From www.snowdenfilm.com
I don't see myself as a hero because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.-Edward Snowden
I never fully comprehended the extent of the personal information government was secretly and immorally siphoning from the population prior to watching Oliver Stone's film "Snowden." The picture is based on the story of NSA security analyst, Edward Snowden, the whistle blower who bravely exposed the NSA's spying program.
When I first heard about Snowden and the information he leaked, I felt like I already knew the government was spying on people. The Patriot Act provided the alleged legal precedent for government to do this, and the post 9/11 world seems to revolve around hacking and "cyber warfare."
But I did not grasp the full scope of this intrusion, because I did not research Snowden's background and acquire all of the truth.
After I watched "Snowden," I felt like I had deeper insight into the surveillance programs. It even compelled me to research and extract more information. And for some people, this fact may be enough to spur them to want watch it too. The film may even cajole those who defend government into asking important questions about the nature of the system, which is of utmost importance because this society is sliding ever further into the depths of an Orwellian hell.
Therefore, I will briefly review the film by providing my thoughts on specific aspects of it, especially the personal life of Snowden portrayed in the film, as well as the philosophical and anarchic content. But beware, there are spoilers—although I do not necessarily consider a real life dramatization to contain any meaningful spoilers. We already have an idea about the details of Snowden's story.
Aesthetic of the Film; Snowden Humanized
What I liked most about the film is its aesthetic. Personally, I have never been a big fan of Oliver Stone, because he has often directed movies that seem to glamorize or celebrate government, even if some of them are meant to act as a critique of power.
Furthermore, his style is somewhat akin to a soap opera and "Snowden" is by no means an exception. Nonetheless, the film works. It is not a simple task to dramatize a story about a man who essentially sits behind a computer for hours.
What made it appealing was that Stone had the foresight to use his dramatization techniques to amplify the scenes where Snowden is divulging classified information to reporters, or he is begrudgingly helping coworkers use Xkeyscore technology (NSA spying tool) to gather information on suspect individuals.
But where I think the story really shines is with the relationship between Snowden and his girlfriend. I have read elsewhere that his intimate relationship is oftentimes placed on the back burner or marginalized.
Not here.
Stone humanizes Snowden and shows the difficult and sometimes tumultuous relationship with his girlfriend. This aspect of the film is tremendously important. It allows the viewer to understand the principled sacrifices that Snowden was willing to make in order to uncover the malicious activity committed by the authoritarian agency that employed him.
What I also found fascinating was the courage of Snowden's girlfriend. She was the apotheosis of the ride-or-die chick. At one point, she knew she was being watched by the NSA, but she remained loyal to Snowden, even when they had to separate because of his choices. But even in the aftermath of his actions—when he fled to Russia—she still returned to him, even though this is only mentioned as afterthought at the end of the film.
But the way their relationship was expressed provided viewers with depth of Snowden and his intimate life. It was so beautifully done that I teared up and nearly wept in a few scenes of the film.
The other part of the movie that excited me was the philosophical content.
Edward Snowden and Lindsay Mills portrayed in "Snowden" as Joseph Gordan-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, respectively.
Favorite Scenes, Anarchic and Philosophical Content
A few scenes in the film really excited me because of their anarchic and subversive content.
My favorite scene in the movie is when Snowden is out drinking with his NSA hacker colleagues at a fireside pool party. While someone is symbolically flying a commercial drone above them, a discussion ensues. Snowden tries to convince his coworkers that "just doing your job" is not an excuse to spy on people or murder them with drones.
Snowden makes his arguments in the context that he has witnessed his NSA friends working with the military to locate "terrorists" and murder them with reaper drones. In a few scenes prior to the party, the film shows drones strikes hit innocent bystanders who are trying to help victims of an initial bombing.
It was a truly heart-wrenching moment to watch, and you can see the emotion on Snowden's face when he reacts to these atrocities.
At the party, when his boss tries to defend his personal actions with the "just doing my job" bromide, Snowden shoots back by citing Nazi Germany and the Nuremberg trials. He mentions how not only Nazi officials and leaders attempted to claim they were "only doing their jobs," but also how soldiers, clerks, and other lower ranked individuals made the same excuse.
In the end, most of them were convicted anyway, says Snowden. He also mentions that this is why the Nuremberg Principles were created; the principles say that "just doing your job" is not an excuse to murder people.
The implication of the scene is that using reaper drones to murder people is a war crime, and that the American military, NSA, and all individuals within the agencies involved are complicit in that murder.
There are other scenes that invoke similar anarchistic or anti-police State sentiment, and they are an absolute joy to watch. It amazes me that this kind of content and information is actually being shown on the big screen. To me, this signals that we are approaching a change in thought about how people perceive government. And it is glorious.
Photo from the film taken from the Newyorker.com
Conclusion; 1984 Realized
Overall, the film is a tool. It is wielded for gaining insight into Snowden's personal relationship. It is wielded to understand why he decided to undermine the NSA. It is wielded as a catalyst for thought—to help people realize that Orwell's 1984 is the reality we currently live in.
It is true that the film is cheesy and soap-operalike at times, but that is an easy detail to overlook when viewers are receiving serious moral discussions about the depravities of the surveillance state, the unholy nature of the drone war, and the general greed and evil of the sociopaths within the political power structure.
If anything is going to push people in the direction of freedom, it will be challenging and courageous films like "Snowden."
Go watch it.
My name is Sterlin. Follow me @sterlinluxan, Psychologic-Anarchist. I also run the Psychologic-Anarchist Facebook page and produce many YouTube videos. My interests lie in the intersection of counseling psychology and anarchism. I write about the depredations of psychiatry, and also the new philosophy of compassionate anarchism. We have a large community devoted to discussing psychology and relational voluntaryism.