Good Night and Good Luck

In Good Night and Good Luck, director George Clooney follows the conflict between outspoken television journalist Edward R. Murrow and anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy during the hard times of the Red Scare. Murrow uses his television show to expose McCarthy’s fallacious arguments, while providing his own opinion on the matter. He begins by defending former Air Force pilot Milo Radulovich as not being the Communist agent McCarthy charges him to be. Due to his radical messages against McCarthy, advertisers begin pulling their advertisements. Thus Good Night and Good Luck was placed at an undesired time slot on Sunday afternoons, and allotted five last episodes. The conflict between Murrow and McCarthy is so deep that due to his outspoken messages against a politician, the program eventually becomes subject to cancellation. Although his arguments are controversial for that time, Murrow shows courage while exposing McCarthy’s fallacious arguments, by displaying how McCarthy is making false accusations towards Radulovich.

Murrow is correct to show that McCarthy’s argument against the rules of evidence is fallacious; the fact that McCarthy feels certification is not needed reveals just how weak his overall argument is. As McCarthy continues to generate claims without facts, his argument becomes weak. This is revealed as McCarthy accuses Radulovich of

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being a Communist, with the only source being a report on how his father reads a Serbian newspaper. (Clooney) Without genuine evidence from a credible source, an argument is as good as a blatant claim. McCarthy’s “evidence” is in fact unsubstantiated in itself. Therefore, his accusations contain no basis, and lack the foundation needed to provide solid and subs...

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... of his suspicions. Back then it was considered taboo to have any relation or alliance with a Communism source. In this case McCarthy is correct in suspecting that Radulovich could quite possibly be affiliated with Communism. Though his motives may have been correct, his tactics were unjust and rash. It is part of Murrow’s career as a Journalist to seek out the facts, and confirm them with credible sources and evidence, therefore Murrow has a greater foundation on which to rest his defending statements. McCarthy’s claims however provide no valid grounds and lack the stance necessary to create a solid and logical argument. The way Murrow defends Radulovich may lead to a conclusion that Murrow could quite possibly be a Communist.

However it is wrong to accuse some one of such vile and treasonable actions without solid evidence to back up his arguments.