It's been a while since I've updated this page. A dear friend of mine recommended I post more reviews, so here goes. :-)

This movie was seen on Wednesday, November 16, 2005. The rumor is that it refers to the expanded powers granted to various top-secret spy agencies (N.S.A. C.I.A. F.B.I. etc) since September 11, 2001 at the time of this writing. I originally wrote this review for a Critical Thinking class, so that is why the political thesis. Enjoy. :-)

Good Night and Good Luck, a movie directed by actor George Clooney, documents the criticism that CBS aimed at U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy during the 1950's. In a relatively short time span for today's movies (approximately ninety minutes), George Clooney portrays the resistance by CBS against the false dilemma of patriotism as stated by Senator McCarthy. As I viewed the film, it reminded me of the Patriot Act, the bill hastily passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11, 2001. Senator McCarthy randomly forced people to appear in front of the committee for apparently no justifiable reason and had them found guilty of being members of the communist party regardless of whether they had actually been or not. In the Patriot Act, government law enforcement agencies have the right to search people's homes, eavesdrop on their personal conversations with people on the phone, and arrest people without any invocation of the Fourth Amendment, which is the right for people to be protected against unreasonable search and seizure of their persons. The following explores other comparisons.
The primary character in the film is Edward Murrow, the prominent news anchor. He takes the lead in criticizing Senator Joseph McCarthy, making the statement "We cannot defend freedom abroad if we are remiss at defending it at home." He makes a specific reference to the dismissal of an Air Force serviceman after the serviceman's father is accused of being affiliated with the Communist father. "We have not seen any evidence that his father is a member of the Communist party and even if he were, the son should not be held liable for the actions of his father," he says.
Today's political climate presents a parallel. Recently, the debate regarding prewar intelligence and a timetable for U.S. servicemen and women to return home from Iraq has escalated. Almost daily, President Bush has addressed the criticisms made mainly by Democrats by saying that a timetable will "aid the insurgency" and "motivate the terrorists." Moreover, he called the Democrats' charges against him "irresponsible." At the same time, Americans live in a country where open debate and respect for the opinions of all supposedly resound. A false dilemma presents itself when a person states that anyone who does not agree with his/her opinion or policy automatically must be affiliated with the enemy or is "irresponsible" if he/she does not agree with him/her. A person certainly can disagree with the policy of how to wage a war without being affiliated with the other side or being "irresponsible."
The similarity of civil liberties violations by randomly accusing and trying people without due process during the McCarthy era to the abilities that law enforcement agencies have now in the Patriot Act is just as striking. During the life of the House of Un-American Activities Committee, any person could be subpoenaed to appear in front of the committee, be found guilty and subsequently blacklisted without any benefit of appeal or trial. In the Patriot Act, a person may be searched and arrested without any definite assurance of due process or trial. Again, the protections of the bill of rights are devoid now in the Patriot Act as they were during the McCarthy era.
It has been said that the reason that young people in K-12 schools and in college learn history because “the one who does not learn history is doomed to repeat it.” This movie makes it apparent that the United States has failed to learn the lessons of the McCarthy era. Instead, politicians of this era (some Democrats as well as Republicans) have enforced lingering elements of McCarthyism through the back door, siphoning away at the safeguards presented in the Bill of Rights. Dissent once again has been equated with disloyalty and advocating for a change in direction of the Bush Administration is equated to being "unpatriotic." Good Night and Good Luck should encourage all of us as Americans to look to what we give lip service to in contrast with our actions and to reconcile them in accordance with the U.S. Constitution. This is necessary so that people like Joseph McCarthy may not rise again, capitalizing on the uninformed fears of many to benefit a few. Only through this course may America truly live up to the democratic ideals it preaches.