I personally liked The Internet’s Own Boy more than Citizenfour but something I found interesting in both was the fact that the government was extremely involved in both cases. Since in The Internet’s Own Boy, Aaron was just trying to provide everyone with all the resources that we should attain free without charging fees to use certain documents and how when government documents started to be leaked the government criminalized Aaron for just releasing documents which wasn’t a typical crime.
Meanwhile in Citizenfour, we also saw how the government was in search for Snowden. Who was aware of all the procedures the government would take to find his location. From looking through the camera of the computer, to audio from phones, to the use of a credit card. We also saw how this made Snowden nervous since he wouldn’t know what they will do with him.
However, a topic I want to pinpoint is when the government is being extra observatory in these cases specifically when government documents are being leaked to the public. As we have come to know with these documentaries that the government hinders us from gaining knowledge of what they are doing specially with the information they gather from us without our consent. Also I would like to know that now with our knowledge that they collect our information, do they listen when we press not to collect our information or do they just trick us by thinking we aren’t sharing our information with them. Would like to know why they collect our information without our consent, for what purposes and why when people like Aaron or Snowden leak the information to us, the government is quick to know their locations and incriminate them for such things. Instead the government should be the one with charges against since they are going through our privacy without us having knowledge that they are doing so.
March 16, 2022 at 12:36 pm
America,
I liked how you connected this idea of government control that was found in both documentaries. Both Aaron and Edward were trying to help educate the masses and provide people with resources that they believed should be accessible to all but the government found an error in that. With that being said, I think that focusing on the government as a point to kick off your research paper is fascinating because they truly are at the heart of this debate. I think you might also want to take into consideration how the government charged Snowden with the Espionage Act because it outs Snowden in a position where he can’t defend himself as all his actions are viewed as treacherous. Focusing on how the government paints this narrative of mass surveillance and these cases are deeply rooted in these documentaries and I am looking forward to seeing where you take it.