Pretty sure most of you are far more familiar with the Facebook data scandal a couple of years ago, than who or what Cambridge Analytica are. One former employee of the latter alludes to this when the said controversy hits social media. And suddenly, in a matter of seconds, everyone has heard of Cambridge Analytica. And everyone is talking about it. A hefty share on Facebook, too.
The documentary, The Great Hack, attempts to clarify a few of the issues surrounding the ordeal. As well as boinking back and forth to relive the journey of those in the thick of it. Perhaps the relations between a huge communications company and the neglected data space of the world we can hardly see, let alone acknowledge, might not seem engaging on paper. Add to that the tiring disocurse of the 2016 US election trails and the Brexit fiasco. This could be forgiven skipping aside, and instead opting for an appetising dessert.
Truth is, as the genre advocates, The Great Hack is as timely and important as many other docuentaries out there. But like its subject, the tide of abstract data gets lost in the inter-verse and thus partially forgotten about. That Facebook somehow allowed millions of users to have their own information gathered and realigned for political strategy is an alarming fact. One that you naturally sink your teeth into from the outset.
Produced and directed by Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer, The Great Hack is one of many sit-up-and-listen documentaries currently on Netflix, bumping up the legitamacy average of the streaming service. This relevant to us, right now, in 2016, way back when the social media phenomon first emerged. The hack in the film’s title is not necessary a malicious one we would associate with a basement-dwelling whizz-kid. But the ramifications of the idle treading of the law from corporations is serious busniess indeed.
The Great Hack‘s cast of heroes and villains range from The Guardian’s investigative journalist, Carole Cadwalladr. And professor of media, David Carroll, who sues Cambridge Analytica following a refusal to obtain the personal data they have on him. There’s already a whiff of recent Oscar-winners, Citizen 4 and Icarus, in the sense of rights-breaching and journalists getting their hands dirty to uncover the mud. And those are well-earned comparisons as far as the integrity of personal circumstances are concerned.
Then, on the dark side, there’s the Cambridge Analytica CEO, Alexander Nix, who wanted no part of this documentary. But is depicted several times as someone smart enough to get Donald Trump elected as President of the United States of America. And stupid enough to not read the rule book. Then brag about it to an undercover journalist. And let’s not forget Facebook Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Whose own shady testimony to the US Congress was itself the visual motif of this very incident to the general public eye.
The whistle-blowing aspect of The Great Hack comes from former Cambridge Analytica staff members. Christopher Wylie, who was Director of Research for nine months at the company, left in the hope of shining his own spotlight on proceedings. To little avail, though Wylie is essential to the unravelling. Especially in suggesting that it is Brittany Kaiser – the Business Development Director during those foggy two years – that they speak to as a high priority.
Although blood on her hands and egg on her face, The Great Hack still finds humanity in embelishing Kaiser’s bravery and vulnerability in coming forward. This leaves a rather mixed taste in your mouth, which has its pros and cons. There’s some empathy in the critical eye of the world on you as you come clean and testify to the true nature of Cambridge Analytica’s wrongful use of public data. But there’s also the audience of The Great Hack lending their trust on what is essentially an unreliable narrator.
Rather her though, than Alexander Nix. Who dashes away when confronted and tries to weasel himself into the victim’s chair. Even faced with the committee’s questions, Nix presses them that he wants to open with a statement. It’s both cringey and gratifying watching the guilty squirm.
Though not for the most part quite deep enough in its exposition, The Great Hack finds much to enlighten us. Whether it’s how Ted Cruz rose from odd man out to legit contender. Or the whole Crooked Hillary campaign perspective. The visual execution and sparingly used narration offer much to deliberate on. You could argue too that further impact of the Facebook digging feels somehow unfulfilled.
The influences that social media have in our day-to-day lives is a constant cause for concern. When it now dictates the political arena, one which governs our very well-being, it makes you want to look even closer at what is right in front of our noses. Those embers of intrigue and paranoia make The Great Hack a fascinating insight into those information boundaries that we simply don’t always see. So, when was the last time you actually explored your Facebook privacy settings?
