Dominant Ideologies

Good Night and Good Luck can easily be viewed as commentary of the state of america in the 1950's, especially where ideology is concerned. It is easy to see what values the country held simply by observing how they were depicted. Here are a few of the most prevalent ideologies present in the movie.

Capitalism: Capitalism is perhaps the most obviously dominant ideology that is apparent in the film, which is extremely reflective of the 1950s time period that it represents. With the fear of communism rapidly spreading and the second red scare in full effect, Americans were desperate to cling to their capitalist values and avoid collapsing under the "domino effect" of communism. It is this fear that fueled what some may call McCarthy's rule of terror. It led Americans to keep silent rather than speak up about McCarthy's abuse of power, and to turn in their neighbors and friends as communists.




Democracy: In America, democracy goes hand in hand with capitalism, as they are both key principles that this nation is founded on. It is evident in the film for the same reason as capitalism. Fear of communism was crippling in a way that we probably can't fully understand at this point. As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, CBS even forced its staff to sign loyalty oaths, demanding unwavering dedication to the principle of democracy. While Murrow and his team criticize McCarthy and his methods, they never question the ideas of democracy and capitalism, even stating their own allegiance to these ideologies. Neither are in any way disputed, and other ideologies such as communism, or even socialism, are never given any credibility or even screen time, at all.

Patriarchy: Patriarchy is portrayed throughout the film, as the majority of the main cast is made up of men. This is a historically accurate depiction of the time, as it represents the actual sexual demographic that existed in the news industry during that time. The 1950s was an era of conformity between WWII and the free expression of the 60s. Women typically stayed in the home to raise children while men went to work, and this is readily apparent in the movie. The only female character in the main cast is portrayed for the most part as an inferior addition to the staff of CBS. She has a limited role and mostly appears as the wife of another character, without any real influence at the station.

White Privilege: In the film, there is only one person of color that makes regular appearances. Played by Dianne Reeves, she is a black woman in a stereotypical black role- that of a jazz singer. As far as other minorities are concerned, they are not even really represented. Again, this is historically accurate. Before the 1960s especially, white dominance was typical in many industries, including that of television.

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The movie trailer of Good Night and Good Luck does an excellent job representing all of these ideologies. The female character is shown sparingly, and is never portrayed as at all influential. No people of color appear, and the entire trailer focuses on the fear of communism. The characters are terrified of being accused of any communist activities for exposing Senator McCarthy and that terror is vividly apparent.