Citizenfour

TRAILER
Engagement with Citizenfour

● Students are the new consumers of technology
● Privacy is a big part of consuming the internet and
everything online
● Builds more knowledge on a situation to come to a
conclusion about Edward Snowden
1
What type of documentary is it?
● Performative documentary
● Edward Snowden’s story connects with a larger
political issue.
● Serves to create a social truth about the meaning
of privacy.
2
Major Roles in the Leaks
Edward Snowden ● Born on June 21, 1983
● Worked originally for the CIA, before being
recruited as a subcontractor for the NSA
under the parent company Booz Allen
Hamilton
● Leaked classified information as proof of
the extent the American government was
spying on their one citizens.
● His Role:
○ Orchestrating the leak
○ Sacrificing his familial connections
and life to expose this truth
○ His beliefs
○ Connections with reporters.
Jacob Appelbaum ● Born on April 1, 1983
● Works independently as a journalist,
computer security researcher, and hacker.
But is also employed by the University of
Washington.
● Core member of the Tor project
● His Role:
○ Being an advocate for the leak
○ Representing other whistleblower
sites such as wikileaks
○ Bringing light to this issue through
interviews and press conferences
with the general population
○ Connections with reporters.
Linkability
William Binney ● Born in September 1943
● Former high ranking official within the
NSA, pioneered the use of metadata
connections
● Too, became a whistleblower and resigned
on October 31, 2001, after 30 years of
service.
● Criticized the unkept promises during the
Barack Obama legislation.
● His Role:
○ Inspired Snowden
○ During press releases, he was the
man to confirm every allegation
being made, being a highly
respected individual
THE NSA ● Born on June 21, 1983
● Nation Security Agency
● What it's supposed to do:

○ Monitor, collect and process
information for foreign and domestic
cases within the Department of
Defense
● What it does:
○ Monitors communications of majority
of citizens and stores all personal
data
○ Uses metadata to track civilian
movements and day to day lives
Laura Poitras ● Born on June 21, 1983
● Director/Producer of Citizenfour
● Her Role:
○ Exchanged encrypted emails with
Edward Snowden
○ Documented all events of the leak
○ Ensured the story was heard, not only
through the news, but through a
mediated form
Perspective and Angles
● The introduction and text screens were plain and
simple
● Unprofessional homestyle videos
● Large cityscape shots
● Actual interviews done by public figures
● Closeups on figures
Were the contributors tastefully balanced?
● Yes!
○ Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald -

■ Journalists who STAND WITH the
PEOPLE not WORK for PEOPLE.
○ William Binney and Edward Snowden -

■ THEY have SEEN the SKELETONS
in the US GOVERNMENT!
Whom do you identify with?
● Snowden’s bravery and

determination
● Leaked information knowing
the consequences
● Sacrificed himself for the
people and his family
Are the issues mentioned important?
● Yes!
● Why?
○ We use technology everyday
○ We use social media (Tweet, IG, Facebook)
○ We use Google and other search engines
○ We make online purchases
Are the issues mentioned important?
● Do we want other people “peeking” at our content,
at our search history, at our friends?
● Do we need people tracking our every move?
○ “NO”! (At least for me… how about you?)
● People should just “mind their own business”?
What are missing essential topics?
● Names of Previous Great Men Who Stood Up
Against the US Government and their Abuse of
Power
○ and where they are now
● The meaning behind CITIZENFOUR and why
did they use a FEMININE voice in the
beginning of the documentary.
● could this also relate to gender roles in
the United States especially in journalism and
National Security areas?
Did the film tell the “truth”?
● I believe there is some truth
● It gave insight for us to what happens behind the
keyboard and screen
● Edward Snowden seems to be an honest man
○ He can back up his claims, has stats, has
information in his hands to prove his claims
Is this a biased “truth”?
● Somewhat biased, since the film only
predominantly features the perspectives of Edward
○ What would others have to say?
■ Other NSA employees?
■ FBI?
■ Other “whistle-blowers”?
How did the documentary help you change
your perspective?
The Right to Privacy is

FREEDOM in all
cases.
IMPACT! REFLECT! AND PROMOTE!
“One Person Can Make A

Difference and Everyone
Should Try”
- John F. Kennedy,
35th President of the United States
Security
vs
Surveillance
● When does surveillance outweigh the benefits of
security?
● Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, AOL, Skype,
Youtube, and Apple.
● Surveillance => Control
Loss of Privacy
● It should be difficult to invade privacy.

● Right to privacy creates an environment where free
and open discussions are possible.
● Free speech is no good if it is not protected.
● Once you lose privacy, you lose agency, you lose
liberty.
Point of View
● The documentary unfolds from Laura Poitras’ point

of view.
● Edward Snowden chooses to distance himself from
the information he presents.
● Excellent journalism.
Presentation of the Documentary
● Professional.
● Although opinionated, the documentary avoided
biases.
● Piece of oppositional text.
● Presented truth.
The Catholic Viewpoint
“Every human community needs an authority to
govern it. The foundation of such authority lies in
human nature. It is necessary for the unity of the state.
Its role is to ensure as far as possible the
common good of the society.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 1898
The Catholic Viewpoint
The Catechism states that the common good requires these 3 things:
● “First, the common good presupposes respect for

the person.” (CCC 1907)
● “Second, the common good requires the social
well-being and development of the group.”
(CCC 1908)
● “Finally, the common good requires peace.” (CCC
1909)

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TRAILER

Engagement with Citizenfour

● What it's supposed to do:

○ Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald -

○ William Binney and Edward Snowden -

● Snowden’s bravery and

The Right to Privacy is

“One Person Can Make A

● It should be difficult to invade privacy.

● The documentary unfolds from Laura Poitras’ point

● “First, the common good presupposes respect for

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