Good Morning, and Good Luck
I was watching “Good Night, and Good Luck” recently and while this isn’t the forum for a movie review, it was a great movie.
What it made me think of was how new the technology of television was in the 50’s, and how there’s a correlation to today’s understanding of the Internet.
The movie has a lot of retro aspects to it: everyone smoking indoors (gasp!), it’s entirely in black and white, and of course the fashion and gender roles of the characters. But the over-arching interest to me was how decisions were made regarding content and even ethics.
Yes, the plot involves McCarthy and Communism, but the medium-the television and broadcast journalism-was such a crucial aspect of that social, cultural and political issue. It made players of the game out of people who were previously just dynamic party guests. Suddenly, men with something to say actually had a venue to do it: politics and government had to readjust the rules of the game we, as a young country, were still struggling to solidify.
The connection I see is to the way the Internet and open-source and instant communication is changing things today. Rules are changing, men (and women) who were previously lame party guests are now revoutionaries and leaders (albeit virtual in most cases) with a venue to say …anything.
How will the internet evolve? I guess that’s the standard Web 2.0 query-but isn’t it exciting to be here to watch it happen? It’s the dawn of a new era in human interaction and culture (no, this isn’t news, but it’s worth repeating). Good morning, and good luck!
Technorati Tags: technology, Web 2.0, Internet, television, Good Night and Good Luck
