Good Night, and Good Luck

 Good Night, and Good Luck is a historical drama that encapsulates the 1950s and its relationship to communism regarding CBS News.

The film has an A-list line of stars in its cast including George Clooney, David Strathairn, and Grant Heslov, just to name a few. The film is also in black and white which gives it a more realistic feel in its mid-century era. 

George Clooney plays the role of Fred W. Friendly, a journalist who gained recognition in the early 1950s for the CBS news show See It Now. Fred W. Friendly also collaborated with Edward R. Murrow, a broadcast journalist, played by David Strathairn to produce See It Now. 

The film spans over an hour and a half and focuses on the dangers of communism and how journalism and political power can lead others into hysteria through its influence. 

We see this influence start at the beginning of the film. At the beginning of the film, we are shown a flashback of Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow discussing topics that would be great for their news show when Edward brings up the idea that they should discuss the military and their ties to communism. 

Fred and Edward decide that this story is worth exploring and go ahead and start working on it for their show. Their creative process comes to a halt when men of the military attempt to Fred and Edward to not air the story as it might have damaging repercussions if it is aired. 

The two men disregard the encounter and decide to air the segment on See It Now regardless of what they have been previously told. After their segment is aired they are caught by the eye of Senator Joesph McCarthy.

This inspires Fred and Edward to invite Joesph McCarthy to See It Now, to explain how he viewed their previous segment on ties between the military and communism. Unsure of how the interview will turn out Edward begins going after McCarthy during the interview which leads to McCarthy accusing Edward of being a communist in another interview. 

Edward of course denies McCarthy's claims of any ties to the communist party and continues the interview. 

Although not being too familiar with Good Night, and Good Luck before viewing the film I did thoroughly enjoy watching it. I also had very little knowledge of the story as a whole, but the film made it easy to follow along.

 As a film student myself, I especially admired how the film chose to be in black and white instead of color which I felt gave it a more realistic feel. 

Overall I enjoyed the film and was glad I had the privilege to learn about an important piece of history.