The Circle Review: Road To Hell Film Reviews Podcast Episode 002

When we know we are being watched, we behave better. If we knew we were being watched at all times, we would always be at our best. This is the philosophy of Eamon Bailey, founder and pilot of the tech company, “The Circle.” For all of human history, we have lived lives of isolation; our thoughts and experiences have only been our own. But now, with modern technology, it is possible to tear away the veil of privacy and universalize each individual experience, making each person’s life “transparent” to every other. This is this mission of The Circle. And the purpose of this mission? It is, in the words of the company’s founder, nothing less than the perfectibility of man.

When the ambitious young Mae Holland joins The Circle, this mission begins in earnest, and as Mae carries it out, we observe the cascading effects of having technology totally grafted into the life of an individual.

Listen as Nicky and Danny dissect the themes, realities, and symbolism behind this movie about total surveillance and technological utopia.

In a bonus segment, Nicky and Danny delve further into the symbolism of The Circle, looking at historical examples of circles being used as symbols of utopia and control.

Director: James Ponsoldt
Writers: James Ponsoldt & Dave Eggers (Based on the Novel by Dave Eggers)

Stars:
Emma Watson as “Mae Holland”
Tom Hanks as “Eamon Bailey”
John Boyega as “Ty Lafitte”
Karen Gillan as “Annie”
Ellar Coltrane as “Mercer”

Misc.:
The Circle (2017): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4287320/
“Jeremy Bentham” – Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bentham/
“Jeremy Bentham and the Panopticon Prison”: https://criminologyweb.com/jeremy-bentham-panopticon/
“Michel Foucault on the Panopticon Effect”: https://fs.blog/the-panopticon-effect/
“The All-Seeing Eye, the Eye of Providence: Meaning, Origins, and Symbolism Behind”: https://mythologian.net/all-seeing-eye-eye-providence-meaning-origins-symbolism-behind/
“Eye of Horus / Eye of Ra”: https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/eye/