Agree with all you said but would add that it was not theatrical. The characters lacked depth. They were not three dimensional and that’s why the play came off preachy and didactic. They exist only in this context. Reactions were off. Can’t believe when Paley told Murrow he was moving to the week end spot, that Murrow just said “ok.”Immediacy was lacking in the play not the time lag of years. This was a life and death situation which was not dealt with as such. Glad it got the coverage especially now. However, I prefer the film.
Excellent point. Now that you mention it, I wanted to know more about Don Hollenbeck's story, for instance, and also the"secretly" married couple on Murrow's team. It's been years since I've seen the film, though I did listen to the jazz soundtrack today. Time to see it again to refresh my memory. Thanks so much for reading and sharing this insightful comment. Much appreciated!
I disagree. Clooney’s using his celebrity wisely, to teach people that history repeats itself and that tyrant wannabes are depressingly similar. Of course it would be better to see the play live, but that’s not remotely feasible.
All valid points, and I agree with you on each of them. Thanks for taking the time to read and address these aspects of the play not mentioned in my essay. Much appreciated!
Not during the play, but the following night on 60 Minutes he did answer a question about why he turned on Biden. But there was nothing new in it. Almost sounded rehearsed.
I don't disagree that CNN didn't provide the broadest possible audience but at least they did it. From what I understand, it's not as if there was a bidding war. With the Administration's defunding of the NEA, crippling of the VOA, and attempts to throttle both NPR and the Kennedy Center, I can only commend CNN for airing it. After all, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves." Great thread Andrew. Be well. It ain't over yet.
You are spot on! I’m glad I found your Substack this morning.
I especially resonated with your writing that theatre is a co-creation/conversation between audience and actors. I realize that was not your main point. Still, an important one.
The critical mistake back then and now is to avoid talking about the elephant in the room: the Catholic Church. McCarthy was driven to do what he did by his Catholic faith and the church was 100% behind him. We are doing the same today. No one is holding the Catholic Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society accountable. They chose the SCOTUS nominations. They wrote Project 2025.
Interesting point. So many Catholics in those organizations. I wonder if we can blame the Catholic Church though for what its members are doing within political groups. Sure, their thinking is informed by Catholic values, e.g. abortion, but it’s not as if the Vatican is making them form the Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, and pen Project 2025.
Still, I totally get where you’re coming from. And I’m really glad you took the time to read my essay and weigh in with this important and thought-provoking insight. Thanks so much!
Thank you for your reply! The church is totally supportive of what they are doing — if not they would be told to cease and desist to stay within the fold. Those organizations are Catholic in leadership as are most of their members with some exceptions. They are majority Catholic organizations. You might find this interesting.
Andrew -- I couldn't disagree with you more. Mwny of the millions who watched will never see a play like this performed live on a Broadway stage. Clooney's intentions in making this available to a large audience is a positive act, not an negative one. Great play, brilliantly staged and acted. If it makes peoiple think, it accomplished its mission. I didn't stick around to listen to Bret Stephens, one of the most reprehensible reactionaries on the NYT's Op-Ed page.
Michael, being able to see a Broadway play free on live TV was fantastic. And a very positive thing. I never said it was negative. But given CNN’s audience, it sure felt like preaching to the choir to me.
The folks whose votes got us into the current mess were not moved by the kind of arguments made by Murrow. They are the ones who put a convicted felon, fraudster, and adjudicated rapist back in the White House. Anything that fails to include them misses the mark.
So glad you had a chance to read my essay and weigh in with these valuable remarks. Always good to hear from you.
There are lots of differences which you observe here. But for me, the main difference is in the motives of the real “actors” then and now. We don’t live with the “Red scare” today; the is no Unamerican Activities Committee running amok. Obviously, the information technology today is monstrous compared to 1954. The motives of Trump and company is to conduct a successful grift…to rob the nation and citizens of our common property and have it for themselves. Oh, there are zealots using Trump to achieve the goals of stripping democracy of its free values and create an authoritarian form of government, and that is frightening and is a goal way deeper than the stealing.
On a lighter note, the recording of songs heard in the movie with the wonderful singer Diane Reeves and saxophonist Jeff Golub is still terrific, a staple of my playlists. “Into each life some rain must fall, and too much is falling in mine!”
Andy, your response is so perfectly expressed and covers so many things I also feel deeply that I must share it with a restack when more readers are likely to see it. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. And for reminding me of the Diane Reeves/Jeff Golub collaboration in the film. I haven’t heard their rendition in a long time. Now I’ll add it to my playlist too. The jazz soundtrack was one of my favorite things about that movie.
