These days, wiretapping is a popular topic of conversation. Politicians and the press have strongly debated about the pros and cons of this issue. And we very confused to the contradiction of the situation, between the wiretapping of private conversation and new truths coming from secret tapes. The protection of private life and public's right to know are at odds. What is Best? To protect the publics’ right to know or to protect private life ?
A Publicity man in New York city, Stuart (Stu) is a main character in the movie "Phone booth". He is successful person. He is overbearing, and rude. More over, he has a crush on his client, Pam.
One day, he drops in a phone booth to call Pam and he got a Sniper’s call. Finally, he became the Sniper`s target. He is wrongly accused of murder, and nobody can help him. And the sniper orders him disclosing his love affairs to his faithful wife.
Stu tries to find a connecting ring between him and sniper. But the sniper is a stranger to him.
The sniper sets up wiretapping equipment in the phone booth. The man listens on a Stu`s telephone conversation. Through wiretapping, the Sniper knows almost everything about Stu. The man knows that Stu has been cheating on his wife. The sniper chooses him as the 'target of Judgement'.
These days, prying and finding out about someone else's private affairs, is not a difficult thing. So, we worry about exposure to other people through hacking on personal computers and hidden cameras everywhere.
The movie expressed to anxiety of actual life in the extreme. The phone booth could not block the pistol aiming to him. Also private life and freedom could not be protected anymore. Weak points are exposed to strangers, and someone judges him to use those weak points. That is obviously a crime.
But Stu, realizing his unfaithfulness, decides to recovere his conscience.
In the contrary, 'wiretapping revelations from important people are always denied. Wiretapping is a crime. But, we must clear the truth though the secret tapes, because we know that the person who is wiretapped by a public institution is a corrupt person connected with politics and the economic world.
Not only the right of privacy is important, but also right to know. But, these people are members of the National Assembly. So, this person's corrupt concern the general public.
Using illegality for digging up illegality is the core of this issue. Someone who watches other people and records them is doing wrong. But tapped conversation contents are also revealing wrong doings. Illegal money coming and going, using the power to , etc.
The Public right to know and personal freedom may be overlapped. In movies or in everyday life, someone who infringes on other person`s life is cleary crime. Immoral cheating, irregularities and corruption are all wrong behavior.
This time, the most important and necessary thing to us, is recovering private morality and setting up a protecting system from wiretapping or other things. Because a Man’s private life and the truth are pursed at the same time.