Film Analysis: Enemy Of The State Directed by Tony Scott

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In the modern day era, we find in society a ubiquitous usage of technology that seems to be never ending and forever growing. Included with this notion, the broad subject of surveillance is of course included. Contemporary surveillance, or more specifically technological surveillance, has been described as ambiguous; meaning that it is often misunderstood or open to different interpretations. The representation of surveillance within popular culture has played an impacting role on how we as a society perceive it and this raises certain questions that may reflect back on to society. The 1998 film Enemy Of The State directed by Tony Scott, Starring Will Smith, Gene Hackman and Jon Voight is considered to be a ‘spy-thriller’ blockbuster. Its central themes explore a range of surveillance techniques and equipment and also provides some insights, no matter how realistic or unrealistic they may be, into the real life security organisation; The National Security Agency (NSA). Using this film as an example and analysing how these themes are represented will hopefully allow us to key these ideas back to modern surveillance theories and practices.
The films central narrative follows the protagonist, city lawyer; Robert Clayton Dean (Smith) who, after a series of accidental events, finds himself in possession of an incriminating video tape of Thomas Bryan Reynolds (Voight) who is a high ranking (yet slightly rogue) official within the NSA. The video features Reynolds killing a Congressman who refused to support a new legislation that would give the NSA the power to drastically enhance its surveillance capabilities, thus boosting Reynolds career and power. Once they realise that Dean has possession of the tape, the NSA then sets up almost ev...

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... and privacy. 2001, Last Amended: August 2005. Website. http://www2.austlii.edu.au/privacy/secure/Guides/allprivacy/allprivacy-2.html Hughes, Gordon. Understanding crime prevention. Open University Press: Buckingham + Philadelphia, 1998. Print.

Kammerer, Dietmar. Surveillance in Literature, film and television. Routledge Handbook of Surveillance Studies, pages 99-106. 2012. Seen in: MDIA322: Media, Technologies & Surveillance. Kathleen Kuehn. Wellington: Victoria University, 2014. 82-89. Print.

Kammerer, Dietmar. Video Surveillance in Hollywood Movies. Surveillance & Society CCTV Special (eds. Norris, McCahill and Wood) 2(2/3): 464-473. 2004. Online Article. http://www.surveillance-and-society.org/articles2(2)/movies.pdf The Surveillance Studies Network: Surveillance Ambiguities & Assymetries. February, 2014. Website.
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