Blog Post #9: Movie Review - Good Night & Good Luck

Good Night & Good Luck provides a depiction of what it was like to work in the journalism field in the 1950’s where the fundamentals of freedom of speech was restricted to the majority’s voice. Living in a Red Scare era, the narrative was anti–communist beliefs and anything slightly against those values was criminal according to this article. Within the movie, U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy spearheaded the House Un-American Activities Committee whose sole purpose was to investigate and sniff out communists in federal positions and even the film industry. Allegiance and loyalty was everything at that time and the slightest rumor related to communists can have you snubbed at the drop of a hat. This is what was happening in the Hollywood environment as movie executives kept records of suspected communists and would blacklist them from other jobs. Though this was the goal that McCarthy wanted as his outlook was similar to a dictator. We see this as the U.S. Air Force officer Milo Radulovich loses his job as he refuses to disown his family who McCartney suspects are communist. Later he is reinstated after an investigation proves no communist ties. Much like a smear campaign, McCarthy uses half-truths and rumors to ruin any person who questions his methods. He attempted to do that with journalist Edward R. Murrow after he fronted a news story questioning McCarthy’s investigation of Murrow.

This makes me reflect on what it must have been like to be a journalist at the time as alternative beliefs were not only unwelcomed but could lead to further repercussions. I think that we are already censored but during the Red Scare suppression was at an all time high. On some level I think that political parties agree to disagree and have to accept that people have different viewpoints but during war and communism there was only one belief and anything besides that was absolutely treacherous. In this movie we see a tug-a-war with the press in the middle of obeying the government’s narrative and serving the public with the truth of the matter.