Critical Reflection on Good Night and Good Luck Assignment

Reflection Good Night and Good Luck A reflection is an assignment intended to help us digest and better understand the material in the class we have just gone over. It contains significant quotes from the readings as well as asks specific questions to help you critically think about the content. ● Please go through this reflection on Good Night and Good Luck and answer the following questions below. ● There is also a help sheet in the event that you are struggling to understand or answer a question. ○ Please answer the written questions after you have answered them for yourself since our goal here is to get you to think critically. ○ If it’s clear you are only copying the answer section, then you will be deducted points for that answer. ■ Honestly, it’s easier and faster to just try and answer a question rather than to rework the answer in a way that I won’t notice that you copied it, so please complete the assignment as intended since it’s for your benefit. Thank you! Opening Scene of Good Night and Good Luck (3:25). ❖ The first line is “This might just do nobody any good.” ● What is the opening scene of the film and when is it? Why would the film choose to open here at this point? The opening scene of the film is at a fancy dinner tribute for Edward Murrow. At the dinner, Edward Murrow has a speech where he calls out the people, urging them to use media as a means for education and not merely just a form of entertainment. Not only does opening here at this point introduce Murrow and his character, it foreshadows what the theme of the film will be about. 1

● When Murrow is asked to come up to speak, what does he choose to talk about? What does this tell us about Murrow as a person? Murrow chooses to speak about how media has been used for the wrong reasons, and the people are responsible for perpetuating this truth by being “lazy and complacent”. He grasps the audience's attention by being blunt and straightforward. He claims that through the media, people have been being lied to and sheltered from reality. It is evident that Murrow is a person who is courageous about reporting the truth, regardless of who is comfortable with the truth. The Case of Milo Radulovich (11:06) ❖ The first line is “You ever spend any time in Detroit, Fred?” In this scene, Friendly and Murrow are discussing the case of Milo Radulovich, discussing the actions of the air force along with justification for their actions. Identify the Claim and Data . After, identify as many Fallacies as you can. ● What is the Air Force’s Claim ? The Air Force claims that Milo Radulovich’s dad is a communist. ● What pieces of Data does the Air Force use to back up their Claim ? In other words, what’s their reasoning? It can be more than one thing. 2

Since Milo Radulovich’s dad was seen reading some Serbian newspaper, he is suspected to be a communist, therefore Milo was kicked out of the air force. ● What Fallacies can you identify and how are they being used? (I can guarantee there are at least 5) ○ Fallacy 1 Hasty Generalization: ○ Fallacy 2 Anecdotal Evidence: ○ Fallacy 3 Burden of Proof: ○ Fallacy 4 Genetic Fallacy: ○ Fallacy 5 Ad Hominem: Talk With Stanton Regarding The Report on Milo (12:51) ❖ The first line is “Well, that’s new.” In the next scene, Friendly and Murrow are trying to convince Stanton, an executive at CBS, to allow them to run the story on Milo Radulovich. Like last time, identify the Claim and Data . After, identify as many Fallacies as you can. 3

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● What is Friendly and Murrow’s Claim ? Murrow and Friendly’s claim is that Milo Radulovich was punished unjustly. ● What pieces of Data do Friendly and Murrow use to back up their Claim ? In other words, what’s their reasoning? It can be more than one thing. Their reasoning behind this claim is that he was declared guilty without trial and that the charges were sealed in an envelope where nobody could see them. ● What is Stanton’s Claim ? Stanton’s claim is that the story leans too much in a political direction that would bring trouble into the network. He fears that the story would put the network in a compromising position and get the people who work with the network in trouble with McCarthy. Stanton worries that the network is being associated with sympathizing with communism. Overall, because Murrow is so adamant about getting this story out, Stanton claims that Murrow is looking to target McCarthy. ● What pieces of Data does Stanton use to back up their Claim ? In other words, what’s his reasoning? It can be more than one thing. The pieces of data used to back Stanton's claim is that the interview only covers Radulovich’s side and Murrow does not provide any commentary from the Air Force’s side. 4

