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Need help with this practice essay question

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Einstein_Reborn_97:
This is for Good Night, and Good Luck. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

“Murrow: You were always yellow
Fred: Better than red”

Evaluate how Clooney uses evocative imagery to explore the power of representation in society. Use the above extract as a starting point.

In your response, make detailed reference to the film.

angewina_naguen:

--- Quote from: Einstein_Reborn_97 on May 04, 2020, 07:55:41 pm ---This is for Good Night, and Good Luck. Any help will be greatly appreciated!

“Murrow: You were always yellow
Fred: Better than red”

Evaluate how Clooney uses evocative imagery to explore the power of representation in society. Use the above extract as a starting point.

In your response, make detailed reference to the film.

--- End quote ---

Hey, Einstein_Reborn_97!

Interesting practice essay question you've got there! The quote you've been provided is a bit offputting but it's ultimately asking you to explore how individuals and collectives saw themselves during the McCarthy era, especially the increasing paranoia caused from the Red Scare, and how Good Night, and Good Luck sought to capture that in the film. For this question, you would need to look at themes that relate to "the power of representation" such as responsibilities of the media, institutionalised fear and secrecy in society (what has either not been represented or represented inaccurately). These are some great issues that still translate into our contemporary world today  :D Since your question also prescribes a focus on "evocative imagery", I would recommend the majority of your textual evidence and analysis be centred around the film techniques used by Clooney (camera angles, shots, colour, mise-en-scene, diegetic/non-diegetic sound etc.) to address it effectively  ;D Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D

Einstein_Reborn_97:

--- Quote from: angewina_naguen on May 05, 2020, 03:21:23 pm ---Hey, Einstein_Reborn_97!

Interesting practice essay question you've got there! The quote you've been provided is a bit offputting but it's ultimately asking you to explore how individuals and collectives saw themselves during the McCarthy era, especially the increasing paranoia caused from the Red Scare, and how Good Night, and Good Luck sought to capture that in the film. For this question, you would need to look at themes that relate to "the power of representation" such as responsibilities of the media, institutionalised fear and secrecy in society (what has either not been represented or represented inaccurately). These are some great issues that still translate into our contemporary world today  :D Since your question also prescribes a focus on "evocative imagery", I would recommend the majority of your textual evidence and analysis be centred around the film techniques used by Clooney (camera angles, shots, colour, mise-en-scene, diegetic/non-diegetic sound etc.) to address it effectively  ;D Hope that helps!

Angelina  ;D

--- End quote ---

Thank you SO MUCH Angelina! It's an interesting question indeed that I couldn't figure out how to approach.

The only analysis I could find online about this quote is this:
"Before they go on the air with the Milo Radulovich story, Fred expresses anxiety about the segment. Murrow feels betrayed by Fred's sudden fear, and calls him on being "yellow" (another word for fearful). Fred's response is that it's better to be yellow than another color, red, which is the color ascribed to Communist sympathy and ideology. In Fred's mind, it's better to be safe than sorry, and if one gets mistaken for a Communist during the age of McCarthyism, one usually ends up sorry."

My problem lies in relating this to the question, specifically the "power of representation" bit. Based on what you said, I should discuss the media's responsibility when it comes to whether or not they represent/portray certain information and how they do so (right?). The social discourse generated from the media's representation of information will lead to said institutionalised fear and secrecy. How do I bring in the more literal representation of fear and communism with colours of yellow and red?

angewina_naguen:

--- Quote from: Einstein_Reborn_97 on May 05, 2020, 04:41:11 pm ---Thank you SO MUCH Angelina! It's an interesting question indeed that I couldn't figure out how to approach.

The only analysis I could find online about this quote is this:
"Before they go on the air with the Milo Radulovich story, Fred expresses anxiety about the segment. Murrow feels betrayed by Fred's sudden fear, and calls him on being "yellow" (another word for fearful). Fred's response is that it's better to be yellow than another color, red, which is the color ascribed to Communist sympathy and ideology. In Fred's mind, it's better to be safe than sorry, and if one gets mistaken for a Communist during the age of McCarthyism, one usually ends up sorry."

My problem lies in relating this to the question, specifically the "power of representation" bit. Based on what you said, I should discuss the media's responsibility when it comes to whether or not they represent/portray certain information and how they do so (right?). The social discourse generated from the media's representation of information will lead to said institutionalised fear and secrecy. How do I bring in the more literal representation of fear and communism with colours of yellow and red?

--- End quote ---

Hey again!

You would relate it to the way media in the time becomes crucial for framing individuals and collectives, particularly the "us vs. them" dynamic propagated because of the Red Scare. You could use any other mentionings of colour as examples in the essay to support the idea raised in that quote. Surely there has to be more, but if not, you could just look at any other times they've referenced Communism/fear implicitly. The other thing you could talk about is the choice of having the film in black and white (perhaps to provide a neutral backdrop for the rest of the film's issues of discrimination, fear, paranoia etc. to unfold). You could look at how the way the film itself engages in representation is able to create that sense of tension and suspense people would have felt during the period. This article does a really great job of explaining it! Hope that clarifies it a little more and let me know if you have any further questions!

Angelina  ;D

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