The effect of a camera on the actions of reality has often been a question of interest. We as humans perform when we know we are watched. In this day of Youtube videos being filmed in bedrooms, a place that originally would be considered as a place where one is most normal, it is rather paradoxical to have thousands of videos of people’s performances/monologues/opinions filmed in their bedroom on a webcam. This in and of itself is changing our definition of what it is to actually be normal, and be comfortable when portraying reality. Today there is an estimated 4 million cameras in the world. Our generation is accessing the internet more and more through their cellphones. The rather utopian concept that every human being could conceivably record their daily lives, and if they are witness to events, be beacons of truth since ‘they were there and can show what really happened’. The concept of filming reality as it happens is indeed enticing, but will it add to our puzzling together of the truth?
The beating of Rodney King that happened on March 2, 1991 and the ensuing riots that erupted on April 21, 1992 out of the racial tensions and the feelings of injustice of the police brutality. One may ask if this case which boiled over into being one of the worst events of civil violence since the civil rights movements of the 1960s. One might ask, would it have occured in this decade?
An image from the amature footage shot by George Holiday from his apartment window.
Unfortunately, it did. Not with the sparking of violent uprising out of racial tensions and anger at the aquital of the officers involved but in an event that similarly involved a lack of media and the attempt to uncover the actions of police brutality. One of the most embarrassing actions of the R.C.M.P was the tasering of a polish man in Vancouver International Airport on October 14, 2007. Robert Dziekanski, who spoke no english and by miscommunication and escalation he was ultimately killed. In the CBC’s report of the event it was found that ”Paul Pritchard shot the video with his digital camera, but afterward he surrendered it to police for their investigation on a promise that they would return it within 48 hours.” He was then told the next day that he would not be receiving the video back. The police later said that they intended to keep the video only so long as they interviewed witnesses in order to preserve the integrity of the police officer’s actions.
R.C.M.P officers over the stunned Robert Dziekanski
In the event of the assasination of JFK, the only close up footage of the shooting was immediatly aquired by the FBI. In a summary of the events of the captured footage as depicted on Wikipedia, ” President Kennedy’s last seconds traveling through Dealey Plaza were recorded on silent 8 mm film for the 26.6 seconds before, during, and immediately following the assassination. This famous film footage was taken by garment manufacturer and amateur cameraman Abraham Zapruder, in what became known as the Zapruder film.” The resulting conspiracy theories and amazingly bloated hype about this event that has lasted for decades is due to the lack of footage and recordings of this event.
In all of these examples the question of whether ‘more cameras=more truth’ is under scrutiny. They are linked by a common theme of all having about 1 source of footage from which the information leading up to, during and resulting of the event was recorded on. We cannot assume that with the amount of recording deices present in the world that there will be a better representation of the truth. As was discussed in Dr. Strangelove’s lecture, the truth of the situation is not just constructed by technology or the democracy of having easily available technology, but it arises from the processes judging the information, and the resulting use of it in the case of law enforcement. The danger of our ability to continuously be representing the world is the death of context. We have the power as the propagator to turn anyone into the bad guy by showing footage out of context. The internet therefore is a wonderful platform for the propagation of truth, however, the context that the information is being placed in, can at times, not necessarily add to our view of the truth.
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Good stuff,.
Dr S