Before watching Citizen Four and the Internet’s Own Boy, I knew that the government was restricting when it came to the internet. I also knew that there are people actively trying to expose the internet. However, I did not know that there are people who do it almost like a full time job. The two documentaries gave me insight on what goes on behind the scene in such situations, and not everything goes as planned as there will be obstacles in their way, mainly the government. However, their efforts don’t go unnoticed and makes me intrigued in other cases similar to these.

In Citizen Four, we watch and follow Edward Snowden on his journey to expose the government and NSA about how they can snoop on practically anyone they want, abroad or not. I liked this documentary’s style better than the Internet’s Own Boy, because we followed each and every step that was taken during the process instead of being told what happened. It was almost like showing the story rather than telling the story. Something I found interesting about Snowden’s process was that he was able to find people he truly trusted even though he didn’t really know them on a deep personal level. Citizen Four showed us that that our freedom is essentially being taken away when everything we say is being watched and analyzed. This does not just apply to those that are under the watch of government but also ordinary people who are simply trying to get the most out of the benefits. This prevents us from researching topics that may be out of our own comfort zone as well as those we think are not appropriate.

In The Internet’s Own Boy, we learn about Aaron Swartz and his smartness. He attempts to release scholarly information to the public so we can learn without having to pay. Viewers see that the government tries to stop him from spreading knowledge. I liked this documentary because we were able to get to know Swartz on a more personal level compared to Snowden from Citizen Four, where we were just following him on one specific journey. This documentary really triggered my emotions because we see that when the general public is learning valuable information, the government ultimately gets mad and tries to prevent it. We start to notice that it seems to be only those who can afford it are able to be smart. This can also be seen outside of paid knowledge. Those who are poor may not have time to study because they are trying to work to make a living. This puts them at risk of failing in school which means a less fruitful future.

Citizen Four made me wonder what the effects of knowing that someone is spying on us over the internet doing to our brains. I am also interested in what specific rights are being violated when we are being tracked across all sites and apps we use. The Internet’s Own Boy made me wonder if the government is doing its best to prevent students from learning. I also want to know the effects of forcing people to pay for knowledge. We see that in other countries, college is free and some have better educational statistics. In my research paper, I want to focus on the effects of our brain when we know we are being watched over the internet and how that limits our knowledge.