“I am this close to finishing setting up the apartment, at which point I will be out of excuses for slacking on the blog. But first, I’m making myself write up the next post.
After seeing this movie, I’m kinda scared to write this post. Am I gonna be on a list somewhere? Was the NSA already tracking me? Does any of it matter in the grand scheme of things? Whatever, I’m not censoring myself. Mostly.
When Mom and I went to see the new Independence Day, I’d gone in first to get us seats and she came in a few min later. She did so as the last piece of the Snowden trailer was playing. She turns and looks at the screen, “”is that the guy that betrayed us”” she said before sitting down. I was inwardly fuming. The situation is far more complex than that and I am not so quick to dismiss him as a traitor as others are. Yet another shining example of the many many things we fundamentally disagree on.
One of the first (if not the first) clips of Last Week Tonight that I ever saw was the one where John Oliver interviewed Edward Snowden in Russia. That clip changed everything for me. It began my John Oliver obsession, which in turn finally sparked my interest in politics and current affairs (something I’d resisted for nearly 30 years). Plus it explained what the whole Snowden/NSA situation is by putting it in easy (and humorous!) terms. I urge you, if you have not seen that, take thirty minutes out of your day and watch the clip. It’s absolutely worth it.
Having had my interest sparked from that, I was very much looking forward to this film. I wanted to get into the details of what he did and why and how and what it all meant. The film was utterly fascinating. Seeing the world that he lived in and the secrets that are being kept and the way he uncovered it and the internal conflicts he had were incredible. And oh, one of Joseph Gorden-Levitt’s best roles ever (distracting deep voice not withstanding). I almost don’t really wanna talk too much more about the movie because it’s something that you have to experience and form your own opinions on.
At least for me, it did help solidify where I stand on the debate. I agree that the conversations that sprung from Snowden’s actions are necessary ones that we need to have. Yes, he broke the law. And yes, even though others broke the law, I do agree that two wrongs don’t make a right. But what he did was get the information out in a way that would get attention, and he was willing to take responsibility for his actions. I may not agree with every step he took, I stand behind what he did. And oh God, I’m on a list now, aren’t I? If we never see another post from me, you can infer what happened…
Snowden – \m/ \m/ \m/ \m/”