Overview
DO NOT USE AI
Length: Approximately 6–7 typed pages DOUBLE SPACED USE APA STYLE CITATIONS EX: (Last name, year, p# if applicable) ALSO INCLUDE A REFRENCE PAGE Writing Quality: Must follow high standards of:
- ● Clarity
- ● Conciseness
- ● Organization
- ● Grammar
- ● Punctuation
- ● Proofread carefully GO BEYOND THE SPECIFIC COURSE MATERIAL IN ORDER TO STIMULATE BROADER AND DEEPER ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION RATHER THAN MERE FACTUAL RECALL. PROMPT: “Good Night, and Good Luck” addresses the moral courage of iconic journalist Edward R. Murrow in countering corporate resistance to his exposure of the malevolence of Senator Joe McCarthy. Indeed, Murrow’s moral courage in the face of powerful opposition is a hallmark of what this entire course has been about. We have seen this issue throughout the films we have seen and discussed: Judge Ernst Janning, and his fellow defendants who made the wrong moral choice; his professor, who made the right moral choice; (later on in the class), Governors Faubus and Barnett, who made the wrong moral choices; and the Little Rock Nine and James Meredith, who made the
right moral choices in the long struggle against American racism. This prompt gives you the opportunity to weigh in on a real life (not hypothetical) journalistic dilemma loosely related to the Murrow story. Just about everyone knows that Jeff Bezos is one of the richest persons on the planet. He’s the owner of Amazon and also of The Washington Post, one of the premier newspapers in the United States. He’s also the publisher and in that capacity, is free to set whatever editorial policy he wants. Recently, he sent the following memo to the staff of the opinion section of the Post: @JeffBezos I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. As a result, several journalists have resigned from the Washington Post, including opinion Editor David Shipley and highly distinguished journalists Ruth Marcus and Eugene Robinson. Throughout the country, journalists have expressed serious concern that Bezos has “caved” to the new Administration of Donald Trump and his apparent crackdown on the press and the media. Imagine, then, that you are a rising opinion journalist at the Post and, like many of your contemporaries, you believe in a free and unfettered press. Imagine too that you are a recent parent with a young family to support and you are well aware of the shrinking number of jobs currently available in the field. You recognize Bezos’ right to issue this edict, but you dislike it. That is the strong majority view of journalists in the United States. What will you do? Will you stay put and follow Bezos’ directives, try to change his “vision” from within, resign in protest, or whatever? Write a 6-7 essay explaining your actions or inaction, with all supporting reasons, using the film (and anything else you would like) as support.
This prompt is different from the previous prompt because it explicitly involves the role of journalism and a free press in a democratic society. That is one of the major themes of “Good Night, and Good Luck.” Specific elements from the film, therefore, would be especially appropriate to cite in your essay
COMMUNICATION STUDIES 141
Paul Von Blum
Spring Quarter 2025
Films of Persuasion
Take-home mid-term 1
ANSWER ANY ONE OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS.THESE ARE ‘BOILERPLATE”COMMENTS, BUT THEY’RE IMPORTANT! THERE ARE NO "CORRECT" ANSWERS PER SE.EFFECTIVE, WELL-SUPPORTED, CLEARLY WRITTEN ESSAYS MAY BE CONSTRUCTED FROM A VARIETY OF PERSPECTIVES.THE PROMPTS RELATE TO BUT USUALLY GO BEYOND THE SPECIFIC COURSE MATERIAL IN ORDER TO STIMULATE BROADER AND DEEPER ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION RATHER THAN MERE FACTUAL RECALL.THE OBJECTIVE IS TO ANALYZE THE PROBLEM CAREFULLY, SYNTHESIZE MATERIALS EFFECTIVELY, AND EXPRESS YOUR VIEWS AND CONCLUSIONS COHERENTLY.BE SURE TO MAKE APPROPRIATE REFERENCES TO FILMS, DISCUSSIONS, AND EXTERNAL SOURCES WHEREVER RELEVANT AND APPROPRIATE TO YOUR RESPONSE.THE ESSAY SHOULD BE TYPED AND BE APPROXIMATELY 6-7 PAGES IN LENGTH.
