"Good Night, and Good Luck" (2005), directed by George Clooney, is an impactful film showcasing the government's involvement when it comes to silencing the media. It's a high profile movie with stars such as David Strathairn, Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Daniels and more.
The film follows the protagonist Edward Murrow (David Strathairn), a veteran journalist who is going toe-to-toe with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the days of The Red Scare.
Despite the accusations of being involved in communist actions, Murrow pushes back against McCarthy and the government to expose the corruption and falsity of McCarthy. Murrow continues to use his position and show at CBS to tell the truth about McCarthyism. Murrow holds strong even when his CBS superiors are urging him to stop and threaten to move his CBS show to the Sunday afternoon slot.
Murrow's actions throughout the film is a great example of how journalists should be standing up to the government in these moments of attempted censorship. Murrow's determination to tell the truth and passion for the job led to the downfall of McCarthy and his scare-tactics.
We're in a day and age where the government is going out of their way to put a lid on anything that could bring criticism and downfall to them. The government wants their power, and they want tight control on what the media says.
This isn't exactly a new idea. "Good Night, and Good Luck" in and of itself is a cinematic retelling of real life events that actually happened in the 1950s. This has been going on for decades and even before then. The government has always had something to hide. They've always made desperate attempts to distract from what is really going on behind closed doors of the higher political power.
I have no doubt that this is going to get worse, and it's up to future journalists to take a stand against them.
There's no question that it's scary, and we've all seen what happens to journalists when they speak out and get too close to the truth. But it's a risk that journalists should be taking already and a risk that future journalists are going to have to take.
In theory, the media and the government should be working together. That's the ideal relationship, but not the relationship that they've had for a very long time...if ever.
It seems that with every passing day though, we're getting further from that goal. Every year brings bigger and more unbelievable events, and some of those events never even see the light of day from the media.
Slimy politicians create a shady mess with even more questionable means of getting rid of the truth. Or, at least, getting rid of the vessel who is going to tell the truth.
You can't run from what's true and real, but you can shut down the people willing to call you out on it.
The polarization of this country is largely due to this. Nobody can be moderate anymore, and the ones who try to be are shunned for not choosing a side.
In many ways, we're beginning to see a resurgence in the concept of McCarthyism...minus communism.
Cancel culture is a relatively new idea in America, and it's something that has totally exploded in the last few years. The internet's definition of cancel culture is as follows:
"The practice of withdrawing support for public figures or companies after they have done or said something considered objectionable or offensive."
No one is allowed to have an opinion anymore. Democrats are "canceling" Trump supporters. Republicans are "canceling" Biden supporters.
Why?
Simply because they don't agree, and they don't like it.
Political differences are hardly any reason to not support someone. Earlier last year, A-list actor Chris Pratt was publicly ridiculed and shamed after it was discovered on Twitter that he identifies as a republican and previously voted for former president Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
People jumped all over it. They were digging through his social media and personal information to find evidence of this, blasting his personal political and religious views in a negative way as a means of "canceling" him.
Pratt's most famous celebrity pals such as Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo (who both identify as democrats) defended their Avengers co-star publicly after the internet targeted Pratt.
People are being accused of being "traitors" for not agreeing with others' ideas. In today's age, you can't have a stance or opinion on something without risking cancellation. It's our God given right to have different thoughts and viewpoints, and it's shameful that so many people are being attacked for it.
The media has done nothing to help solve this. If anything, they've caused it and made it worse.
People's lives are being ruined for being accused of these different things. Very similar to those accused of communism during the McCarthy era. It's dangerous how similar that time period is to today, and it's scary how history is seemingly repeating itself.
We need to return to a time where it was acceptable to have different opinions. A time where democrats and republicans could live peacefully together. A time where pro-abortion and anti-abortion protesters could respect one another. A time where those stuck in the middle weren't mocked and harassed.
And a time where everyone was free to tell the truth and have an opinion.
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