Themes Paper - the Italian Job

Themes Project Based on The Italian Job

I have watched the The Italian Job several times and never really paid attention to all of the technology that is used throughout the film. This movie is a great example of technologically intelligent thieves who use numerous forms of technology to steal and take advantage of each other. The following paper will analyze The Italian Job according to the forms of technology used and the impact that the technology has on individuals it is being used against.

Key Players

As we have learned throughout the course people play a vital role in information systems. While there were several characters in The Italian Job, I am only going to focus on those characters that were particularly involved with technology or affected by it. Lyle (Seth Green) is the IT expert of the group and is responsible for the majority of more complicated technical schemes. Stella (Charlize Theron) is a professional safe cracker and uses technology to assist her in opening safes. Charlie (Mark Wahlberg) is the ring leader and mastermind behind the plan to steal the gold. Steve (Edward Norton) betrays the team and they use technology to get revenge against him.

Ethics… What Ethics?

Laudon and Laudon p. 420 define ethics as "the principles of right and wrong that individuals, acting as free moral agents, use to make choices to guide their behaviors." The Italian Job is based around a group of thieves who unit together to steal large amounts of gold on more than one occasion. They hack into telephone systems, traffic control systems, hack into databases, and secretly record video using micro video cameras. This group has no rules and therefore no ethical standards. The majority of the choices they make that guide their behaviors are illegal behaviors with no moral code being enforced.

Access

The team needs to drive from Steve's house to the subway station quickly without having to deal with traffic. The traffic congestion in Los Angeles makes this almost impossible. Lyle is handed this impossible task of hacking into the traffic control system and ensuring the team has all green lights on their path to the subway station. Lyle hacks into the Los Angeles Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control Operations Center by bypassing the access code and password. By doing this Lyle is able to control all of the traffic lights in Los Angeles. The team tells him what intersections they are approaching and he changes red lights to green lights so the group is never stopped; while creating traffic jams and accidents throughout the city.

Just Leave Me Alone

Ever just want to be left alone and not bothered by others, technology makes it even easier for one person to follow, record, and stalk another without the victim