Edward Joseph Snowden – Real and unreal (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
SNOWDEN
By Marlene Ardoin
What stayed with me after seeing “Snowden”, was the fact that he did not finish high school and that his moral sensibilities were deeply offended while working for the U.S. government.
I am reminded while listening to a radio show, that so many lower income youths join the services to fix their teeth, have a place to live and to get an education. The caller pleads that the government does not have the right to ask them to go against their moral beliefs.
After looking into the reason for Snowden not finishing high school, I discover that his whole family worked for the government, and it just involved the family being relocated and a bad case of mononucleosis.
Snowden chose not to return to high school. He passes the GED test to get his diploma. He has a very high IQ. And, at this point, he decides to take online college courses from Britain, instead. This is not at all the impression I got from the film. In fact, his whole family is missing from this film.
Filmmaker, Oliver Stone, does a good job of playing at our heart strings in his most recent film, “Snowden.” I received the impression that the young Edward Snowden was a victim of circumstances.
As far as his moral beliefs go, he listed himself as a Buddhist, when he enlisted in the Armed Services. So, this is not your normal Ten Commandments kind of a moral upbringing. How could Stone explain this to the American public in his film?
I can relate to the real Snowden, but I wonder if it was decided that the truth may not be sympathetic enough. Stone appears to be on a mission to make Snowden heart-wrenching.
The broken legs, the epileptic seizures and the offending surveillance scenes really do make him worthy of sympathy. I for one, will never have a computer in my bedroom after seeing this film.
There are victims depicted in this film. Edward Snowden may not be one of them.
“Citizenfour,” which won the Oscar for Best Documentary, is recommended as a more truth filled source.
Wiki biography of Edward Snowden:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
Preview of “Citizenfour”: