As the years (is it really almost 7 now?) after September 11th have stumbled by in something of a fog, and the militancy, hatred and violence of our world have shown no signs of abating, I have often been struck by a curious notion. It seems that – among Americans and Westerners in general – the farther away one was from the events of that day, the more strident the calls for some form of violent retribution, no matter how tenuous the links between the acts pursued in the name of “revenge” and the real causes of trauma on that day. Among those of us I know – I’m including myself and my friends – who were actually present in New York on that day, there was a lot of hurt, a lot of anger and a lot of emotional devastation; but, interestingly, almost everyone I know who saw those events in person has retained a sense that complexity, dialogue and increased information are the most fundamental weapons in the war on terror. Not MOABs and Daisy Cutters.

First things first. Bravery. Relevance. Independence. These are watchwords for the best kind of journalism, and they are qualities sorely lacking in the majority of television, radio and print media. They were, however, very much on display in Edward Murrow’s stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy in the early 1950’s, and Good Night and Good Luck conveys that achievement clearly, even inspiringly.

Released in a time when fear is again used as a political instrument, when the news media is "embedded" within the very halls of power, when secrecy, attacks on civil liberties and black-and-white, us-versus-them mentality have again become de rigeur for a moralizing, ambitious administration, this movie was clearly intended more as a warning call about the current state of affairs than as a simple historical tale. Indeed, the framing excerpts from Murrow’s 1958 speech speak directly to the current (mis)use and irrelevance of current television news. Though McCarthy is censured by the Senate, he serves for another 2 ½ years, while Murrow is given a five-program parting package and sidelined. The intersection of advertisers, political pressures and pure cowardice are not easily overcome. In short, the message is that bravery, relevance and independence might shine a brief light in between ad breaks, but the hands that pull the curtain back down at the end of the hour are much too strong.