Good Night and Good Luck: Testament to debate

The most striking moments, for me, of George Clooney's film Good Night and Good Luck are the opening and closing of the film. The scene is a dinner in honor of journalist Edward R. Murrow. Murrow steps up to the podium and gives his speech. He prefaces that what he says may be controversial. The speech which Clooney has stated in interviews was verbatim regarded the future of television journalism. He made grim often polemical statements about what a misstep in journalistic integrity could lead to. It is striking because it closely resembles what much of news media has devolved into. That Murrow saw and warned against the dangers in 1958, is all the more remarkable.

From the middle of the speech, we jump back five years to the height of McCarthy era paranoia with a patronistic scrawl explaining fears of Communism that were prevalent at this time. I found my self for the only time in the film irritated. The text indicated an assumption that the average viewer doesn't have a basic idea of McCarthyism and needed such clarification. We are immediately drawn into the bustling news room at CBS, where Murrow's team are working out stories for his show. A general dislike among the newsmen for the fear mongering of Joe McCarthy is discernible but the news cast that is the catalyst for the movie has nothing to do with McCarthy. It was a tactful look at Communist fear that had resulted in a soldier being dismissed from the army.

It is addressed from the terms of civil and constitutional rights. This news cast leads to a head on battle between McCarthy and Murrow on much the same grounds. The use of archival footage to represent McCarthy is cleverly used to avoid modern criticism of misrepresentation on Clooney's part. The climax of the film comes in the senate investigation of McCarthy which resulted in censure and the fallout within CBS (lay off of workers, change of time and regularity of Murrow's program) implemented by the head of CBS. A friend put out the criticism that we don't see the fall of McCarthy, which to an extent is unfair because when considering the overall lasting implications of McCarthy, only truly happened with the collapse of the Iron Curtain. Recurrence of fear and mob mentality can be seen less than four years after McCarthy's censure in the uproar regarding Sputnik. Equally, Ronald Regan's terming the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire was much in a McCarthy spirit.

In as much as any movie, song, tv show or book is in some way a reflection of its times, Good Night and Good Luck is an indictment of modern journalism. To say it is a liberal take is intentionally pejorative. There are enough moments in the film which admittedly you have to pay attention for which indicate a bias in Murrow's argument but they are biases regarding persuasion not fact. There is also a clear repition of the theme of fair trial. The importance of that fundamental right, in fact the importance of all fundamental rights is the clearest message of the film.

Clooney has expressed in interviews regarding this movie that McCarthy wasn't completely wrong in his fears regarding communist spies, but that he was out of control and some opposition had to be raised. And the debate as it unfolded is what was important about Murrow's opposition not that either Murrow or McCarthy was right. In the end, with the return to Murrow's cautionary speech, one can't help but reflect on current journalism and consider what is happening. If nothing else the film should generate a much needed debate on modern journalism.