● Identify what Fallacies occur in this argument. Interestingly enough, all 3 people in this argument create a fallacy (I can guarantee there are at least 6). ○ Fallacy 1: Burden of Proof: Since there isn't any definite proof that Radulovich’s family is affiliated with communism, Murrow believes that there needs to be adequate enough information to be able to make that claim against him. However, he also can not prove that Milo is not a communist. ○ Fallacy 2: Anecdotal Evidence: Though Murrow meant well and may have been right in his feelings, he was speaking more from personal observation or “searching his conscience” rather than having any solid proof that Milo was not affiliated with communism. ○ Fallacy 3: Correlation: Stanton assumes that if the story gets out, it will cause social uproar, however, what if that is not the case? What if people see the unjustness and are thankful to know the information? ○ Fallacy 4: Appeal to Tradition: Stanton is avoiding branching out with any new stories because they have been organized a certain way for so long, designed not to ruffle too many feathers. 5

○ Fallacy 5: Slippery Slope: Stanton claims that with the direction that the story heads in, it inevitably will cause conflict within the company, which may not be true, and just be stemming from his own discomfort with unpleasant information. ○ Fallacy 6: Strawmanning: Stanton claims that Murrow is just trying to attack McCarthy, instead of considering that McCarthy is actually being unfair and cruel. 6

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Friendly’s Talk With The Colonels Regarding the Report on Milo (15:18) ❖ The first line is “To be clear, you did speak with the lawyers?” Friendly is called into his office by two Colonels who want to discuss the story Murrow and Friendly are doing on Milo. Like the others, identify the Claim and Data . After, identify as many Fallacies as you can. ● What is the Claim of the two Colonels? The two Colonels are claiming that despite Friendly’s claims, he also has not found any evidence that Radulovich is not a security risk. ● What pieces of Data do the colonels use to back up their Claim ? It can be more than one thing. The data that the colonels use to back up their claim is that people who view contents within the envelope are qualified enough to identify what makes someone a danger to the country. ● What is Friendly’s Claim ? Friendly’s claim is that the U.S. The Air Force tried Milo Radulovich without any evidence and found him guilty of being a security risk with no proof. 7

● What pieces of Data does Friendly use to back up their Claim ? It can be more than one thing. The data that Friendly uses to back up his claim is that the people viewing the content of the envelope are not appointed or elected officials, therefore they are equal in terms of the validity of their claims. 8

● Identify what Fallacies occur in this argument, on both sides (I can guarantee there are at least 5). ○ Fallacy 1: Burden of Proof: The Colonels claim that since Friendly can not prove that Radulovich is not a danger, Friendly’s claim is invalid. In the same breath, Friendly believes that since nobody can validate what's within the envelope, there is no proof Radulovich is a danger or threat. ○ Fallacy 2: Personal Incredulity: Friendly is not able to prove or validate any information about Radulovich. He can only speak from his feelings and hope people agree with him. ○ Fallacy 3 Genetic Fallacy: Friendly claims that whoever read over the documents in the sealed envelope, unless they were appointed or assigned officials, they are a less credible source. ○ Fallacy 4: Correlation: In the same breath, the COlonels assume that simply because the person was given access to the documents, they are automatically credible and trustworthy, which also, there is not enough evidence to know if they are or are not. ○ Fallacy 5: Argument from Repetition: Both parties have a limited amount of proof to back up both of their claims. Since both parties are passionate about getting 9

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their point across with limited proof, the argument turns into reiterating their arguments to each other. Murrow’s Report on McCarthy- March 9, 1954 (40:58) ❖ The first line is “Because a report on senator McCarthy…” On March 9th, 1954, Murrow, on the show See it Now , gave his report on McCarthy, regarding his approach to dealing with communism. ● When Murrow begins his report on Senator McCarthy, he begins by specifically stating, “Because a report on Senator McCarthy is by definition controversial, we want to say exactly what we mean to say and request your permission to read from a script whatever remarks Murrow and Friendly may make.” What does this show about Murrow’s report? This lets the audience know that the report is going to reveal some information about McCarthy that is likely not positive. ● What is Murrow’s Main Claim in his report on McCarthy? Murrow’s main claim is that McCarthy punishes people and destroys careers without investigation or proper evidence or it is that McCarthur has a specific fear of communists and fears communism taking over, therefore reflecting in his unjust action. ● What Data does he use to support his Claim ? The data used to support his claims are clips of McCarthur himself, “In this fight against communism, is a fight between America’s two great political parties, the American people know that one of these parties will be destroyed and the republic can not endure very long as a one party system.” 10