WRITING MATTERS: AS NOTED IN CLASS, ESSAYS SHOULD ADHERE TO HIGH STANDARDS OF CLARITY, CONCISENESS, ORGANIZATION, GRAMMAR, AND PUNCTUATION.BE SURE TO PROOFREAD YOUR PAPERS CAREFULLY.
1. “Judgment at Nuremberg” is a highly complex film, widely regarded by critics and scholars as one of the finest of the mid 20th century.This film deals with many issues of ethics and morality.This prompt addresses merely one of them, brought up near the end of the film.In one of the final scenes, Judge Heywood (Spencer Tracy) and one of the defendants, former Nazi Judge Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster), are shown conversing.Janning admits that the guilty verdict is just.Then he says, “I never knew it would come to that.”
Judge Heywood’s response is both powerful and full of enormous implications for the present, because it deals with the implications of moral compromise with evil: “It came to that the first time you sentenced a man to death…”
Imagine the following hypothetical scenario: One of your closest friends, from early childhood
and a recent UCLA graduate, is a new teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District.He wants to build a career as a high school history and social studies teacher, making that a focus of his commitment to public service.Recently, one of his students came to see him and spoke to him in a state of extreme distress.She reported that when she asked your fellow teacher and mentor, Mr. Murgatroyd, for arecommendation letter for college, he remarked about her physical attributes and suggested that she come to see him wearing a string bikini.That teacher, afterwards, remarked to you about the student’s “provocative body.”
Your student complained about this incident to the Principal.He told the student that he “was sincerely sorry about the incident, but since you weren’t really hurt, let’s just drop it for now and I’ll write you a strong college recommendation myself.” When you see the Principal, he advises you to “just be as silent as possible about what happened. The student will be okay. She’ll get over it. Look, Homer Murgatroyd has been going through a lot. He’s gotten divorced and is lonely. Give him a break. Don’t report him to the School District authorities. This is no big deal and you shouldn’t rock the boat.Besides, you do want to get ahead here in the School, don’t you?”Because you were confused and upset, you went to the School District HR person in charge of that area and asked her what you should do.She told you to do what your conscience demanded if you really wanted to, but added, “Look, sometimes you just need to keep your mouth shut.You’re a good teacher and so is Homer Murgatroyd.You gotta go along to get along.Isn’t that what your parents told you?You’re a teacher now, and you’re gonna see a lotta unpleasant stuff during your service.Those are the realities of life! Just drop it.”
So, your friend decides to ask you for advice.As it happens, you saw and discussed “Judgment at Nuremberg” last academic year.You tell him that you understand his dilemma.You recognize his need to advance in his career, just as you hope to, and you realize that this incident is fairly minor and not at all the same as Nazi Germany and genocide.But at the same time, his silence would be a moral compromise.What is your advice?He trusts and values your judgment.Make an argument, with any position that makes sense to you, drawing on the film,discussions, and your own capacity for reasoning.How much, if any, compromise on this issue should you advise him to pursue and why?Always keep in mind that he is a teacher; it could make sense to address the role of teaching and education in early 21st century America as part of your response to this prompt.
2.“Good Night, and Good Luck” addresses the moral courage of iconic journalist Edward R. Murrow in countering corporate resistance to his exposure of the malevolence of Senator Joe McCarthy.Indeed, Murrow’s moral courage in the face of powerful opposition is a hallmark of what this entire course has been about. We have seen this issue throughout the films we have seen and discussed: Judge Ernst Janning, and his fellow defendants who made the wrong moral choice; his professor, who made the right moral choice; (later on in the class), Governors Faubus and Barnett, who made the wrong moral choices; and the Little Rock Nine and James Meredith, who made the right moral choices in the long struggle against American racism.
This prompt gives you the opportunity to weigh in on a real life (not hypothetical) journalistic dilemma loosely related to the Murrow story.Just about everyone knows that Jeff Bezos is one of the richest persons on the planet. He’s the owner of Amazon and also of The Washington Post, one of the premier newspapers in the United States.He’s also the publisher and in that capacity, is free to set whatever editorial policy he wants. Recently, he sent the following memo to the staff of the opinion sectionof the Post:
@JeffBezos
I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets.
As a result, several journalists have resigned from the Washington Post, including opinion Editor David Shipley and highly distinguished journalists Ruth Marcus and Eugene Robinson. Throughout the country, journalists have expressed serious concern that Bezos has “caved” to the new Administration of Donald Trump and his apparent crackdown on the press and the media.
