Snowden movie traces life of former student

Jesse Johnson, Associate Editor

Former AACC student Edward Snowden is the subject of filmmaker Oliver Stone’s thrilling new drama, Snowden.

Snowden, who attended AACC for several years starting in 1999, captured headlines in 2013 for being a whistleblower, a person who reveals wrongdoing by the government or another organization to the public.

The film takes place across 2004 to 2013, chronicling the period of Snowden’s life from the time he began working for the U.S. government until he famously exposed the National Security Agency, where he worked as a government contractor, for electronic spying on Americans. Shortly after, he won asylum and currently lives in Russia.

Stone not only captured Snowden’s struggle to understand the government’s true agenda, but also revealed little-known details of his personal life, including his diagnosis of epilepsy and his discharge from the Army Reserve because of injury.

The film also covered Snowden’s time in Maryland after he came home from a work assignment in Tokyo, but it did not mention anything about AACC.

When news broke out about Snowden, national media outlets began calling the college for information about his time here.

Assistant Director of Public Relations Laurie Farrell said the college can confirm Snowden attended AACC but because of a federal privacy act, cannot disclose any other information.

Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt perfectly portrayed Snowden’s naive and mysterious nature.

The film also features a large ensemble cast, including actors Nicholas Cage and Scott Eastwood, who is the son of actor Clint Eastwood.

The movie can be pre-ordered on Amazon for delivery when it is available.