After watching this movie, my mood and thoughts are mixed. It can be said that this is a rich biographical film that realistically reproduces the general trajectory of Snowden's life before flying to Russia to seek asylum. However, unlike the previous documentary film "The Fourth Citizen" with Snowden as the protagonist, the film presents a more emotional process of "people" from Snowden's own perspective, rather than just "Snowden". Norden revealed a brief description of the NSA's "Project Prism" behavioral incident. To explore the film itself is to explore Snowden himself.
From the portrayal of the film, Snowden is a smart, restrained, heroic complex, uneasy about the status quo and dare to seek breakthroughs. From the very beginning of his entry into the NSA, his work process was full of unsatisfactory situations, and the relationship between his job position, personal development and superiors was in a very discordant state. His underappreciation of talent and the "overcorrection" in interpersonal communication are just like many "workplace novices" today, which are obviously very out of tune in the entire large work environment. If it is just a programmer in an ordinary company, he can choose to leave or change to a new working environment because of this sense of discomfort. But his agency is a senior government intelligence agency, and there is no possibility of changing the environment. If you don't adapt, you can only adapt, or you need to find ways to develop yourself within the organization.
It was in his quest for self-development that Snowden discovered that organizations were monitoring the privacy of large numbers of citizens. But Snowden himself did not have a strong sense of resistance to such government actions at first, and he even wanted to use this layer of search system to serve himself. Although it ended up because of disagreement with the concept of superiors. But I have to admit that Snowden himself found a way to realize his self-worth in this unpleasant self-breakthrough. Despite the intense discomfort with private prying eyes and several departures in between, he has continued to do this type of work and has achieved some success in the field.
His mental pressure comes from the heavy data processing volume of the data analysis and monitoring itself, and the deviation from his expectations for the job; and the NSA's unjust monitoring of people's privacy under the guise of national interests, so that he - a People who are full of justice ideals have doubts. The limitations of his career development conflicted with his personal cognition, which not only affected his physical function but also shook his ideology. Leaping the ranks and provoking authority made him prematurely become the monitoring target of the organization, which eventually forced him into a dead end.
Leaking out the NSA's unjustified surveillance of citizens is a death-and-blind move by Snowden. This can only be the author’s own bold guess. Snowden’s purpose of leaking NSA classified documents is not entirely out of public interest, but more to find a way out for himself. It was a bold gambling act, because the injustice of the NSA itself gave him a just statement for this purposeful leak.
In fact, he can be like many media informants, not showing his face and only talking about things. But he understands that he doesn't do anything to change his current work-life predicament. So he changed from passive to active, made a high-profile appearance in the media and exposed himself to the public eye, but he was safe. Because of the pressure of public opinion caused by the government's unjust behavior, there is no way for the government to secretly or easily take any action against him. And human rights issues such as personal privacy itself, in the United States, a country with relatively free speech and a relatively democratic political system, has enough influence on public opinion to send him to the altar. So, in a sense, his life has changed because of this, his crisis of being monitored has been lifted, and his heroic feelings and the value of life have been realized. He is no longer just a vassal of an institution, he has became a history.
Snowden's fame is due to the relatively democratic and free soil of the United States and the boost of the Internet data tide, as well as his own excellent technical ability and smart mind. In the "Snowden incident", the media played a direct role. Digital informatization is a double-edged sword. It can not only become a handle for the government to control public opinion and political mediation, but also become a favorable place for the rapid dissemination and fermentation of information. Contradiction of things promotes the development of things. This "personal behavior" of Snowden, to a certain extent, promoted democracy and conformed to the trend, so he became a "hero".
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