Imagine, then, that you are a rising opinion journalist at the Post and, like many of your contemporaries, you believe in a free and unfettered press. Imagine too that you are a recent parent with a young family to support and you are well aware of the shrinking number of jobs currently available in the field. You recognize Bezos’ right to issue this edict, but you dislike it.That is the strong majority view of journalists in the United States.
What will you do?Will you stay put and follow Bezos’ directives, try to changehis “vision” from within, resign in protest, or whatever? Write a 6-7 essay explaining your actions or inaction, with all supporting reasons, using the class films (and anything else you would like) as support.This prompt is different from the previous prompt because it explicitly involves the role of journalism and a free press in a democratic society.That is one of the major themes of “Good Night, and Good Luck.”Specific elements from the film, therefore, would be especially appropriate to cite in your essay.
3. Imagine the following conversation among two students in Communication 141 following one of the class or discussion sessions:
FIRST STUDENT:
“The two segments of Eyes on the Prize and Sankofa all gave us a pretty powerful view of how bad racism and racial violence have been in America.I’m really glad that we’ve made such enormous progress since those times.We have people of color in many prominent positions of power and authority and economic and social opportunities are getting better every year.I know that problems remain, but we’re an optimistic country.Our Supreme Court had decided to end affirmative action programs now and I agree.It’s time to look forward, not backward.It’s good, I think, that we’re getting rid of all these DEI programs because they’re no longer necessary.These films are valuable to give us historical perspective and inspire us for the future, not to mold public policy for the present.The last thing we need now is reverse racism!”
SECOND STUDENT: “I really disagree with you. All three of these films absolutely gave us a view of historical racism and racial violence in America.But I think your conclusion is way off base!The films, to me, show how this long racist history has been and make me think about how it still persists, even though some progress has seen made.It still requires present-day action like affirmative action andDEI offices and programs, despite what the Supreme Court says and the Trump Administration is doing, to give disadvantaged groups, like many people of color, some preferential treatment in jobs and admissions in order to compete equally and fairly.These films should help us mold public policy for right now!”
The films “Awakening,” “Fighting Back,” and “Sankofa” all address the longer history of racism in America.Respond to the conversations of the two students.Where do you stand and why?What impact, if any, should these films have on affirmative action and DEI or similar debates on contemporary public policy?Whatever your view, not limited to the choices above, show what impact the films may have on contemporary debates.As usual, you should make appropriate references to scenes, characters, and issues in the films.You may also use other examples from history and the present.
4. Another: Your instructor is a longtime member of the UCLA Prison Education Committee.He has given numerous presentations to incarcerated persons of different ages over the years.The following prompt emerges from those experiences.
Imagine this hypothetical scenario: A group of 20 incarcerated young people, with sufficient college credits, is about to enter UCLA on an experimental program when they are released in time for Fall Quarter 2026.They have multiple interests and will join many prospective majors.This group is multiracial and multicultural.As an added bonus, they are invited to meet with various UCLA students for a brief session prior to their release dates on whatever topics the students select, in order to give a flavor of UCLA educational experience.
Because of your academic achievements, you are one of those students and UCLA will provide you with a modest honorarium for your efforts.You have decided to choose any one of the first five
films you have seen (or are about to see) in Communication 141 (Judgment at Nuremberg; Good Night, and Good Luck; Awakenings, Fighting Back; Sankofa).You may ask your students to watch your selection in advance of your class session, which will be made available to them.Your task is to show them that film can encourage young people to think more critically and to develop a stronger sense of personal responsibility. Explain to the students in some detail why your selection is best suited to accomplish that goal (that goal does not mean reaching any particular political, historical, or moral conclusion but rather to develop a sharper mindset about ethics and personal responsibility; this is really about increasing their critical thinking skills).Discuss in reasonable detail the film you select; it’s not necessary to show why the others are less valuable.Merely go into your selection in enough detail so that your prospective student audience has a good understanding of why you made your judgment.Pay attention to your specific audience while being as careful as possible to avoid being overly judgmental or morally sanctimonious. It is reasonable to note their records of incarceration in the course of your answer but try to do so with tact and maturity.