Citizenfour film Analysis
Citizenfour is a documentary film released on October 14, 2014 and features former NSA security intelligence analyst and whistle blower, Edward Snowden. The film is directed by Laura Poitra and shot by a reporter known as Glenn Greenwald. Snowden communicated with Greenwald through encrypted messages under the pseudonym of ‘citizen four’. Snowden wanted to reveal to him how the UK and US governments were eavesdropping on the communication of the entire world’s population.
The documentary is shot in Hong Kong. The three, Snowden, Poitra, and Greenwald first meet in Snowden’s room in Hong Kong where the documentary is shot for one week. Snowden describes to detail how the government of US has abolished privacy. In his own words, privacy has not been eroded, diminished or encroached about, but has been abolished. The government, however, has tried numerously to deny these claims. The government tries to justify a bit of spying due to the danger of terrorism, an excuse adapted by the libertarian right. Progressive opinion formers also show placidity citing that privacy is given up when one joins the social media, which is not true (The Guardian, 2014).
In the initial interview with Greenwald, Snowden tells of how able the US and UK governments are in eavesdropping. The two states use this ability to tap on every phone call, every internet search, every email, and every keystroke. Therefore, everything that anyone does gets to the hands of these governments. The governments tapping all communications go beyond the suspicions they have on terrorist activities. Snowden describes this as “Building the biggest weapon for oppression in the history of mankind.” Divulging all these information might have caused Snowden his life but he still does it with courage.
In the interview, Snowden seems quite calm and reasonable as compared to Julian Assange. While the latter seems mercurial, the formers act geeky and unshaken talking in a calm voice. Snowden maintains his calm even when any other person in his shoes would have been worried. He explains how he had had to keep his partner Lindsay Mills in the dark.
At times in the documentary Snowden is gripped by sessions of paranoia, which make, him act absurdly. One of these occasions is when the fire alarm goes off and he dials the receptionist who tells him that it was just a routine check. Although Snowden is satisfied with the explanation, he disconnects the phone all the same as he thinks the phone is bugged. Even when entering the passwords in his laptops, he covers his face with his hands to avoid being recorded while doing so. This paranoia does not make Snowden a coward but a cautious man about his surrounding (The New York Reporter, 2014).
The government is opposed against Snowden and any other citizen making a stand against being snooped. In the documentary, a phone company takes the government to court showing their disapproval of the government plying their affairs. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is also angry about his phone conversations being listened to by the NSA.
Briefly, Citizenfour discloses information on how the rulers continue pulling the strings of the purse of the citizens by inhibiting their freedom. The cashless and contactless cards are also suggested as ways through which the governments are trying to get as much information as possible about the people. Evidently, the rulers cannot resist wielding more power on the citizens to enhance the control over the citizens.
Works Cited
Bradshaw, Peter. “Citizenfour Review- Gripping Snowden documentary offers portrait of power, paranoia and one remarkable man.” the Guardian 16 Oct. 2014: n. pag. Print.
Alice, Still. “‘citizenfour’: New York Review.” The Hollywood Reporter [New York] 10 Oct. 2014: n. pag. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
