The Circle

[wayfriend]

The Circle is one of those movies that supports a great cast but isn't really all that much in terms of a traditional movie. You won't be riveted by the plot or empathizing with the characters.

However, I want to recommend it because it is a valuable cautionary tale. It's bound to open your eyes about the rather frightening consequences of the social networking age we live in. It's done in an entertaining and also thought-inducing way. There are no horrors, only ... possibilities. Enough that you can imagine more.

[peter]

As a man who already has grave reservations about the ever more ubiquitous presence of social-media in everything we do, this sounds like a pretty important film for me to see Wayfriend. Will definitely try to track it down on Netflix or Amazon.

Edit 21.00 hours; Saw it on Netflix and fully agree with Wayfriend's assessment. The plot blends a mixture of Bentham's panopticonism with utopian/dystopian visions (depending on how you see things) and an almost libelous in it's thin-veiledness poke at Apple with its new headquarters currently under construction in silicon valley. One quote used in the film (it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission) was a view explicitly stated in a recent program I saw on the behaviour of tech companies in silicon valley, where they absolutely considered it the role of governments to catch up with what they had already foisted on the world (in their wisdom of knowing what was best for it) rather than for them to canvas opinion as to what people actually wanted in terms of change in their lives.

2nd edit; another thing the film portrayed is the trick that sv tech companies have pulled of in presenting themselves as philanthropic organisations rather than profit driven behemoths. It's bullshit of course, but they do it damned well and we are all fooled by it.

[wayfriend]

Bentham's panopticonism

The central theme of the movie was summed up in the question, "Do you behave better or worse when you're being watched?"

Do you mean Panopticism? Panopticism involves not knowing whether you are watched or not by the authorities, while in the Circle, you are always watched, and by everyone. But the connection to behavior modification applies, yes.

Spoiler

Poor Mae becomes convinced that being watched, all the time, by everyone, makes her a better person.

However, I think it was the infiltration into the voting process that bothered me the most. Most people still don't get that when you let computers tally the votes, the results are whatever the software developers want it to be.

[peter]

Yes; I probably got the word wrong or more likely just made it up based on Bentham's 'panopticon' prison system where the inmates behaviour is modified in this way.

It was a salutary reminder that there may be many unforseen consequences that result from our unquestioning adoption of the innovations the tech guru's are throwing out with apparent gay abandon - not least the one you refer to in your spoiler! I hope some other Watchers get to see this film - I'd be very interested to hear other views on it.