Friday, September 24, 2010

Surveillance - S.O.P

Surveillance can be such a major issue. I have witnessed it go from being a joke, to disturbing, and obsessive. Some people may look at surveillance as a form of art, but others just feel like it is an invasion of one’s privacy. With that said, I feel like Errol Morris is an exceptionally brilliant man in displaying our fine American soldiers that we see on our television screens at home as the “Big Bad Bully’s” that so many people never imagined we could be. The film “Standard Operating Procedure”, really illustrated the sick and unmoral images that our American troops did to the men in Iraq. Sergeant Graner clearly went from being compulsively controlling to adding his obsessive surveillance syndrome. With his obsession to “watch” what was occurring at Abu Ghraib, he became more of a tyrant; In my opinion it was because he could show people the power and control he had over other’s lives. Errol Morris said that the little guys were punished while the bigger guys could walk. I agree that it is unfair; however, these people are the individuals that did the crime. It seems like a catch 22, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Below is a comic video about stalking. In this video I see us, Americans, as the teenage girl, and our government as the little boy. No matter where we go, or what we are doing, we are never alone. There are cameras on corners, at stop lights, at ATM machines. People feel like these are there to protect us, but in reality they are there to watch our every move! The government has all of the control, and some of us still fail to realize it. Surveillance is disturbing.     



3 comments:

  1. I agree with you that surveillance is disturbing. It's also interesting to think that we are damned if we go along with it and damned if we don't. We think of the increases in social anxiety disorders and shit like that and it seems so obvious why people develop these kinds of disorders, because having to be aware of yourself all the time is taxing, and as you said surveillance is disturbing.

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  2. Kanesha, I thoroughly enjoyed your word choice in this post! I completely agree with your idea that surveillance is "disturbing" and that we are "damned if we do and damned if we don't." As for the government, it tends to take advantage of us with its power and believes it can watch and observe us anytime and anywhere. Similarly, other authorities in society today also take advantage over the helpless in the same way. For instance, on a smaller scale, even our parents are always "watching" over us because they are more superior. We, being the subservient children, do not have a choice but to let them control us because otherwise we would be "damned!" :) Hence, surveillance exists everywhere, no matter under what situation we are in.

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  3. Is it the government watching us that's disturbing or the data harvesting professionals who help figure out what brand tooth paste to sell us?

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