Friday, November 04, 2005
Good Night and Good Luck
I saw the new George Cloonie movie, "Good Night and Good Luck" last Saturday night and give it my enthusiastic recommendation. However, I came away with a different understanding of who the true villain was when the movie was over, and hearing the different reviews of it in the media makes me believe that there is a bit of a cover up on a true and honest review of the movie.
The movie begins with Edward R. Murrow receiving a life achievement award in the 1960s. His speech to the audience of media big wigs begins with a sweeping indictment of the future of the news, where entertainment is valued over information, and corporate advertisers threaten the very existence of the "Fourth Estate."
The movie then transports us back to the early 1950s and the time of the McCarthy witchhunts, featuring the junior senator from Wisconsin who announced that there were 57 communists working in the State Department. That move began the ascent of Joe McCarthy who ruined the careers of a number of innocent citizens, both public and private. Murrow, along with his sidekick Fred Friendly, adopted a strategy to take down "Tail Gunner Joe" by featuring a young Air Force airman who was being court martialed for failing to denounce his father, who was an East European immigrant. This led to a further attack on McCarthy, and ultimately leading to his downfall. It is this story that gets most of the attention in the news, as you can see by checking out these sites obtained via a Google search.
The real story, however, was the ever increasing threat not from communist demagogues but corporate media. Throughout the media, Murrow is reminded that such a political news story would offend advertisers. At the time, Murrow's show was sponsored by ALCOA, or the "Aluminum Company of America, and for CBS allowing Murrow to run the political broadside, Murrow would have to do several weeks worth of fluff pieces to appease his chief sponsor. Later, after McCarthy is brought down and the celebrations have ended, Murrow is told by his boss at CBS, William Paley, that his show, "See It Now," was being removed from its time slot in favor of more entertaining shows. He would now have a slot on Sunday afternoon.
This is the real message of "Good Night and Good Luck," and one that Clooney tries carefully to conceal. It seems that it may have worked. The corporate press--both electronic and print--have chosen to focus on the triumph over evil represented by Joe McCarthy while leaving the real cancer--a neutered press due to pressures from stockholders and advertisers--uncovered.
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The movie begins with Edward R. Murrow receiving a life achievement award in the 1960s. His speech to the audience of media big wigs begins with a sweeping indictment of the future of the news, where entertainment is valued over information, and corporate advertisers threaten the very existence of the "Fourth Estate."
The movie then transports us back to the early 1950s and the time of the McCarthy witchhunts, featuring the junior senator from Wisconsin who announced that there were 57 communists working in the State Department. That move began the ascent of Joe McCarthy who ruined the careers of a number of innocent citizens, both public and private. Murrow, along with his sidekick Fred Friendly, adopted a strategy to take down "Tail Gunner Joe" by featuring a young Air Force airman who was being court martialed for failing to denounce his father, who was an East European immigrant. This led to a further attack on McCarthy, and ultimately leading to his downfall. It is this story that gets most of the attention in the news, as you can see by checking out these sites obtained via a Google search.
The real story, however, was the ever increasing threat not from communist demagogues but corporate media. Throughout the media, Murrow is reminded that such a political news story would offend advertisers. At the time, Murrow's show was sponsored by ALCOA, or the "Aluminum Company of America, and for CBS allowing Murrow to run the political broadside, Murrow would have to do several weeks worth of fluff pieces to appease his chief sponsor. Later, after McCarthy is brought down and the celebrations have ended, Murrow is told by his boss at CBS, William Paley, that his show, "See It Now," was being removed from its time slot in favor of more entertaining shows. He would now have a slot on Sunday afternoon.
This is the real message of "Good Night and Good Luck," and one that Clooney tries carefully to conceal. It seems that it may have worked. The corporate press--both electronic and print--have chosen to focus on the triumph over evil represented by Joe McCarthy while leaving the real cancer--a neutered press due to pressures from stockholders and advertisers--uncovered.
