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Mrs. Jindra

Gunther Dodge

Practical Writing

09 March 2021

Circle Analysis Essay

In the movie The Circle, many fears were realized for me. As we approach an

increasingly digital age, the ability for others to collect our information is becoming more

advanced. I then began to wonder, how realistic is a universe like The Circle? There are many

ways that this film is accurate to how our society will look in the future because of the increase

of peer pressures on social media, Chinese influence through trade, and the reliance on

convenience in Americans.

In the film many instances of information being secretly collected were prevalent. When

Mae first arrived at The Circle, many of her co-workers had been surprised at how little she

shared information with them. This social pressure eventually led to her joining the social media

platform endorsed by The Circle, which led to many problems. Even her closest friend Annie

begins to wonder whether or not the two of them could share private time. Social pressures to

willingly give up information exist in society and will continue to exist as our society grows

more dependent on digital media.

After joining The Circle, a lot of information was collected from Mae which was required

from the company, but in our modern society, we have the choice to have our data collected.

Oddly enough, although the information collected by modern-day social media is so invasive, so

many people still give up data willingly. While bone chips and invisible cameras are not a

common part of modern surveillance, cookies and security cameras are. Even when we
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knowingly let our information get collected by companies and corporations, we don’t stop giving

up our information. Giving information, however, is not always voluntary. In China, there are

one hundred and seventy-six million surveillance cameras throughout the country, roughly one

for every four Chinese citizens. This information does not go to corporations, however, but goes

to the Communist Chinese Party (CCP). Through facial recognition software, The CCP can

collect information on every Chinese citizen. This system then stores the information and creates

a profile with a grading system that awards you privilege based on how you behave. What does

China have to do with American? This Social Score and mass surveillance not only mirrors but

even directly affects American society. With how much trade we do with the Chinese

government, their influence on our social media, manufacturing, and politics could become

detrimental to our future. The same types of information collection done by The Circle could be

the reality of the digital media we use in the future.

America has always been a country of convenience, but what cost are Americans willing to pay

for this? The Circle capitalizes on convenience, and in that respect represents many companies

such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon. Companies right now capitalize on the ability to bring

people together through social media, and this capability is not a bad one. When Mae wishes to

talk to Annie, she can even though she is in Scotland. Mae connecting with her parents is not a

problem with The Circle, and so she can talk with them whenever she wants. The movie even

references protecting children from rape, one of many things done by The Circle that would

make our world a better place. But often, when on the search for convenience, the many good

services given by social media cost more than one would realize. Soal Search is one example of

this. Initially, Soal Search would be a great force for good. The price, however, comes at the cost

of psychological security. We see this penalty played out in the film through Mercer. Putting
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someone through the constant feeling of surveillance is an unethical way to treat someone. While

it may be true that constant surveillance would deter crime, access to privacy, just like access to

information, is an equally important human right.

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Works Cited

The Circle. Directed by James Ponsoldt, performances by Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, and John

Boyega, 1978 Films, 2017.

Alexandria Ma, “China has started ranking citizens with a creepy 'social credit' system — here's

what you can do wrong, and the embarrassing, demeaning ways they can punish you”

Insider, Oct 9 2018,

https://www.businessinsider.com/china-social-credit-system-punishmen

ts-and-rewards-explained-2018-4, Accessed March 8 2021