Paper Example on Citizenfour: NSA Exceeding Power & Compromising Security of People

Introduction

The Citizenfour is a documentary film directed by Laura Poitras concerning Edward Snowden and the National Security Agency spying scandal. This film shows how the United States government has compromised the security of the people. The perspective of the Citizenfour filmmakers was that the government agencies had overstepped their powers on retrieving information of the people. The Citizenfour film featured NSA as the social institution exceeding its authorities, and it represents the government agencies as a social group of people with potency and the silenced people as a social group of individuals with no power.

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Citizenfour lesson on society

The Citizenfour teaches us that the agencies of the government of the United States have compromised our society’s security. This film divulges how the US government agencies’ system of surpassing their power on information security has globally compromised the safety of the citizens. It teaches us that, although there are existent threats of terrorism, the National Security Agency (NSA) has used the post-9/11 world as an entry to retrieving as much information as possible to justify the national security against terrorism. Therefore, this film teaches people that the government is violating its powers leading to insecure society.

Perspectives of the filmmakers

The perspectives of the Citizenfour filmmakers is that the government of the United States has broken the law by overstepping its power. Although the US has the ultimate goal of conquering the terrorism in the world, it is exceeding its powers in collecting data on people. In the film, Snowden presented classified documents of the National Security Agency, which revealed their law violation acts. Besides, the Citizenfour makers have a perspective that although the private citizens are answerable for their delinquencies, those in power such as the US government agencies are not accountable for their crimes.

Featured social institutions

The National Security Agency is a social institution which is featured in the Citizenfour film. This body has been given the power to offer security to the societies, thus facilitating advanced social lives of individuals. However, instead of acting as per the law, it has acted against the regulations and exceedingly broke into people’s personal information with a justification of national security against terrorism.

Represented social groups

The social groups represented in this film include the class of people with power and those without it. On the one hand, the film depicts the US government agencies as a social group with the power which breaks the law without being held accountable. On the other hand, the film represents Edward Snowden as a person belonging to a social group with no power. Snowden’s release of the NSA documents puts his life in danger, and the government is searching to silence him through prosecution. This social group is made up of the people who have been silenced by the agencies with more governmental power.

Revealed social problems

The social problem presented by the Citizenfour film is a violation of power. The US government agencies have overstepped their powers on accessing data on people with a justification that they are fighting against terrorism. The film also reveals the violation of authority when the US government seeks to prosecute Snowden for espionage after releasing the NSA documents. The agencies have silenced the ordinary citizens such that they cannot forth and stand for their right and live in a democracy that allows liberty and freedom.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Citizenfour film reveals how the government of the United States has been violating its powers. As per the film, the government is using its force with no bounds to access people’s personal information which is a violation of citizens’ rights. Besides, the film shows that the US has imbalanced power where ordinary citizens are held responsible for their lawbreaking acts while the people with governmental potency escape their sentences.