THE GREAT HACK: A Call To Arms To Fight For Your Data
The year is 2020. Much like 2016, the nation is more divided than ever as the future of the United States is determined yet again by about 70,000 voters in 3 states. Each of those 70,000 individuals (many of which are swing votes) go on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other websites. Every click, every swipe of a credit card and every stroke of a keyboard is tracked and used to retarget these people and shape their world the way people want them to see it.
This is the reality of the world we live in since 2016 (and truthfully, even before). In The Great Hack, the new documentary from directors Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, we get an alarming and eye-opening look at just how vulnerable our data is to those who would use it against us and how vulnerable our minds are to modern propaganda. It’s a portrait of how the sites that were meant to bring us together have torn us apart.
The documentary focuses primarily on Cambridge Analytica, Facebook and how they influenced both Brexit and the 2016 US elections. It primarily follows the story of David Carroll, a professor at Parsons School of Design, as he sues Cambridge Analytica in the UK to get his data back. Along the way, we meet and follow ex-CA employee Brittany Kaiser and journalists like Carole Cadwalladr.
If it sounds a little muddled along the way, that’s because it is. Coming in at about 2 hours, The Great Hack feels bloated and detours itself serval times from a story perspective. While it’s not the best made documentary of the year, The Great Hack is the most important documentary you’ll watch all year. It should be essential viewing for every person who values their democracy and freedom. The Great Hack should serve as a call to arms to join the fight for your data privacy and create laws that reframe data rights as human rights.
Data Shapes Modern Propaganda
The term data can feel broad and abstract to many. The Great Hack makes it abundantly clear just how important it is. It’s more valuable than oil. It determines the entire world you’re exposed to online. It shapes how we think, while going completely unseen.
Early on, The Great Hack visually shows just how much data is collected on individuals every day. It’s shocking. At its best, the film shows how the internet is personalized and how parties can use the data to create propaganda. Kaiser at one point even says the UK considers the tactics Cambridge Analytica deployed were “weapons grade communication tactics.” We even learn that SCL (Cambridge Analytica’s parent company) began as a military contractor, using data to try to prevent young boys from joining ISIS. It’s a damning indictment of just how powerful data has become, despite most American’s ignorance to its use.
It’s an eye-opening look at the need to create laws that balance our personal privacy with first amendment rights and defines citizen’s ownership over their data. While the means to collect data were certainly problematic, what was done with the data and the campaign platforms after the fact is just as problematic and seems to be slipping under the radar of many. A $5 billion fine for Facebook is nice, but creating enforceable campaign and data laws for the 21st century seems better.
A Bloated Warning
While The Great Hack is extremely important watch, it doesn’t feel particularly well made. The two hour runtime feels unneeded to make the point the film does. The first half feels most essential as we learn just how Cambridge Analytica was able to collect so much data and how that data is turned around to swing votes.
Tonally, The Great Hack waffles between an exposé and a warning and feeling like watching a PR campaign masquerading as a documentary. The warning and exposé feel right where The Great Hack should live – it feels more objective. When we follow Carroll and Kaiser, it feels like Carroll is trying to bring his fight for his data to light (a worthy cause) and Kaiser is trying to run a PR campaign to paint herself as a hero rather than part of the initial problem. Both of them are interesting stories, but they take away from the poignant message of the rest of the film.
As I was watching the film about data and modern propaganda, I couldn’t help think that the documentary itself felt a bit like liberal propaganda. While it makes so many valid and important points, there’s no balance in how they’re shown. Carroll is made to be a hero, Kaiser is shown only as someone making amends for her past rather than a vital piece of ruining the system. It feels like the filmmakers are only concerned about data mining because Trump won and Britain voted to leave the EU, rather than the actual issue of protecting our data and keeping it personal.
The Great Hack: Not To Be Missed
The Great Hack is a bit of a mixed bag in terms of execution. It’s visually impressive and gorgeous to look at, but also bloated and very one-sided. It feels as motivated by politics as it is by the actual issue at hand. At the same time, the core message in the documentary are absolutely vital for all citizens of the world. We need to be educated on how our data is used against us. And if only half of people are upset because it didn’t help them this time, it’s important to remember that next time it could help the other side. Data isn’t an issue of politics, it’s an issue of privacy, democracy and freedom.
Have you seen The Great Hack? What did you think? Let us know in the comments.
The Great Hack hit Netflix worldwide on July 24.
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