by Katharine Mussellam, Staff Writer

In the introduction for A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1957) when it aired on Turner Classic Movies this past October, guest co-host Barry Levinson described it as a film that portrays “the power of television.” While television certainly isn’t dead, such a description underplays the way this film so strikingly speaks to how online culture shapes our contemporary world. To me, seeing it for the first time this year, it portrayed how a persona presented through mass media can wield immense power over an audience.

Marcia Jeffries (Patricia Neal), the host of a radio program called A Face in the Crowd that features interviews ordinary people, visits a country jail and discovers Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes (Andy Griffith), who sings and speaks with a directness about life that she has never heard before. Lonesome’s folksy and unpretentious personality quicky strikes a chord with Marcia. Soon he is a regular on her radio station, where he wins over a large audience with that same persona. His words both entertain and push people to act, including an incident where, spurred by Lonesome’s words, disturb a local politician at his home and raid his backyard swimming pool. 

Lonesome’s audience continues to grow as he moves from being a regular guest to local radio host to his own nationally-broadcast television program. Being the 1950s, this requires him to perform in sponsor spots. When Lonesome refuses to endorse the mattress company sponsoring his TV show because he doesn’t like their products, his negative speech incites demonstrations against the company. At first it seems as though this will get his show cancelled, but the negative publicity still results in an increase in the company’s profits. 

Vitajex, a dubious energy supplement, begins to sponsor his show. Lonesome initially questions the product, but quickly sees its potential. He makes a fortune happily pushing the product through a snappy tune he sings on his program. The suggestive commercials delight his audience with their promise of vitality and virility, a ruse that appeals to insecurities seemingly as old as time.

As the story continues from there, Lonesome becomes drunk on the power he has gained through his mastery over his audience. He is obsessed with the validation that audience gives him, even if he also looks down upon them. Lonesome revels in being, as he describes himself, “an influence, a wielder of opinion, a force.”

That scene is one of the many moments where this story speaks to our current moment of social media influencers and suggests they are simply another iteration of something that came before. Like Lonesome’s radio and TV presence, people who wield clout on social media can direct positive or negative energy towards a person or brand, with consequences that affect people’s lives. The uninvited guests who storm the politician’s pool are not much different from online hate-mobs or crowds of people descending upon an Instafamous hotspot. And you don’t need to go far online to find profiles of those peddling a questionable or dangerous lifestyle or “wellness” product. These people manage to create new insecurities in their audience and dupe enough people to stay in business. Even the word that Lonesome uses to describe himself is only one letter away from the word “influencer” of our day.

And that’s to say nothing of the fact that the way Lonesome presents himself to his audience mirrors not only that of some internet celebrities and commentators but also politicians of today. Lonesome stands out to Marcia from the beginning because he seems to speak honestly with his down-home country twang. His attitude and lack of polish give him a folksy charm that distinguishes him from other entertainers and draws in his audience, but gradually this becomes a persona that Lonesome consciously uses to mould their opinions. 

There are plenty of similar personae in our world. Many people have developed different kinds of personalities through online content that differ from those typically heard on radio or seen on television. But like Lonesome in A Face in the Crowd, there are some who present themselves as disruptors in order to feed lies to their audiences and push them to mistrust, and even hostility, towards institutions, scientists, minority groups, or anyone else they see fit–often to sell products along the way. More than once, and very recently, we’ve seen individuals gain political power by presenting themselves as rejecting the pretentions and approaches of other politicians. They present themselves as having “common sense” compared to those who have, according to them, placed too much importance on the rights of minorities or otherwise deviated too much from a vision of traditional values. They prey on fear of change and the unknown to manipulate others into giving them power. Whether they fully believe what they spew or not, they know that what they say will get through to many people and affect their actions.

Lonesome’s contempt for his audience eventually comes back to bit him, unlike many who we see continue to use their voices to spread mistruths and hate. Though some have faced consequences, many others still continue on. Some even branch out to other, more conventional media and into political office. But if we can still find Lonesome Rhodes’ assent in the film so believable, maybe the portrayed fall is also still possible in our world. Still, the timelessness of A Face in the Crowd’s story suggests that another one like him will always come along, that another face will emerge from the online crowd and win people over. The film reminds us that those who present themselves as Lonesome does aren’t as honest as they claim to be, and this is still something too few people remember when it counts. 

With the death of so much print media and meaningful journalism, it is important now more than ever to support the writers and outlets you love.
If you enjoyed this article, show your support by donating to our writer. All proceeds go directly to the writer. Recommended donation is $5.