As marketing practitioners, we deeply know what label and what to label a thing, which is a crucial choice. Before Snowden's real body appeared, he was called a whistle-blower "informer" by the English media, and then was prosecuted by the US government for espionage and called him a Traitor traitor-there should be no hat more deadly than this .
From whistleblower, traitor, to Citizen IV, the contrasts and subtle twists and turns may be exactly what this film is trying to reveal.
As a Chinese, we didn't know much about the concept of "citizen" since we were young, and we didn't take courses in school to tell us what a citizen is. So when it came time to write a movie review, I had to turn to Wikipedia again. The following is my summary translation:
1. The concept of citizenship first came from the Greek city-states in front of the park. At that time, because of the prevalence of slavery, the Greeks were very concerned about "freedom". In ancient Greece, citizens had higher status than non-citizens. Citizens were men who could participate in politics. Non-citizens included women, slaves, and foreigners (barbarians)
. 2. Citizenship, in general, is a Western concept
3. Citizenship , in the theory of "social contract", including rights and obligations. Rights include the right to participate in the political life of the community, the right to vote, the right to receive protection from the community, obligations include paying taxes, obeying the law and fighting for the country if necessary, etc.
4. The modern citizenship theory civic republican believes that citizenship is not a passive state or just a label in the legal sense, but an active process, through the demonstration of good social behavior (civic behavior), participation in political affairs and so on. become a true citizen.
Snowden classmates are the practitioners of this theory.
In one of the film's most crucial minutes, he talks about his motivation in an interview "to balance the power of state vs. the power of people to meaningfully oppose it."
And when asked why he was willing to take such a risk, he said: "I remember the Internet used to be like - and now, everyone doesn't talk casually because people know they can be monitored, so they self-limit (self-censor). I cherish my freedom, but I cherish my intellectual freedom more.”
From knowing only his name to seeing his images, the biggest surprise to me from Snowden is his language The smoothness and preciseness of the words are by no means as jerky and closed as the technical geeks imagined by ordinary people. It can be seen that these words have been in his mind for a long time, and they have been repeated countless times. At the same time, it also makes people realize that
1. To truly participate in political life in a meaningful way, it is impossible without a considerable higher education. If there is no comprehensive education, even if programming is like God, it is difficult to articulate such points of view
clearly 3. If a society does not have a tradition of personal heroism
and encouragement of independent judgment, it is very difficult for a person to gain enough willpower to do such a thing.
I was also surprised that Snowden did not turn out to be. Not alone. First, there were two reporters and a producer who went to the appointment bravely, then there was the clever rescue of Wikipedia, and then there was the formation of a volunteer lawyer group—which also corresponds to my previous point of view. It is a society that has such soil. Such seedlings will grow.
The most shocking scene in the film is the magnificent coast of the United Kingdom. A row of huge white super antennas stands silently. The only trace of human civilization between heaven and earth is the intelligence facility that helps the National Security Agency to collect information. The sheer size of these facilities, the invisibility of their existence, and the sheer power they harbor are terrifying. Ordinary people's fear of invisible, invisible, omnipresent, invincible and inhuman state power, is it really necessary equipment to maintain the normal operation of modern society?
Finally, if I haven't made it clear earlier, Snowden calls himself a "fourth citizen" because he thinks he's defending the U.S. Constitution (which enshrines and protects citizens' rights to freedom of speech and privacy). In this sense, he firmly believes that he is a true American citizen. The ultimate citizen of the state of proclaimed freedom.
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