Movie - Good Night and Good Luck - Essay Example

Movie - Good night and Good luck George Clooney’s Good Night and Good Luck (2005) is more than just a good plot. It is a shot at the entire totalitarian agenda. The focus of the movie is media responsibility and what follows if media tries to deviate from the government’s agenda. Through careful plotting Clooney portrays exactly what has happened in history when the rulers oppress the weak. This paper studies totalitarianism and how it relates to the movie. It also highlights the role of media regarding taking sides, exposing the truth, and how media manipulation is still practiced in the world to further self-interests. During the 1950s, totalitarianism was evident in the government rule as they exercised absolute power without justice. The authorities held absolute control over the private and public social activities (Linz 234). The authority used propaganda as a way of manipulating and instilling ideas into people’s minds. The political leaders used to act charismatic, publicly displaying emotions of; kindness, generosity and love for the people. The authority created slogans and policies that would instil fear in the public ensuring that people do not stand against the government. Those who tried to oppose these actions were called traitors, communists or simply disloyal. The government used secret forces like storm troopers to eliminate opposing subjects through covert methods like arranged accidents (Lewis 74). Totalitarianism ruled as the governments disregarded any consideration for public accountability, thus maintaining one party state. People struggled to counter this aspect of totalitarianism by using mass communication. Journalists portrayed the negative side of the government. The government, on the other hand, claimed that media was nothing but profit hungry machine. A segment of population even started believing it. The government kept pressurizing TV networks to change the news and alter words to fit their criteria. This is evidence that the media is a force to be reckoned with and its fear pressurizes the government to exercise utilitarianism in order to prevent dissent (Hans Maierc 104). The governments also realize that this tool can be used in their favour. In Good Luck and Good Night the media aims to expose government’s corruption. The iconic journalist, Murrow is one of those aiming to expose the government and perceives the acts of the government as deceitful and manipulative (Griffith 116). Senator McCarthy pictures the media as subversive and dangerous with regard to his rule. He constantly criticizes the media and with widespread claims of communist’s infiltration in the government. The senator and his followers put pressure on the media ensuring minimal chances of public dissent. Journalists are closely monitored, blacklisted and fired with accusations of being communists as the government implements totalitarianism. Those fired would find it hard to find new jobs as recruiters avoid communist suspects fearing that they would lose audience. The media thus supported the government and their injustices in the fear of being branded as sympathizers of the communist cause. The mass society theory states that the media has significant influence on the people’s resolutions. The people rely on media for information and this gives it the privilege to influence their minds. The media is taken as a powerful force with the abilities of subverting values and norms and thus should not be undermined. Media influence on people has long term effects. The theory states that modern society differs from the traditional society; out-dated values discarded for a different social society. The masses rely on media for information and guidance on current events. The government hence uses media as a tool to manipulate the society in their favour. They restrict their exposure and encourage the broadcast of their ‘good’ actions. In the movie, the mass society theory is depicted by government controlling the media. Senator McCarthy believed that media is a tool for corrupting and brainwashing people. Journalist and media houses are threatened. Any voice or case against the government is oppressed by labelling its treason or dissent. Many people are fired from work, their reputation destroyed as no other employers would associate with them. The CBS management members express fear when they cancel airing Murrow’s piece against McCarthy (Swasey, 34). Isolation tactics work effectively in threatening people. McCarthy’s fear of mass society is depicted through his beliefs, and the end justified the means. His policies disregard the fundamental rights of the Americans which the forefathers of this country struggled to establish. The irony is that the efforts by the citizens to oppose the rise of the totalitarian rule produces the government that they originally wanted to prevent. The movie also depicts another example of the mass society theory by showing fear of the government in media. The journalists who oppose the government are tagged as communists and face dire consequences. This ensures that the content aired by the media is filtered to eliminate issues that jeopardize the government’s policies. Those who go against the government are rejected just like Murrow, when the management team declines his request to air his first piece against Senator McCarthy. The use of propaganda is one of the tools which totalitarian rulers use to ensure that the public sympathizes with them. Propaganda is used to increase publicity and to portray notable traits of the leaders. The leaders exercise morality and charisma, with enticing public speeches, even through associating with children. The networks are controlled and pressured hindering their ability to report unbiased news. Before the message is approved for reporting, the original message is altered. Any unfavourable stories are eliminated. In the movie