One of the biggest downfalls of technology has been the issue of privacy. How much should companies know about its users? If you imagine the worst about that question then you have exactly what happens in The Circle, a new film based on the 2013 novel written by Dave Eggers.
The Circle follows Mae Holland (Emma Watson), a recent graduate who gets a job at The Circle, a technology company that is pushing toward a connected future. Everything seems to work out great until she accepts an experiment to monitor her actions 24/7. This leads to her meeting with one of companies leaders, Eamon Bailey (Tom Hanks), who touts her embracement of the company. Pretty soon a co-worker, Kalden (John Boyega), reveals just how much power The Circle has over everybody.
“So Mae, do you think you behave better or worse when you’re being watched,” asks Eamon Bailey, which highlights the dilemma of a corporation’s information stockpile. It’s also an ominous picture of how we’re living currently with our lives being monitored constantly.
The Circle has a creepy similarity to Google and Facebook
There’s no denying just how similar Google and Facebook are to The Circle. That’s seemingly what Dave Egger’s was going for when he wrote his novel.
One of the big trade-offs to making technology work best for us is to relinquish our privacy. Whether it is Google Now looking through your email, maps and photo information or Facebook tracking every friend, like or search you ever make for a more streamlined experience, it costs our privacy.
For now it’s all been (sort of) good, but if it becomes anything like The Circle, it’ll be a damn scary future.
The Circle hits theaters April 28.