Good Night, and Good Luck...Staying Awake

Though this was the most painfully boring movie we have watched in this class, I was still able to glean a couple things from it. First, I adored the cinematography, especially Clooney's choice to set it in black and white. Basically, he wanted to use the real footage of McCarthy, and in order to do that, had to set the entire film in black and white to match the footage. I think it worked out, considering the darkness and sobriety of the film. I also liked the use of slow, dramatic zoom-ins and zoom-outs. The whole film had a steady pace that matched the boring-ness of the film, so at least it was cohesive. The other thing I was able to appreciate was the overall message about freedom of speech and the citizens' duty to use it. This is a great example of how the media plays the role of the watchdog and keeps those in power accountable. I loved Murrow's final monologue, as I think it sums up not only the motif of the film, but of journalism as a whole.