Summary Of Laura Poitra's Film 'Citizenfour'

Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.

On June 6, 2013, The Guardian published a story about the National Security Agency's (NSA) secret Internet surveillance program, PRISM (Greenwald and MacAskill 2013). The story was based on documents leaked by one of the most successful whistle-blowers in American history, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The documents that Snowden has released up to this time have shown the NSA to be heavily engaged in the collection of personal Internet activity, bulk collection of telephone "metadata," and other forms of surveillance that have brought U.S. intelligence practices into question.

Described as a terrifying and eye-opening thriller, Citizenfour, a documentary directed by Laura Poitras, follows the case of Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who revealed the truth behind the National Security Agency surveillance programs in the United States. Throughout the movie, we first-handedly experience the obstacles Poitras and Glenn Greenwald, a reporter for The Guardian, need to overcome, in order to share Snowden’s story and help him spread the information he leaked. Along those lines, the documentary begins with several encrypted emails received by Poitras from an anonymous sender nicknamed “Citizenfour” who later turns out to be Snowden. A few months later, Poitras and Greenwald partner up and meet Snowden in Hong Kong, where

Greenwald, G. (2015). No place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the surveillance state.

Edward Snowden, a former employ in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a former contractor of NSA has fled to Russia after releasing sensitive information on the NSA surveillance to the Washington Post (Gellman). The domino effect created by Snowden's actions has caused uproar among citizens. The level of the information that was released by Snowden was not every day, common knowledge, but it was information that normally is withheld even from the special court that governs

In the documentary Laura, accompanied by investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald and The Guardian intelligence reporter Ewen MacAskill, travels to Hong Kong with her camera to interview Snowden for few days in a hotel. Snowden offered his inside information about illegal wiretapping practices of the US National Security

Former NSA agent, Edward Snowden, empowered U.S. citizens by releasing top secret governemnt files documenting the government’s unwarranted, illegal surveillance on ally countries and unknowing american citizens. His act of courage brought an era of awareness to the masses of the unconstitutional acts of the sovereign. Today, U.S. citizens can thank Snowden for confirming previously far-fetched conspiracy theories and for giving the people a chance to fight back against oppressive government tactics.

Once the news went live, Snowden was charged with theft of government property and violating the Espionage Act for his unauthorized release of top secret information. A documentary in 2014 called “Citizenfour” captures the event in real time as the story unfolds. It follows those involved and details the event. After the release, he fled to Russia where he was granted temporary asylum after he became stranded there when the US revoked his

In John Cassidy's article that depicted Snowden as an individual for his actions, spying domestically was an issue most citizens were shocked about. How can one agency see and watch all everywhere? Upon this declaration that was plastered along news threads and the media, Edward has been named a criminal under the law. His act of courage allowed millions to acknowledge the fact of not believing everything they hear. The National Security Agency's programs are now being questioned because of their dishonesty and lack of accurate information for the public. Because of Edward Snowden's undaunted exploit of private government files, tech agencies have furthered their search for better security so that their users can feel safe even in the midst of mass surveillance. Yet, despite several dangerous targets on his back, Snowden remains to believe in his action being done with pure intentions. Speaking bravely

Essentially, the whole documentary is one big personal experience, since majority of the film is spent in Snowden’s Hong Kong hotel room, while he is hiding from the United States government. Here, Snowden and Greenwald, plan on how to continue their reporting, and how to make Snowden’s confession public. Through this, Poitras is able to collect what appears to be raw footage of Snowden’s reactions to the decision-making process, and eventually, the rest of the world finally discovering who he is. This not only, shows the audience what was going on in real time for Snowden, but also shows the complications with it, and how quickly the United States located him. By capturing Snowden’s real-time reactions, Poitras is also able to include a dramatic element to the film by simply showing how this

Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the

As history can attest, government whistleblowers act honorably for the greater good despite threat of prosecution. Government transparency, especially in acts of war, is important to a functioning democracy. J. William Leonard, former US classifications czar, In the documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, illustrates, “To have those types of decisions, those types of deliberations, done in secrecy is a tremendous disservice to the American people – because these are things being done in their name – so, whether you agree with them or not, to have a free back-and-forth airing of these is essential”. In support of these concepts, those behind WikiLeaks and other government leaks have taken great risks. Birgitta Jonsdottir, member of WikiLeaks and Icelandic parliament, stated, “We were working on something that we knew that could get us into serious trouble and we were all willing to take that consequence” (“We Steal Secrets”). In We Steal Secrets, instant messages between Bradley Manning and the man who eventually turned him in, hacker

From the time children can understand what is right and what is wrong, it is instilled in them to do what is right, even if it will get them in trouble. Sadly, as those children grow up they learn the harsh reality that speaking truth to power can lead to prosecution. Such is the case of whistleblower Edward Snowden. A former contractor for the United States National Security Agency (NSA). Who in June of 2013 contacted veteran journalist Glen Greenwald and award-winning Documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, asking both to meet him in a hotel room in Hong Kong. That 's meeting would be one that changed the culture of the United States. As the information, Mr. Snowden leaked showed that not only had the NSA been collecting information it had

Setting the stage for the events that took place in December 2012 and carried on many years after has tacked on many biases and facts due to the worldwide coverage and unraveling topics that are still surfacing almost four (4) years later. In order to fully piece together the events that took place and offer an analytical discussion based on legal and ethical dilemmas, one must approach the topic without bias and offer all aspects of the topic. Known as the “biggest leak of government secrets in history” (Breslow, 2014, para. 2), Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor, contacted Glenn Greenwald of the worldwide new source, The Guardian, in December 2012 stating, ‘I’ve got some stuff you might be interested in’

Edward Snowden is a United States citizen and former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA). Snowden leaked information about the NSA to the media in 2013 and is now in Russia where he was recently granted three years of asylum. The NSA uses cryptology and others forms of information gathering to enable various networks to make advantageous decisions for the Nation and our allies under all circumstances. The NSA operates undetected by civilians, and uses global monitoring so broadly defined that it has allowed for unscrupulous behavior that was witnessed by contracted employee, Edward Snowden. Snowden believed that as the public gained knowledge of the illegal intelligence gathering by the government of domestic citizens, and abroad, he would gain protection from the public. Snowden did receive protection from people including powerful lawyers, journalists, and privacy advocates. Analysis of the Edward Snowden case