Harry Caul. The character played by [Gene Hackman]() in *The Conversation* by [Francis Ford Coppola]() probably does [Michael Bay]()'s [The Rock](/reviews/the_rock_1996_is_michael_bay_s_james_bond_movie) ( with it's James Bond character ) into another [Jerry Bruckheimer]() production: [Enemy of the State](/reviews/enemy_of_the_state_1998_is_very_relevant_for_today) by [Tony Scott](). Which probably still doesn't answer how we get from here to [Tenet](/reviews/tenet_of_tenet)...

We have 2 Gene Hackman characters that are somewhat identical to each other. In 1974 Coppola version he is a private surveillance contractor. He takes audio recordings of people for other people, and as a result suffers from intense surveillance paranoia. In 1998 Tony Scott version he is a private surveillance contractor. He takes video recordings of people for other people, and as a result suffers from intense surveillance paranoia.

Both characters have a remote location work-place, which is like this large warehouse type room, with a metal cage in the middle. The Tony Scott version even explains the purpose of the metal cage. The metal in the cage blocks radio-signals from passing through. 

In 1974 version the character states "I make my own gear", while in 1998 version he finds gear on the main character ( played by [Will Smith]() ) of "his design".

In a way *Enemy of the State* is sort of kind of an unofficial sequel to *The Conversation*. And either Tony Scott or Jerry Bruckheimer deliberately chose to make this connection to the Coppola picture with the Gene Hackman character.

Still: How is this related to Tenet?

In my review of *Tenet* ( linked above ) I talk about how the main corruption of the audience in that movie seems to be, that it makes an arguments that "ignorance is strength" ( the ironic quote from the book *1984* ) is actually a good thing. 

The book *1984* is undeniably anti-surveillance. But it is more than that. The state in *1984* knows everything about the people. But the people know pretty much nothing about the state. It is also about the right to know, the freedom of speech. The whole "newspeak" language is a huge allegory for how freedom of speech is taken away. When the Ingsoc party says "ignorance is strength" we ( the readers ) know it is a lie. We know to think the opposite. We know "knowledge is strength".

But in *Tenet*, due to the sci-fi element of reverse time, this tenet of "knowledge = strength" falls quickly apart. If anybody on your team knows anything, there is a potential for this information to leak into the world somehow in future, which you cannot control. And therefor the antagonists, because they can reverse time, have a way to surveil the present, via those potential future leaks.

Any trace of trace-ability in Tenet is too much. Knowledge itself is too much. Ignorance is strength.

Yet think about it. Surveillance is still bad in Tenet.

Well here is the answer: *Enemy of the State* by Tony Scott is not the last Jerry Bruckheimer produced, Tony Scott directed film about surveillance. In 2006 they did [Déjà Vu](/reviews/d_j__vu_2006_is_tony_scott_s_minority_report) starring [Denzel Washington]() and clearly inspired by [Steven Spielberg]()'s film in the genre of "surveillance = bad" [Minority Report](/reviews/Minority_Report).

Déjà Vu has time-travel. Sorry I spoiled it. The whole plot is based upon technology that allows to make a portal of time to spy on people. And by the end of the film Denzel Washington's character goes into past and sets off a bunch of payoffs that were setup in the beginning of the film.

But then *Tenet* does roughly the same thing, just with a more interesting time-travel gimmick. *Tenet* is also somewhat about surveillance, as I previously discussed. But it is also starring [John David Washington]() that was born in 1984 and who is also the son of Denzel Washington. [Christopher Nolan]() was doing a deliberate nod to Tony Scott, who in his time made a deliberate nod to Coppola.

This is how *The Conversation* is connected with *Tenet*.

**Happy Hacking!!!**