Spy Games
Simply put, this movie made me
very fearful. I came into this class thinking that government agencies
like the CIA and NSA had to have a warrant to spy on Americans. It is
very fearful to know that my personal information such as phone calls or
emails is accessible by the government at the snap of a finger. Since
watching this movie, the thought of the government listening on my phone
calls with my mom or sister is constantly in the back of my head. In
the film, the government is portrayed in a very negative, cynical,
powerful, and omnipresent way. The image of the government was very
negative because people were abusing their power and doing a lot of
illegal things. The government seemed to have all the power because they
could track Will Smith anywhere he went and could easily listen in on
his conversations. I do not think that anyone’s privacy was respected in
this film. Will Smith himself also obtained the video tape of the mob
boss in a somewhat illegal way. The NSA on the other hand was able the
bug his house, his clothes and cellphone without a warrant. They knew
that the only way to achieve their goals was to not respect people’s
privacy. One important point that was made by Larry King at the end of
the movie when he was interviewing a congressman. He said, “How do we
draw the line between the protection of national security,...the
government’s need to gather intelligence and the protection of civil
liberties.” Some way along the way we have to sacrifice at least one of
the things listed. I think that the government’s mindset is to be safe
than sorry. This is why they listen in on the conversations of a lot of
Americans. I think that it is a good thing that the government listen in
on people’s conversations, but at the same time, I would also like for
my personal rights to be protected. I believe that one way that we can
prevent events like 9/11 from happening again is by monitoring people.
Although I myself would not like to be monitored, you can never truly
know the good guys from the bad guys without monitoring everyone. The
government has a right to investigate people and keeps its citizens
safe. It is important to note that in the movie, it was a bunch of rouge
NSA agents that were persecuting Will Smith. In real life, I believe
that the NSA only targets individuals that they truly suspect of wrong
doing. Once the NSA has enough evidence to implicate you of being a
terrorist, I believe that this is time when individual freedom should be
restricted for the safety of the larger community. This movie really
helped me to see things from both perspectives.
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