McCarthy uses propaganda by taking control of the media and limiting their abilities to publicize unbiased news. The viewers who believe this nonsense consider government their protectors and saviours. Those who attempt to speak out against the government are silenced. Dissent is given a new name ‘treason’. Accusations are made without proof. For conviction to take place evidence is not a necessity. Such oppressive terrorising actions scare the media. During the senate hearing, Lieutenant Milo Radulovich is discharged by the Air Force Reserves without trial. The family members are listed as suspects of communist affiliation. Acts like prove useful for curbing any opposition. Edward R Murrow and his crew choose to expose McCarthy’s propaganda to the public, to end the era characterised by deceit and corruption (Merron, 34). They use the media to publicize the acts of the senator to the public. They air a television show ‘See It Now’ which shows footage of events that lead to the downfall of McCarthy. After Lieutenant Milo Radulovich is discharged without evidence, Murrow publicises these issues on media drawing public’s attention to his cause (Persico 258). Murrow uses senator’s words against him. In doing so he enlightens the public on the misconceptions. They realize how the senator persecutes people exercising their rights. He brings forth the senator’s practices, differentiates dissent from treason and discusses persecutions and investigations under the senator’s supervision. He also speaks against accusations without solid proof and conviction without action. The limited effect theory states that media has little or no influence on mass opinion because people already have their own opinion. This theory claims that other factors in the society influence people’s decision about political leaders, peers, community figures and religious leaders. Mass media can only emphasize the decisions that have already been made (Blanchard, 54). People pick what to read and watch based on their developed beliefs. Hence media doesn’t really have the influence it is usually mistaken for. Murrow uses media to enlighten people on issues regarding the government. He gets many critics against the government showing that the senator was creating pressure on media to fire him. The ALCOA threatens to withdraw advertising funds if the network continued to air government critics. The US government retaliates claiming to shun the networks from their activities if they keep portraying them as the face of totalitarianism. The officials make an attempt to convince the network into believing their side of the story. They constantly remind the CBS Network that they are its long term supporters. When the network broadcasts Radulivich’s original segment, the entire news crew sits silently awaiting threat calls, emails and messages from the government. The examples from the movie portray the extent to which the media is regarded as an influential tool for shaping the public sentiment. Murrow is the central pawn in the portrayal of the limited theory. The movie also shows that the theory does not apply in a setting where media is the main source of information. McCarthy, however, tries to use media to challenge Murrow’s story. People do not believe the senator’s statement as they already have a set opinion on the case (Clooney & Heslov, 240). This shows that people tend to trust prior information over the current views of the media to some extent. The limited effect theory is in effect in the current setting as media is widespread. The media, however, is not a credible information source for all. The rise of technology has developed controversial issues in the media. Biased news is published just to increase public viewership. Technology aspects like Photoshop has discredited the integrity of information received from the news. People rely on other sources of information like attending public rallies, public meetings and information from religious leaders. In the political world people have been known to select candidates to vote based on personal experiences, reasoning and prior knowledge. This concept applies to a few individuals who are not trapped in the modern setting where all the traditional sources of information have been disregarded. Most people living in the urban centre largely depend on media for information. These people are less informed and are easily fooled by media news especially now when media is everywhere. They follow the theory of mass society. Many theories have been fabricated to justify how people perceive the media including the mass society assumption theory and the limited effect theory. Shortly after ending the Second World War, there was a period of mass hysteria in America known as McCarthyism. This period is also depicted in the movie Good Night and Good Luck where they illustrate the extent to which the political figures went in order to prevent media from criticizing the government (Clooney 258). The political leaders believe that media has a high probability of influencing people’s decision. Good Night and Good Luck portrays the ability of the media to influence people by voicing out hidden truth. In the movie, the golden age of television, the media is portrayed as an influential and a trusted source of information In the modern setting mass media is still seen as an influential tool by political leaders. Limited effect theory states that peoples decisions are based on other factors like peer influence, church leaders and of other social settings. Most people in the modern society are no longer participating in the traditional social settings and thus their decision is largely based on the information they derive from the media. The use of media is still was recently used by the likes of President G W Bush to persuade the public and justify his acts. The war on Iraq was said to be politically perpetuated act which the government justified using the media (Rampton 86). Speculative accusations were made, and media was used as a tool to instil fear. The president identified himself as a campaigner and a warrior against terrorism in the fight for a free world (Record 142). When confronted with the brutal ground realities, the government blames the intelligence agencies. The mass media theory can be a good solution for government accountability in the current setting. This will ensure that the governments do not abuse its people. The role of media is always questionable. Only assuming that they are the victims in this power politics would be unfair. There is also the possibility that news channels have their own agendas. After all, they too run on a hierarchy. There is a CEO (or more commonly the editor) who approves and disapproves what goes on air and what doesn’t. It is also true there is no such thing as truly unbiased news. There is always a side. It is as if showcasing or observing the reality somehow subverts it. The most ‘neutral’ means of electronic representation of information is a documentary. But be it the 40s, 90s or the twenty first century, there is no documentary that does not have a side or an agenda. Michael Moor’s Fahrenheit 911 (2004) is a classic example of a documentary exposing the ‘truth’. So reporting news is biased by its definition? Probably yes but there needs to be a balance between the two sides of a story. As shown in the movie Good Night and Good Luck (2005) only one side of everything was being broadcasted, the side that served government’s purpose. The other side was being choked as it went against the authority’s agenda. It is for this reason that the world considers people like Julian P. Assange and Edward Snowden as media heroes. They tell the other side of the story. In the movie McCarthy is that hero who exposes the truth and challenges the oppressive tactics of the government. In short he rips apart the blanket of fear the government used in the name of communism. There is always a villain (person, persona, ideology etc.) needed to scare people. Another interesting aspect is the way the fear of communism is exploited in the movie. This fear has deep roots and there are real examples of this exploitation from the twentieth century. In 1919, the U.S. Attorney General A Richard Palmer deported people whom he suspected of having communist sympathies (Good 110). This fear came from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. This “Red Menace” was the weapon that totalitarians used to scare the masses. In short the movie is based on real life events. Totalitarianism has been practiced in similar fashion in the past. Be it winning the war against Russia in Afghanistan or ‘landing’ on the moon before the Communists, media is used and abused to further government agenda. Information is the best tool for exploitation. Spinning history and information, imposing unnecessary censorship, spreading disinformation and forging truth are just a few tools used by the authorities. And the media makes these tactics work. Over time the manipulation tactics have changed. Back during the time of hardcore totalitarianism (similar to the imaginary system described in George Orwell’s 1984) direct threats and defamation were primary tools. It was dictatorship cloaked in polite titles such as parliaments. In the modern era direct threats would probably provoke people. For this reason the power hungry elite relies on media tactics. Totalitarianism is exercised by leaders who feel threatened by rebels, fearing the loss of their rule. They increase control over all societal activities which may directly or indirectly affect them. They apply propaganda as a way of increasing their publicity. They participate in community work and appear moral in the eyes of the public. Threats are used to scare people and to discourage opponents from rising or gaining public acceptance. People believe, in the mass society theory that media has a significant influence on people. Media has been used to counter the unjust acts of the government. The media, however, has been a perfect target of totalitarian leaders to ensure the broadcasting favours them. The irony is that when public (especially the journalists) resists policies set by the totalitarian government, these efforts in fact end up facilitating the regime. Works Cited Blanchard, Margaret. History of the Mass Media in the United States: An Encyclopedia. New York: Reutledge, 1998. George Clooney, Grant Heslov. Good night, and good luck : the screenplay and history behind the landmark movie. New York: Newmarket Press, 2006. Good, Howard. Journalism Ethics Goes to the Movies. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. Print. Griffith, Robert. The Politics of Fear: Joseph R. McCarthy and the Senate. Amherst, MA: Univ of Massachussetts Press, 1987. Hans Maier, Jodi Bruhn. Totalitarianism and poltiical religions. Vol. 3, Concepts for the comparison of dictatorships : theory and history of interpretation. New York: Routledge, 2007. Lewis, Paul. Authoritarian regimes in Latin America : dictators, despots, and tyrants. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. Linz, Juan. Totalitarian and authoritarian regimes. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000. Merron, Jeff. Edward R. Murrows contributions to television journalism, 1951-55 : a study of See It Now and Person to Person. Madison: Thesis (M.A.) University of Wisconsin, 1985. Persico, Joseph. Edward R. Murrow : an American original. New York: Da Capo Press, 1997. Record, Jeffrey. Wanting war : why the Bush administration invaded Iraq. Washington, D.C: Potomac, 2009. Sheldon Rampton, John Stauber. Weapons of mass deception : the uses of propaganda in Bushs war on Iraq. New York: Penguin, 2003. Swasey, Edward. Joseph McCarthy : how the mass media affected his fall. Harvard: Thesis (A.B., Honors in Social Studies)--Harvard University, 2000. Read More