Sunday, October 29, 2017

so, your diary is like external memory, then. 

somewhere there's a logical explanation for everything. not here, but somewhere.

there was a movie in r.'s library queue we forgot about and did not recognize that turned out to be risk by laura poitras. it's the film following citizen four, about snowden. it's about assange, who arranged snowden's sanctuary. the films are dramatically different though, and i'm not sure how much of the difference is due to personality, and how personality informs action, and environment. the environment of snowden's hotel was light by comparison. both had good reason to fear, but snowden is calm and forthright where assange is dark and though his fear is well founded seems paranoid and a more dubious character. he seems to live the same life as his pursuers in a way, maybe the obverse of their dark secrecy and espionage. i think his cause is just, but he's consumed by the nihilism of the security state. 
also there's a subtext with assange, some personal struggle, poitras suggests it's about power, and early on indicates that she doesn't trust him and wonders why he trusts her when he doesn't even like her. i always assumed the sex scandals were invented to try to get him extradited to america, and still assume that, but clearly also he has some trouble in mind regarding women. in the end everything was clear and clean with snowden, and everything dark and disturbing with assange, who broke with poitras saying her film would only harm him, which i think it does.

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