There are about 30 million surveillance cameras in the U.S. — inside ATM machines, at traffic lights, in department store dressing rooms. And while such digital eyes are now deeply woven into society’s fabric, experts say there’s scant public debate over how they should be used.
“Unfortunately, most people just don’t care,” says David Holtzman, author of Privacy Lost: How Technology Is Endangering Your Privacy. “What this issue needs is a Michael Moore to go after the issue and raise public awareness.”
Holtzman may have gotten his wish — sort of — in the indie film Look, which opened in New York and Los Angeles on Dec. 14. Look is shot entirely from the perspective of surveillance cameras. The footage is fictional, but the angles are common to daily life.
Challenging Complacency
This is no Michael Moore-like advocacy piece. Look takes no sides. The movie tells the story of a group of characters whose lives are dramatically affected by surveillance cameras. At times, the camera plays the hero, assisting in the capture of murderers.
At other points, it’s negligent — failing to alert police to the car left for days in a mall parking lot, a woman locked in the trunk dying. Always, the camera’s power is palpable, as when it catches a dutiful husband in a moment of weakness. “We’re not trying to grind any ax,” says co-producer Barry Schuler, formerly chief executive of AOL, owned by Time Warner. “It’s designed to be an eye-opener.”
The movie is likely to succeed in that mission, challenging the laissez-faire attitude toward surveillance that’s emerged since September 11. In a recent ABC News/Washington Post survey, 71% of respondents said they support increased use of surveillance cameras. The results may well be different if taken after a Look screening.
Look’s release comes amid rapid advances in technologies that…