INTRODUCTION "Man is least himself when he talks with his own person. But if you give him a mask, he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde Controversies have often attracted the attention of movie-makers and hence these result in the creation of films like The Fifth Estate. Upon watching the movie, one feels the need to be exposed to the truth of what the government is secretly hiding, which directly leads to the question: do we need whistle-blowers whose revelations alert the public and uncover the corruptive and fraudulent acts? This review …show more content…
He is a highly motivated man who is dedicated and committed to his work but has his own mysterious eccentricity which is very evident throughout the movie. His ambitious personality eventually makes him seem selfish and arrogant. He gets consumed by his own ego and overwhelmed by self-importance which makes him reckless in his actions and decisions which jeopardises the lives of people and threatens the nation's security. Daniel Domscheit-Berg: - Daniel is a journalist and an online activist who collaborates with Julian Assange on WikiLeaks. He is also very dedicated and enjoys the mentorship of Assange. But later his relations with Assange becomes strained due to which several arguments arise which ultimately results in his suspension from the website. He was more concerned about the security of people and tries to block Assange from …show more content…
The movie itself is centred on the social media and the website, WikiLeaks and the revolution of information it has brought about. 2. Corporate fraudulence and government secrecy: - The film highlights the fact that the government keeps documents that contain information that people have the right to know about and also the clandestine indulgence of corporate companies in illegal activities. The WikiLeaks target a private Swiss bank, Julius Baer whose branch in Cayman Islands engage in illegal activities and transactions. 3. Whistle-blowing in relation with freedom of expression: - The Fifth Estate puts more emphasis on revelation of the hidden information that the government secretly cover to prevent its circulation. The film also tries to show the relevance of whistle-blowing in the context of freedom of expression. THEME ANALYSIS I have narrowed down my theme to the importance of whistle-blowing and its relevance to freedom of expression and information, because people have the right to information, which is a fundamental right of an individual as well as the freedom to publish and expose the true picture as it is. This was the very objective that Julian Assange tried to obtain through his website
Julian Assange’s website, WikiLeaks made global headlines in the last few years. Assange started out by leaking documents he had acquired over the internet about banks in various European countries. Chelsea Manning, Army Private at the time stationed in Iraq joined up with Assange and delivered to him thousands of classified documents that Manning, a military intelligence analyst had access to. Manning was in contact with a former hacker named Adrian Lamo who he asked advice of, advice whether or not he should leak the documents. Manning going against Lamo’s advice of not leaking the documents caused Manning to be arrested after Lamo turned him in for the leak. This was a major blow for Wikileaks who had just lost their major source of confidential documents from the United States government. Since 9/11, the United States Government has realized that information needs to be shared among intelligence agencies in order to thwart terrorist attacks. A side effect however is that information is no longer on a need-to-know basis which made it possible for Manning to leak it all out. After receiving this confidential information, Assange began to make this information available to media outlets. Assange’s actions were morally and ethically incorrect. He should not have leaked so many classified documents especially without redacting the names of informants whose lives could have been in danger. These documents leaked by Manning to Assange were meant strictly for the eyes and ears of those who were privileged to the information, not for the front page of the New York Times. WikiLeaks and Julian Assange threatened global security as they willingly and knowingly put lives of thousands at risk by allowing the bad guys an opportunity to a...
Thank you Viola for your detailed comments about the HUAC committee activities that created a devastating situation for the film industry. The issue with communistic events indeed interfered with the lives of many and destroyed the careers of actors, especially those who firmly refused to cooperate with that committee. The film Spartacus is one of the most successful films in the history of Universal Studios not only in terms of box office appeal, but it also received six Oscar nominations and was accredited for breaking the Hollywood blacklist. This film was based on Howard Fast's novel, which narrates the story of professionals who refused to collaborate with HUAC committee officials.
Cassidy, John. "Why Edward Snowden Is a Hero." The New Yorker. N.p., 10 June 2013. Web. 15 Feb.
Another issue discovered during the process of Snowden’s leaks is Over-classification. Allowing abuses to remain hidden and impeding information sharing can create risks to national security and obstruct the democratic process. Most importantly, these actions create distrust in government. Intelligence investigations must, of course, go forward in secrecy, but not all aspects must be so cloaked.16 Because of the secrecy surrounding the leaks it is difficult of the
Whistle blowing is a controversial topic in the professional industry. Whistle blowing is the act of speaking out against a fellow colleague or even a friend that has done something non-ethical or illegal in the workplace. A whistleblower raises concerns about the wrongdoing inside of the workplace. Employees hesitate to become a whistleblower because of the idea of becoming a snitch on fellow employees and having a bad rep around the office. This concern was lowered in 1989 with a law called the Whistleblower Protection Act that protects federal government employees in the United States from retaliatory action for voluntarily disclosing information about dishonest or illegal activities occurring at a government organization (whistleblowers.gov).
