THE HIDE
Snowden had to hide after revealing his story. He knew from the very beginning that people from NSA and the U.S government will be looking for him. This is what make his gesture so brave, because he knew he was leaving home and his family behind him. He is now hiding in Russia, where he obtained politic asylum. His story shows the lack of protection in place for the whistleblowers who have to live in the fear of repression.
This fear of repression was also experienced while shooting the movie. Indeed, the movie director Oliver Stone had to be very paranoid, because of the subject of its film but also because of the threat of hackers stealing its work. This question raises real issues about privacy and personal information. The data are now a goldmine for this new kind of pirates, who are using personal information to get what they want.
Technology serving the freedom of speech
The campaign strategy was about fighting back the repression of the freedom of speech, experienced by Edward Snowden. To manage that, a twitter account was created along with an hashtag #ASKJGL.
People were invited to use this hashtag to ask Joseph Gordon Levitt questions, which will be answered during the Q & A between the actor and Edward Snowden, on a secret meeting in Russia. This operation is interesting because it uses technology to skirt all the opression of the freedom of speech, due to technology itself.
The public is once again at the core of the communication strategy, proving that use of technology could lead to great things when it is handled correctly.
Hackers : the cyberwar of Hollywood
The movie had to be shot in secret, because Oliver Stone and his team were afraid of a potential hacking of the footage. This fear is quite new in Hollywood, and shows the emergence of a new weapon in our modern society : the power of hacking. The exemple of the movie The Interview starring James Franco and Seth Rogen in a satire about North Korea and his leader Kim Jong Un, is a good one to understand the new repartition of power due to technology advances.
Indeed, this movie was threatened by a anonymous group, who called itself GOP, Guardian Of Peace. This group claims to have personal emails and informations about the employees at Sony Pictures and was decided to leak these informations if the movie was released in theaters. Sony Pictures decided to hold back on the release of the movie, causing many protest reactions among the public and the actors. The investigation proved later that this cyber attack had been orchestrated by the government of North Korea itself. This incident shows that technology in the hands of the enemy of democracy can lead to the oppression of the freedom of speech. Hackers have nowadays a real power online and a great impact in real life.
