"Good Night, and Good Luck" is a historical drama film directed by George Clooney that takes place during the early days of broadcast journalism in the 1950s in the United States. More specifically, the film narrates the conflict between television newsman Edward R. Murrow and U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wisconsin), and the tense relationship between the press and the government during the McCarthy era.
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| "Good Night, and Good Luck" received 6 academy award nominations. Image retrieved The Toledo Blade |
While the cast of the "Good Night, and Good Luck" film includes actors like Robert Downey Jr. and George Clooney (and if you're just like me, you like anything with Robert Downey Jr.) it is also important to examine and reflect on the main message of the film.
First, let's talk about Murrow.
Edward Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. Murrow first gained his recognition during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe for the news division of CBS. Fun fact: He was born in Guilford County, North Carolina.
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| Edward Murrow's signature sign off after every broadcast was: "Good night, and good luck." Image retrieved from Austin Film Society |
In addition, he was known for being transparent when delivering the news, which is why many journalists consider him to be one of journalism's greatest figures.
Murrow even produced a series of reports on his program "See it Now," which later infamously helped to the censure of Senator Joseph McCarthy. In relation to "Good Night, and Good Luck," the film portrays the bitter conflict between the two.
Murrow is dedicated to reporting the news and being transparent with his viewers. Having said that, Murrrow revealed and exposed many Americans to McCarthy's deceptive, dishonest and bullying tactics. And of course, his "See it Now" show covered and criticized McCarthyism. We love a good exposé.
Now, with a brief overview of Murrow, let's examine McCarthyism.
McCarthyism
Simply put, McCarthyism is: "The practice of making accusations of subversion or treason, especially when related to communism."
More specifically, the term obviously refers to the former senator and originates in the period in the United States infamously known as the Second Red Scare, which lasted from the late 1940s through the 1950s. This period of time was characterized by heightened political repression and a "campaign spreading fear of communist influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents."
After the mid-1950s, McCarthyism declined, primarily due to general loss of public popularity; and of course, the obvious opposition from the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Earl Warren made a series of rulings that (thankfully) brought an end to McCarthyism.
In the early 21st century, the term is used more generally to desscvribe unsubstantiated accusations and reckless attacks on the character or "patriotism of political adversaries." Numerous individuals were accused of being "communists" or "communist sympathizers." Individuals who were wrongly accused would become the subject of extremely aggressive investigations. I mean, it would be an extreme inconvenience for me to have to go through something like that.
In relation back to "Good Night, and Good Luck," McCarthy during one his communist "witch-hunts" accuses Murrow of being a communist. Keep in mind, Murrow was the most respected journalist in America in 1954.
While Murrow was not the first journalist to take on McCarthy, Murrow's show was key in tanking McCarthy's career.
Overall, "Good Night, and Good Luck" is a film about the necessity of a free media to report the actual truth, provoke criticism and discussion and (certainly) to educate the public.
My Analysis
In my opinion, Murrow had journalistic guts to report on controversial topics, and he despised the paranoia surrounding the hunt for communists. After all, journalism is not a crime.
Murrow exposed McCarthy for contradicting himself, boasting of his power and bullying witnesses in congressional hearings, as he should. As Americans, and especially as journalism majors, we must and need to use our voices to speak up for what is right, no mater the potential backlash.
In Murrow's infamous broadcast where he takes down McCarthy, the show prompted thousands of letters, phone calls and even telegrams to CBS studios. However, for every message criticizing Murrow, there were 15 messages approving the program.
I applaud Murrow as a journalist, he spoke up for what he believed in -- and as journalists, we must follow suit. Although I'm not pursuing a career as a journalist upon graduation, I still find Murrow's legacy of being regarded as one of the most transparent journalists to be of great importance to all. We should vow to live more honestly and truthfully.
Upon watching "Good Night, and Good Luck," it made me think of the chilling effect and how it relates to today's media. A chilling effect may be caused by "legal actions such as the passing of a law, the decision of a court, or the threat of a lawsuit."
In a legal context, a chilling effect is "the inhibition of discouragement of the legitimate exercise of natural and legal rights by the treat of legal sanction." The U.S. constitutional right to free speech is the right that is most often described as being suppressed by a chilling effect.
Unfortunately, I have seen censorship in the media far too often in the media. From a neutral stand point, censoring former President Donald Trump on Twitter and other social media platforms is completely wrong. Yes, I don't agree with the former president 100% but that doesn't mean his voice should be censored.
Further, while the U.S. faces its own issues with censorship, they are in a much better spot than other countries across the globe. I mean, look at North Korea for that matter, or even China.
Censorship in the media is a transhistoric issue across the globe. And as journalists, I expect and urge each and one of you to be truthful and to report accurately. Our generation depends on it.
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