If you were to ever take just one movie recommendation from me, I would suggest that you definitely go check out Oliver Stone’s 2016 Drama/Thriller Snowden. The film does a great job telling the story of Edward Snowden, who I would go as far as to say is in some way a hero. Although there are many who share this common opinion with me, there are obviously people who oppose this view and that’s understandable. My objective is not to persuade people to change their minds about Edward Snowden but to explain why I believe he can be considered a hero. In order to understand why some people would oppose my view, it’s important to get an understanding of the situation. Although I believe the film does great telling the story, if you are interested, doing some research is never a bad idea.

Edward Snowden is a man who bravely made a choice that I don’t think too many of us would have made and that is to expose the NSA and their surveillance activities amongst other things. But the choice was not that easy to make considering that it meant he could get into a lot of trouble but regardless, he was an intelligent man and even understanding the implications of his actions, still chose to do what he felt was right and in the best interest of the public. Lately, I’ve noticed that in the internet community there’s this meme that is usually video shot from the point of view of your phone’s front camera and you see someone doing something and it’ll say something along the lines of “What my assigned FBI agent sees”. These memes if i’m not mistaken originated because of internet conspiracies and Edward Snowden. The reason I say that is because this idea that the government was watching you was a big deal when I was growing up through high school, I had classmates who would put tape on their computers and always say that the government could hear us through our phones and spy on us. It was all fun and games till in 2013, Snowden exposed the NSA and their Surveillance activities on it’s enemies but also its citizens. This was a huge deal and it basically made him an enemy to the states. He risked it all so that the people would know what was happening because he believed that not only was it morally wrong but also believed people should have the right to know. 

Some people believe Snowden is not a hero but a traitor to the United States and that he should be brought back to the States and prosecuted. It’s easy to understand why people would feel this way but I believe they are naive to think he wanted to do this for money or fame. Had Snowden not done what he did, where would we be now? Would we have known about the surveillance yet had he not blown the whistle? 

I remember when I first heard of the Snowden leaks. I thought it was crazy that he did it because I understood that anyone who would do something like that would not be able to live their lives comfortably or the same ever again. I also worried that no one would care and that he would have gotten through all that risk just to be ignored. The film does very well showing what it was like for Snowden to do his job while knowing that the NSA was spying on everyone and you can see how it’s got him paranoid and it starts to bleed into his health and his relationship with his wife. 

Although I do believe Snowden is a hero for what he did, I don’t think he went about it the right way? Maybe I’m understanding it incorrectly but from what we know, Snowden did not want to leak the files because he didn’t believe he would do it in the best way possible and that journalists were the people who should publish the files. I think that’s interesting because it worked out for him and it went the way they wanted it to go, but I still think that maybe getting  journalists involved wasn’t the way to go. Getting more people involved could have brought more room for risk and the files were not just any ordinary files that were easy to understand. Snowden had placed his trust that the journalists he was working with would be able to correctly tell the story.

Edward Snowden knew that because of his actions he would have to leave the United States before they could arrest him so he had a plan to go to Ecuador. On his journey to Ecuador, things took a turn and since then Snowden finds himself currently in Moscow. In all his interviews, Snowden expresses that he misses the United States because to him it is his home, but knows he won’t be able to return. 

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