Viewing Guide - Good Night and Good Luck PDF

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Film Viewing Guide – Good Night and Good Luck Motion picture title Year: Director Writer Cast (partial): Character Fred Friendly Edward R. Murrow William Paley Don Hollenbeck Shirley Wershba Joe Wershba Sig Mickelson Senator Joseph McCarthy Liberace Roy M. Cohn

Good Night and Good Luck 2005 George Clooney George Clooney and Grant Heslov Actor George Clooney David Strathairn Frank Langella Ray Wise Patricia Clarkson Robert Downey, Jr. Jeff Daniels Himself (archival footage) Himself (archival footage) Himself (archival footage)

NB: This film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role. 1.In what decade did the events in this film occur? 1950s post WII 2.Early in the film, Sig Mickelson (played by Jeff Daniels) introduced Edward R. Murrow (played by David Strathairn) to the guests at a testimonial banquet. Mickelson recounted what Murrow did in London during the “Battle of Britain.” What was it that Murrow did? (Student research required.)

3.What were some of the criticisms that Murrow leveled at how television was being used? People are getting lazy, fat due to the television. They are no longer thinking, involving, and voicing their opinions 4.When Shirley Wershba (played by Patricia Clarkson) and Joe Wershba (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) meet by the file cabinets, what kind of oath did Joe whisper about? Loyal Oath to CBS saying they’re not communists 5.Who was Milo Radulovich and why did Murrow take an interest in him? Irish that the Air Force kicked out due to his Dad reading a communist newspaper 6.What sponsor was the CBS network fearful of losing? Paley and Alcoa 7.How do the workplace smoking habits of the film’s characters differ from what we see today? Smoking is normalized and occurs inside rather than outside and as a rarity

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Film Viewing Guide – Good Night and Good Luck 8.In the advertisement for Kent cigarettes, what connection did the product spokesman make between Kent cigarettes and Murrow’s viewers? Overthinking people switch to Kent 9.Who was the celebrity that Murrow interviewed? What indications did Murrow give as to how he felt about doing celebrity interviews? Senator McCarthy 10. What was Bill Paley’s job at CBS? CEO 11. What did the term “pinko” mean? A person with left wing or liberal views - sympathetic to communism 12. Why did Shirley Wershba tell Joe Wershba to remove his wedding band? Coworkers couldn’t be married 13. Why was Don Hollenbeck troubled by Jack O’Brian’s column? What newspaper employed O’Brian? Who owned the newspaper that employed O’Brian? O’Brian was a McCarthy supporting columnist while Hollenbeck was working for a left leaning newspaper that was too sympathetic to communism. O’Brian worked in the NY Journal American and other Newspaper in the Hearst Newspaper Chain. William Rndolph Hearst owned Hearst Communications 14. What was the significance of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s contention that Murrow had been a member of certain organizations? McCarthy was trying to prove Murrow a communist 15. What misstatement did McCarthy make about the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)? He describes the ACLU as “listed as a front for doing work of the communist party” 16. In a conversation that Bill Paley had with Fred Friendly on the elevator, Paley told Friendly that McCarthy wanted someone to offer a rebuttal to Murrow. Who was McCarthy’s choice for that job? William Buckley 17. Bill Paley accused Murrow of engaging in his own form of censorship and criticized Murrow for not correcting a statement regarding the criminal conviction of Alger Hiss. Who was Alger Hiss? For what crime was he convicted? (Research) Alger Hiss is an American government official convicted of perjury and treason 18. Why was Annie Lee Moss being questioned by a Congressional committee? She was accused of being a communist and had transmitted messages in the pentagon, they believed she was supplying information to communists 19. What was The Daily Worker? A communist paper

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Film Viewing Guide – Good Night and Good Luck 20. Who was Roy Cohn and what was his relationship with Senator Joseph McCarthy? An American attorney and her served McCarthy’s Chief Council during the 2nd Red Scare 21. In one of the film’s final scenes a tuxedoed gentleman was speaking on the TV monitor in the CBS lobby? Who was he? Eisenhower 22. What did Murrow suggest were the most important functions that television could perform? Inspire and inform

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