“Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.” – George W. Bush. Sure, W. The United States government in the year 2005 was just as out of line with their accusation of Iraq concealing weapons of mass destruction as Senator Joseph McCarthy was with accusing people of being communists. Obviously, George Clooney was trying to illustrate this with his directorial debut Goodnight and Good Luck.
In 2005, we could prove nothing, just as McCarthy had no proof that those he accused of being communist were actually communist in 1963. What happened in both situations is the government found a common enemy for society in both times, and exploited them. In times of despair and lack of hope Americans want someone to blame. Jumping on the coat tails of the Soviet Union in the 50s and the animosity towards Middle Eastern countries after 9/11. The timing of the release of Goodnight and Good Luck clearly had to do with the fact that George Clooney wanted to make a statement: our government is full of loons. The movie examines how the media responded to McCarthy, objecting to and challenging his claims. Evidently, Clooney believes that Bush’s claims were just as fallacious, or else the subject matter of this film would be quite different.
There’s a simple way to sum up Goodnight and Good Luck: No physical evidence? No need to speak, boys.
McCarthy's committee acted in the fifties not the sixties. Most of the media did not respond critically to McCarthy at all. Rather, they supported him. Be more specific and check your facts.
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