The Only Thing to Fear.

84. Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005)
100 Films of the 2000s

In 2005 George Clooney directed his second feature film, the black and white Good Night, and Good Luck. The film chronicles the on-air battle between seasoned television host and journalist Edward R. Murrow and senator Joseph McCarthy over McCarthy's anti-communist hearings and investigations in the 1950s. Murrow's program strikes a blow to McCarthy's interrogations though it soon ends following the clash between the media man and the senator from Wisconsin. More importantly however, after that moment the state of television journalism and politics was changed forever.

Though the film documents McCarthy's hearings on alleged communists and communist sympathizers it doesn't merely offer a simple condemnation of McCarthy's witch hunts. It's primary intent is to address the use of our news media and primarily television journalism as an outlet for delivering information rather than just entertainment, to use television to address important issues rather than just run cigarette ads and comedic talk shows. Clooney bookends his film with a speech from Murrow on the state of television journalism and it's uses and above all it's importance. George Clooney stated that the project began interesting him because he felt it was time "to raise the idea of using fear to stifle political debate" (Brooks, Brian. indieWIRE, "Clooney Speaks Out About Journalism and Filmmaking As NYFF Opens." Retrieved: April 24, 2007) and also majored in journalism in school. Not only does Clooney's film succeed in displaying the importance of integrity and responsibility in television journalism it also captures the look and feel of the time quite well with music and sets that represent the 1950s authentically.

What interests me even more about the film is what the state of televised journalism has become today as well as the conflict between opinion journalism and unbiased reporting. Though Murraw's actions blur the line between the two we can see the nobility in his actions. He and his crew saw what they viewed as injustice and took action. However, today not only has the line between opinion journalism and unbiased reporting become almost nonexistent, conflicting news outlets push political agendas almost shamelessly or attempt to create divide among political views for sake of ratings and it seems that Murrow's push for integrity in journalism and its use to inform has been misshapen and discarded. They took what was useful for personal gain and abandoned what was important in principle.

10 Films of 2005:

10. Good Night, and Good Luck (George Clooney)