Citizenfour documentary laura poitras analysis

Document Type:Essay

Subject Area:English

Document 1

The documentary was produced by Praxis films and distributed by different broadcasting corporations in The United States of America, United Kingdom, and Germany. Due to her successful documentary about the Iraq war, Laura Poitras is selected to be the director of this documentary. She has also been detained by the American government hence knows how to make her way through the production of the documentary. Before meeting in Hong Kong, in person, Poitras and Citizenfour communicate through encrypted emails. Poitras makes her way to Hong Kong in the company of Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill who are journalists (Poitras n. Accessing classified information through out his contract at NSA made him feel threatened (Poitras n. p). This was an indication that he could also be spied.

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After meeting in Hong Kong, Snowden applies to become a refugee in Hong Kong since he is facing charges in America and is worried about his safety. During the production of the documentary, the Poitras and her team did not hide anything from the viewers. People who have watched the documentary are already aware of the risks they face when making movements to different places or communicating through electronic gadgets. The producers applied different elements of filmmaking for the successful production and distribution of this documentary. The documentary focuses on the efforts applied by Poitras, Snowden, Greenwald, and McAskill. Poitras has different experiences since she moves to different locations to ensure her safety. Snowden also shifts locations after the Chinese government extradites him and his passport is cancelled in Moscow (Poitras n.

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Poitras states that she was already working on a film related to the documentary. The target audience learns about the existence of government surveillance through electronic gadgets and different means of communication. Their focus was to pass their message in a way the target audience felt that indeed their privacy is being invaded. During the production, Snowden explains the process used by NSA to acquire information about different people. This helps the audience understand how they are spied on and the impact of the collected information on their future. Viewers were able to understand the importance of staying safe and informed about the possibilities of being victims of private government investigations. Distributing the documentary through different platforms helped people gain access through different forms.

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