I listened to your narration while I read this, and you certainly hit on some of the contributors to the polarization that is everywhere. All the kinds of TRUTH, along with our vastly different perspectives as Americans make it complicated and not at all as black & white as it was in the 50s. We are saturated with talking points and bias from every corner these days (Age of Inundation, indeed!) - and it’s exhausting. Your thoughtful commentary is always refreshing. This was an excellent essay!
Exhausting indeed! I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I watch those old B&W shows from the early days of television with more than a little nostalgia. But in the long run, I'm pretty sure I would never want to live back then again. This colorful complicated world is the challenge of our day, just as important in its way as WWII was to Murrow's time. It's going to be up to us to get it figured out before it gets the best of us. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your response. I'm glad you liked it.
I believe there is a fatal flaw with AI. It is very complicated why, but so you understand, I have a strong—graduate level— background in statistics and I’m aware of how AI learns based upon neural networks finding correlations. AI will not lead to TRUTH.
Although I don’t have your background, I sense the “truth” of what you say. And yet, A.I. will probably convince lots of voters of the opposite. Just a few days ago, I saw an article stating that some people believe ChatGPT is God. Still shaking my head over that one! Thanks for adding another layer to the discussion.
That Traitor has no right saying anything to anyone ever again. People should spit on him, traitor to Dems.
That history will probably taint his brand for a long time. Thanks for reading and weighing in.
Agree with all you said but would add that it was not theatrical. The characters lacked depth. They were not three dimensional and that’s why the play came off preachy and didactic. They exist only in this context. Reactions were off. Can’t believe when Paley told Murrow he was moving to the week end spot, that Murrow just said “ok.”Immediacy was lacking in the play not the time lag of years. This was a life and death situation which was not dealt with as such. Glad it got the coverage especially now. However, I prefer the film.
Excellent point. Now that you mention it, I wanted to know more about Don Hollenbeck's story, for instance, and also the"secretly" married couple on Murrow's team. It's been years since I've seen the film, though I did listen to the jazz soundtrack today. Time to see it again to refresh my memory. Thanks so much for reading and sharing this insightful comment. Much appreciated!
Thank you.
I disagree. Clooney’s using his celebrity wisely, to teach people that history repeats itself and that tyrant wannabes are depressingly similar. Of course it would be better to see the play live, but that’s not remotely feasible.
All valid points, and I agree with you on each of them. Thanks for taking the time to read and address these aspects of the play not mentioned in my essay. Much appreciated!
I’ll never watch anything Clooney does… but I wonder, does he manage to get in a dig at how old & useless Joe Biden in?
Don’t give a crap about any dramatic performance he did…
Not during the play, but the following night on 60 Minutes he did answer a question about why he turned on Biden. But there was nothing new in it. Almost sounded rehearsed.
Actually, my friend loved seeing it on television and I am sorry I missed it. She felt like she was in the theater.
Thanks for reading and responding. I really enjoyed watching the play on TV too, even though I have the concerns mentioned in the piece.
I don't disagree that CNN didn't provide the broadest possible audience but at least they did it. From what I understand, it's not as if there was a bidding war. With the Administration's defunding of the NEA, crippling of the VOA, and attempts to throttle both NPR and the Kennedy Center, I can only commend CNN for airing it. After all, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves." Great thread Andrew. Be well. It ain't over yet.
And I certainly commend them for that too, Michael. Thanks again!
George Clooney is dead to me. Along with the asswipe from CNN.
Would I be right in thinking that’s because of Clooney’s push to remove Biden and Tapper’s recent book? If so, you are definitely not alone.
Thanks for reading!
You are spot on! I’m glad I found your Substack this morning.
I especially resonated with your writing that theatre is a co-creation/conversation between audience and actors. I realize that was not your main point. Still, an important one.
Thank you!
Well, you’ve made my day! Thanks so much.
The critical mistake back then and now is to avoid talking about the elephant in the room: the Catholic Church. McCarthy was driven to do what he did by his Catholic faith and the church was 100% behind him. We are doing the same today. No one is holding the Catholic Heritage Foundation and Federalist Society accountable. They chose the SCOTUS nominations. They wrote Project 2025.
Interesting point. So many Catholics in those organizations. I wonder if we can blame the Catholic Church though for what its members are doing within political groups. Sure, their thinking is informed by Catholic values, e.g. abortion, but it’s not as if the Vatican is making them form the Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, and pen Project 2025.
Still, I totally get where you’re coming from. And I’m really glad you took the time to read my essay and weigh in with this important and thought-provoking insight. Thanks so much!