The term Whistleblower means “An employee who discloses information that s/he reasonably believes is evidence of illegality, gross waste or fraud, mismanagement, abuse of power, general wrongdoing, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. When information is classified or otherwise restricted by Congress or Executive Order, disclosures only are protected as whistleblowing if made through designated, secure channels. (What is a Whistleblower?)” The idea behind whistleblowers is that they believe trying to inform the public of illegal acts within their businesses has the potential to protect the public from wrongdoing. The following studies analyze scholar’s findings on different factors related to whistle blowing as
Board, The Editorial. “Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 May. 2014
Edward Snowden, the famous “whistleblower”, shocked the world with his revelations about the NSA’s database and the programs which allow the organization to access personal information not only of citizens of other nations, but also of citizens of the U.S. The most shocking revelation of all was not the existence of these programs, but the fact that the Obama administration allowed those programs to exist in direct violation of every U.S. citizen’s right to privacy.
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
Journalist or Terrorist Julian Assange, an Australian editor, activist, journalist and publisher, launched the WikiLeaks website in the year 2006. From that moment, the site spiraled rapidly into the limelight all over the world. It then came to be known as the most powerful whistle-blowing and also the most scandalous “media” in the online world. WikiLeaks profans and violates the right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality among Information and data sharing also it has a negative impact on governments, private sectors or businesses and also individuals, there is also a big question of accountability. Right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality are some of the rights that you acquire being a citizen of the country and when these rights are violated it is an offence.
“Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage” (Confucius Quotes, 2012). The person who does her duty, at great risk to her own interest, when most others would defy from fear is considered a hero (Schafer, 2004). Dr. Nancy Olivieri is a hero who blew the whistle on Apotex, University of Toronto (U of T) and the Hospital for Sick Children (HSC); and fought for her academic rights till the end. Whistle-blowing refers to actions of an employee that breach her loyalty to the organization but serves the public interest. When other constraints proved to be ineffective, whistle-blowing acts as a check on authority of the organization. Whistle-blowers expose severe forms of corruption, waste, and abuse of power within their organization and put the organization in a position where it is answerable to the public, thus enhancing its accountability (Cooper, 2006, pg. 198-205).
In the past, whistleblowers had been destroyed by the experience, and Snowden simply wanted to encourage others to step forward by demonstrating that they can win. The primary duty is to respect the rights of others while ensuring that our rights are protected and respected. Our rights as American citizens are natural, universal, equal, and inalienable. Edward Snowden stated that the human right to privacy is inherent, therefore he felt morally obligated to come clean about the agency’s surveillance programs, leading him to release sensitive documents through journalist Glenn
The constant theme of betrayal in 1984 is being used by George Orwell to show how hopeless Winston’s struggle against the Totalitarian system is, giving the reader an idea of how bad this type of government is. The reader is introduced to this dark time and given hope in the form of the rebellious protagonist, Winston. However, the reader soon realises how hopelessly alone Winston is in his silent battle when they see that the government is against him, he has no support or allies, and that even his own mind can be turned against him. The message is clear and makes readers who live in a democracy happier with what they have.
The act of whistle-blowing is an ethical issue that all employees have the right to. Whether they decide to make the corrupt information known publicly or anonymously, the information they provide can protect everyone involved. The ethical and moral sides of whistle-blowing can go both ways. In order to protect the customers, patients, or consumers of the harmful products the companies are offering, employees that have morals and feel the need to make the truth be known have an ethical responsibility to do so. Issues of being a whistle-blower are more controversial than the responsibilities of the employees doing so. When a whistle-blower takes action, they expose information from their company that it not meant to be public. They basically turn their backs away from their company and colleagues by revealing the truth. When surveying these issues, an employee who is torn by exposing information or keeping silent must decide whether it is more ethical to stay loyal to their organization or to the organization's
The topic of personal privacy and the possibility of censorship tends to be one of the “red buttons” of conversations. There have been movies, such as The Truman Show and Eagle Eye, that have presented extreme versions of government and large industry conspiracies, which have caused many to laugh off any idea of such occurrences in real life, and claim that those kinds of things only happen in movies. But many would be surprised to discover that many of the events in the fictional movies are actually occurring today. The government has no right to any information about a citizen unless that citizen specifically chooses to give the information, and it must only be used for the purpose specified by the individual because such a leak infringes upon personal safety and privacy and opens the door to long-term consequences.