Citizenfour, 2014

May, 2023 | JASON DEPENA

The film “Citizenfour” is a documentary that focuses on exposing the secrets of the NSA. It is explained in the film that the NSA is spying on both domestic and foreign individuals. It is up to Edward Snowden and a few journalists to gather information and expose everything happening behind closed doors. There is a scene in the film where Snowden explains that if he does not expose what is happening, no one will. The reason him using the name “citizenfour” is that other people could have found out about the information but decided to keep quiet. His motivation is to show that while he may not have been the first to find out the information, he will be the one to expose everything happening, so no one will be faced with the dilemma of choosing whether to keep quiet or not.

It is important to know how far one will go to protect one's own values. If they succumb to wrongdoings, they will no longer be able to be trusted. If someone is not morally good and honest, there is no telling what they might do to get what they want. In Media stories are being told every day and journalists should have an idea of what is right and wrong to publish. If someone’s values do not align with journalism, they should look for a different career path. It is a difficult career because many people struggle with knowing what is right and wrong. They have to decide if their morals are more important than the story. While journalists typically work for a company, the viewers are the ones giving them a career. They should be able to put themselves in the shoes of their viewers. Having something too harmful to be viewed should be a clear indication of it being unneeded as a hit piece. Many journalists view something as shocking or crazy and immediately try to interview people or take pictures without thinking of the victims or how their viewers will take the news. It is important to have a clear set of values to know when to say, “enough is enough” and not publish a story. Not everyone story seen should be published because after all, it will usually be at the expense of other people. The film relates to this because it shows the struggle of keeping your morals and deciding what is right. Snowden and the rest of the journalists know that if they do not tell the public about the NSA, it is unlikely that anyone ever will. People have a right to know if they are being spied on and journalists have a responsibility to tell people something this big about their government.

Free will can also fit into media ethics because it explores the idea of having a choice when making decisions. Free will is what allows people to be truly unique. If people have destined choices, the world will have no meaning because every outcome is determined in the end. There would be no sense of fear, accomplishment, etc. It is something that humans have been given to explore the world and see it in their own ways. 

The film “Citizenfour” shows free will and how Snowden and the journalists are given a choice of keeping quiet and going along with the potential other citizens or exposing the secrets of the NSA. Keeping quiet would have meant going along with everyone else and showing no sense of free will. Pursuing the truth and exposing the NSA showed that they truly had free will and could use it to its fullest extent. Without fully knowing, it can be concluded that people before Snowden found out about the NSA but decided to keep quiet and continue to play along being ignorant. Snowden showed that having free will also means pursuing what you believe is the right choice. Free will and media ethics connect in such a way because it shows that journalists have a choice of what they truly want to publish and show to the world. They constantly have to make moral choices about what should be shown to the rest of the world. Free will is needed to separate yourself from the higher ups who may be pushing an agenda.

Media Ethics is an interesting topic because journalists are the ones choosing what is morally right and wrong with the stories they publish. They may have stories higher ups want them to pursue, but it does not align with their moral values. It is up to them to decide whether they should risk their own morals to get a story out to the public. Virtue ethics shows that when dealing with media ethics, people should always keep their morals in check and not risk losing them. Connecting free will and media ethics shows that having a choice in what to show others through newspapers, news channels, etc. is up to the journalists and they have the choice to decide for themselves if they want to pursue a story.