Thank you for your reply! The church is totally supportive of what they are doing — if not they would be told to cease and desist to stay within the fold. Those organizations are Catholic in leadership as are most of their members with some exceptions. They are majority Catholic organizations. You might find this interesting.
https://verdict.justia.com/2023/05/03/how-did-six-conservative-catholics-become-supreme-court-justices-together
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/17/the-conservative-pipeline-to-the-supreme-court
This New Yorker piece on the infamous Leonard Leo is also g. Thanks again!
A lot of us are boycotting CNN. Clooney knows this. It should have been broadcast or streamed elsewhere.
Right. I’ll be interested to see what the ratings were. Thanks for reading and sharing your response.
I believe mostly everything on CNN yesterday was pre-empted by the protest coverage of my presently not so great city.
Pretty bad scene, that. Thanks.
Andrew -- I couldn't disagree with you more. Mwny of the millions who watched will never see a play like this performed live on a Broadway stage. Clooney's intentions in making this available to a large audience is a positive act, not an negative one. Great play, brilliantly staged and acted. If it makes peoiple think, it accomplished its mission. I didn't stick around to listen to Bret Stephens, one of the most reprehensible reactionaries on the NYT's Op-Ed page.
Michael, being able to see a Broadway play free on live TV was fantastic. And a very positive thing. I never said it was negative. But given CNN’s audience, it sure felt like preaching to the choir to me.
The folks whose votes got us into the current mess were not moved by the kind of arguments made by Murrow. They are the ones who put a convicted felon, fraudster, and adjudicated rapist back in the White House. Anything that fails to include them misses the mark.
So glad you had a chance to read my essay and weigh in with these valuable remarks. Always good to hear from you.
If you're looking for the thru-line that united us all, watch first thanksgiving SNL. A hopeful message.
Oh yeah, that’s a good one. Thanks for reading and sharing this response. Much appreciated!
There are lots of differences which you observe here. But for me, the main difference is in the motives of the real “actors” then and now. We don’t live with the “Red scare” today; the is no Unamerican Activities Committee running amok. Obviously, the information technology today is monstrous compared to 1954. The motives of Trump and company is to conduct a successful grift…to rob the nation and citizens of our common property and have it for themselves. Oh, there are zealots using Trump to achieve the goals of stripping democracy of its free values and create an authoritarian form of government, and that is frightening and is a goal way deeper than the stealing.
On a lighter note, the recording of songs heard in the movie with the wonderful singer Diane Reeves and saxophonist Jeff Golub is still terrific, a staple of my playlists. “Into each life some rain must fall, and too much is falling in mine!”
Andy, your response is so perfectly expressed and covers so many things I also feel deeply that I must share it with a restack when more readers are likely to see it. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts. And for reminding me of the Diane Reeves/Jeff Golub collaboration in the film. I haven’t heard their rendition in a long time. Now I’ll add it to my playlist too. The jazz soundtrack was one of my favorite things about that movie.
Thank you for your kind comment. Enjoy Diane and Jeff…I listened to it last night. “Who’s Minding The Store?”…indeed!
I listened to your narration while I read this, and you certainly hit on some of the contributors to the polarization that is everywhere. All the kinds of TRUTH, along with our vastly different perspectives as Americans make it complicated and not at all as black & white as it was in the 50s. We are saturated with talking points and bias from every corner these days (Age of Inundation, indeed!) - and it’s exhausting. Your thoughtful commentary is always refreshing. This was an excellent essay!
Exhausting indeed! I couldn't agree more. Sometimes I watch those old B&W shows from the early days of television with more than a little nostalgia. But in the long run, I'm pretty sure I would never want to live back then again. This colorful complicated world is the challenge of our day, just as important in its way as WWII was to Murrow's time. It's going to be up to us to get it figured out before it gets the best of us. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your response. I'm glad you liked it.
Truth, man I wish I knew.
That makes two of us, Chris. Thanks for reading.
You venture down the dangerous philosophical world of TRUTH. Yes it is thorny and can make one bleed, but it is still a journey worth taking.
Agreed, Jim. Definitely a journey worth taking. Especially now. And I didn't even mention A.I. in the piece. Thanks for reading and weighing in!
I believe there is a fatal flaw with AI. It is very complicated why, but so you understand, I have a strong—graduate level— background in statistics and I’m aware of how AI learns based upon neural networks finding correlations. AI will not lead to TRUTH.
Although I don’t have your background, I sense the “truth” of what you say. And yet, A.I. will probably convince lots of voters of the opposite. Just a few days ago, I saw an article stating that some people believe ChatGPT is God. Still shaking my head over that one! Thanks for adding another layer to the discussion.
Good questions, Andrew!
Many thanks, Alison. Much appreciated!