, almost Shakespearean character, Ailes was. In simple terms, he was a God-fearing Midwesterner raised on the apple pie and fireworks celebratory visions of America. Average Americans, even those living in so-called "blue states," may have someone like Ailes in their extended family. Someone who was decidedly uncomfortable while watching the movie "Pleasantville," or who gets visibly upset when a grocery store cashier says "happy holidays."
Believing that "mainstream media with a leftist bent" was primarily responsible for his mentor Nixon having to resign (and to this very day many Americans agree with him, although in actuality the media was only reporting the facts), Ailes urges notorious conservative media empire owner Rupert Murdoch to allow him to launch a news network to counter the "liberal mainstream media." In 1996, Fox News launches, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The mini series' episodes are named for the years depicted in the show: 1995, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2016. The producers felt these years were good launching points to examine Ailes and his successes (and eventual downfall). In order: The Telecom Act and preparing for the launch of Fox News (1995); 9/11 (2001); the election of Barack Obama (2008); the first year of Obama's election and preparing for the Mid-Terms (which ended up being disastrous for Democrats - much of which could be attributed to Fox and its anti-Obama propaganda-2009); the re-election of Obama (2012); the beginning of Ailes' sexual harassment charges (2015); the Trump campaign and Ailes' eventual fate (2016). The mini series could actually have been longer, starting with 1987, the year Reagan (at the strong urging of Ailes) eliminated the FCC Fairness Doctrine, which paved the way for propaganda empires claiming to be "news," without the requirement to present a strong opposing voice. And as this mini series makes clear, Alan Colmes was not a "strong opposing voice" to counter ex-house painter Sean Hannity's bullying tactics.
As any reader of this review can probably tell, I am not a Republican, yet I found this mini-series mesmerizing. Russell Crowe simply becomes Ailes, wearing padding to replicate Ailes' physical characteristics. Ailes was a hemophiliac and as he ages, this illness takes its toll to the point where he can barely walk. Sienna Miller plays his wife, who sticks with him to the very end, even after the accusations start spreading like wildfire, and unlike the conspiracies peddled by Fox News "opinion pundits," the accusers have actual proof against Ailes (Gretchen Carlson being the main subject). Naomi Watts is terrific, as expected, as Carlson.
The legacy of Ailes' dream lives on. Fox fans to this day brag about how Fox News is the number one "news" outlet on cable. The numbers do support that if you pit Fox against only CNN; however if you put CNN, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, CBS, and PBS - all networks Fox fans claim as being "liberal media," and their new term of choice, "fake news" - there are far more moderate and "left-leaning" viewers out there who spread their viewership amongst five networks.
A fascinating glimpse into a frustrating, frequently despicable (although Fox fans would say "flawed") human being.