● Identify what Fallacies occur in this argument. ○ Fallacy 1: False Dilemma: While Murrow means well in his approach, and may even be correct, his argument holds a false dilemma because there could be reasons that Murrow is not aware about, other than the newspaper incident, that gives McCarthy reason to believe that Milo is a risk. ○ Fallacy 2: Strawman: While McCarthy may have been a mean man, Murrow only providing small clips of McCarthy’s interview could be seen as picking only small pieces of information to focus on and make their argument strong. ○ Fallacy 3: Ad hominem: Murrow deems McCarthy as an evil man from the start. Though it may be true, if it were not, it would be seen as an attack on McCarthy’s character and not his views or ideas at hand. ● Murrow also offers McCarthy an opportunity to come onto the show if he feels that the show misrepresented his statements. Why does Murrow choose to do this? Murrow chooses to do this so that fair and equal opportunities are given on both sides to provide reasoning for their claims and actions. This is likely to protect themselves from accusations of unfairly targeting or attacking McCarthy. McCarthy’s Rebuttal to Murrow (1:03:28) ❖ The first line is “One month ago tonight…” 11

On April 6th, McCarthy gave his rebuttal to Murrow’s report on him. ● What is Senator McCarthy’s Claim? How does the claim address Murrow’s report? Senator McCarthy’s claim is that Murrow is a communist sympathizer. ● What Data does Senator McCarthy use for his Claim ? The data Senator McCarthy used for his claim is 12

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● Identify what Fallacies occur in this argument ○ Fallacy 1: Ad hominem: McCarthy attacks Murrow's character by stating that If on the other hand Mr. Murrow is giving comfort to our enemies, he ought not to be brought to the homes of millions of Americans by CBS. ○ Fallacy 2: Texas Sharpshooter: McCarthy has failed to address the accusations presented by Murrow, instead he only brings attention to the things he feels he does right for Americans. ○ Fallacy 3: Red Herring: McCarthy shifts focus to Murrow being a “communist sympathizer” in attempts to refute and draw attention away from the accusations against himself ● What part of McCarthy’s response addressed Murrow’s argument? “If I am giving comfort to the enemies, I ought to not be the senate. If on the other hand Mr. Murrow is giving comfort to our enemies, he ought not to be brought to the homes of millions of Americans by CBS.” ● Interestingly, when McCarthy says he will come onto the show, Murrow knows that McCarthy’s goal would be to attack him (56:36). How did Murrow, before McCarthy ever spoke a word in his rebuttal, know how McCarthy was going to respond to the argument? What does this tell us about argumentation? 13

Murrow knew how McCarthy was going to respond because it is later discovered that McCarthy is in fact guilty of the things he was accused of, bringing forth the term, “McCarthyism”. Since he was guilty, his automatic reaction was defensiveness. Murrow has observed patterns in McCarthy’s actions over the years. This tells us that the argumentation likely works our in Murrow’s favor in the end. Murrow’s Speech at the end of the film. (1:25:36) ❖ The first line is “I began by saying…” At the end of the film, we return to the speech Murrow gives during the banquet held in his honor. ● Why do you believe the film chooses to open and close with this speech? Why might this be important to both Murrow as a person and the ideas that he stands for? How might this relate to what we are learning? I feel the film chooses to open and close with the speech because the beginning foreshadows who and what the rest of the film will be about. Right off the bat he is very straightforward and confident in his beliefs, however there is no context given for why he feels this way. After watching the film, his cause seems even that much more meaningful. The ending finally resolves any curiosity about who the speech was about, giving insight on why the conflict between Murrow and McCarthy transpired. This might relate to what we are learning because it highlights the idea of acting on one's own intuition and beliefs rather than worrying about conforming or receiving backlash. If it is for the right cause, the backlash is worth it. 14

● After watching many of the examples of argumentation that we’ve gone over, I think you’ll notice that there is a pattern with what they say getting them into trouble even when creating strong logic-based arguments. In that case, would we as individuals suffer the same fate if we tried? If we were to face a situation where logic was not being used for proper decision-making, what is our responsibility then? This is a hard question to answer and would be different for many of us, but I want you to try and answer it anyway to help reflect. We as individuals would likely suffer the same fate. It is normal to have logical arguments and to still have those surrounding you disagree with them. Our responsibility when faced with a situation where logic was not being used is to remain confident in our own beliefs, not wavering simply because someone disagrees. Especially if it is in the face of justice. 15

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Reflection: Good Night and Good Luck

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