The Secret Life of a Superpower
07/07/2013 18:02
Wikileaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower was non-Assange-centric
The BBC made a very thought-provoking documentary called WikiLeaks:
Wikileaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower was non-Assange-centric
TV review: Wikileaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower avoided the usual character assassination of Julian Assange, instead focusing on the effects of the leaked US diplomatic cables.
Richard Bilton trained his sights on the message not the messenger for this documentary on Wikileaks’ 2010 release of sensitive diplomatic cables, which left many red faces in the US government.
Julian Assange is certainly an intriguing character and his past, his motives and his dalliances with the opposite sex have formed the focal point of most Wikileaks documentaries up until now, but it was refreshing to see an hour spent focusing instead on the fallout created by his whistle-blowing group’s disclosures.
From cattiness towards the UK, to assertions of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, the leaked emails’ contents created rifts across the world and interviews with top US officials here revealed that global diplomatic relations have still not recovered.
But what conclusions to draw from the whole ‘Cablegate’ saga?
The secret opinions of US diplomats are eyebrow-raising but hardly surprising, one need only look at the games of international government ping pong, forced smiles and determined handshakes to guess that there is an element of façade to international relations.
More worrying is simply the ease with which the cables themselves were released.
In the digital age information is fragile and transient, capable of being erased (or copied) very simply it seems – be it a Facebook user’s details or a government’s top secrets.
Blinking servers create an illusion of organisation and safety when compared with a ruffled pile of papers, but the speed with which these dense masses of information can be stolen is very worrying indeed.
The Secret Life of a Superpower - One of the greatest gifts that punk rock gave me was an open mind that will always question authority! Besides listening to music that stood against the status quo, in the 80′s, punks of my generation took actions against the powers of corruption. As I have gotten older, my fight for justice has only intensified. This is why I stand behind the actions of WikiLeaks and agree with their actions to promote real free speech and freedom of information!
The Secret Life of a Superpower that breaks down the worldwide effects of this group’s actions. The scariest part of the film is when one ex-government official said that Bradley Manning should be executed for his whistleblowing because he committed treason. While watching this documentary, I could not stop thinking about the hypocrisy that we all live under, and that many people really do believe that America is the home of the free. Full Documentary 58 minutes.
