Influence Of The Movie Good Night, And Good Luck

Impactful, inspiring, influential are all words that describe the film Good Night, and Good Luck directed by George Clooney. The film is about Senator Joseph McCarthy on his witch-hunt for communists in the United States of America during the early 1950s and Edward Murrow a journalist and host of a television program. Good Night, and Good Luck is a powerful film that demonstrates the authoritative power of media, the historical representations of the McCarthy Era, and is significant in today’s media culture and US politics.

Media is a powerful tool that can be used to influence the majority and the distortion of truth in media has a rippling effect that may prove to be dangerous. Good Night, and Good Luck is an extravagant film that exposes the truth of media. The main protagonist in the film, Edward Murrow, makes attempts to caution the audience about the power of media. In the film, Murrow says “We have a built in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information; our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses, and recognize that television, in the main, is being use to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture, too late.” (Heslov & Clooney, 2005) Which is

Good Night, and Good Luck showcased the parallels between the McCarthy era and the “war on terror.” The film relates to present-day politics as it had an abundance of parallels with the events following the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. In the film the Cold War on communism is a parallel of the “war on terrorism.” The witch-hunt for communists during the Red Scare was much like the hunt for terrorists post September 11 attacks. In both incidents, media was utilized to help support politicians in getting what they