Movie - Good Night and Good Luck Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Movie - Good Night and Good Luck - Essay Example 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 instill 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 the 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 favor. 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).