Google Images
I recently went to the cinema and watched the film ‘White
House Down’. When watching a film, you typically go to watch the film for its
entertainment value. But as I was watching, I noticed how the narrative slowly
changed from one context to another. I originally thought that the film was
based on a story about the White House being under attack by invaders. But as
the narrative began to unfold, I noticed how the story changed into a focus on
the effects of social media. To explain, one of the hostages, Emily, has her
phone hidden with her. While the attack is happening on the Whitehouse, she is
filming the events and uploading them onto her Youtube account in secret.
Shortly after, the invaders discover that their actions have been captured,
uploaded onto Youtube, and have become world-wide news. When the attack is
over, Emily is described as a ‘hero’. I questioned the advantages and
disadvantages of social media and technologies such as recording devices and
whether her actions were ‘heroic’. These topics will be further discussed in
this blog.
When you think about social media, you immediately think of
its evolution since the beginning of the World Wide Web. Significant changes
have happened which allow us to post and share our inner thoughts and feelings
as well as what we’re doing, photos of our experiences and videos. This has
changed the way the world can communicate with each other. However, in ‘White
House Down’, it shows both the positives and negatives of file sharing and
online communication. In the beginning, the secret videos seemed to be a
positive strategy. Videotaping the attack was the only way for people outside
of the White House to be informed of the situation. Social media is not just
used for help in a physical manner as seen in the film, but it becomes a
benefit for the hostages in a psychological manner. Similarly in the real
world, people find social media sites and creating videos as a tool for help.
In the study conducted by Miura (2007), it was said that ‘writing about
our personal experience can help us to understand ourselves more deeply and
mitigate major problems or conflicts (Miura 2007, p.1457). This statement
relates directly to the film as Emily was recording her experience of being
held hostage while the White House was under attack. Recording the attack made
the public aware of the situation and having the video broadcast on the news
made the hostages more hopeful that they were going to be rescued.
When examining the negatives of using social media for the
help and safety of others, I quickly think of the scene where the criminals
find out they have been recorded throughout the whole attack. At first, I felt
happy and relieved that the world knew what was happening. But in a strange
way, I felt confused and angry as my knowledge of privacy set in. Although the
criminals were committing a crime, Emily was also performing illegal activity. It
seems foolish to think this way. But if you take it down to a smaller context,
it makes sense. For example, just in a smaller setting in everyday life. It is
an invasion of privacy to record a person without their consent. In the film,
Emily is constantly filming the criminals without their knowledge or consent.
It is almost similar to a setting where there are cameras watching your every
move and you do not know. These examples appeal to the topic of surveillance.
In Hier and Greenberg’s (2009) text, they describe the importance of ‘natural
surveillance’ to prevent crime social disorder. Natural surveillance can be
described as ‘the overlooking of public space by members of the public in the
course of their day-to-day lives’ (Hier and Greenberg 2009, p.108). Emily’s
father Cale, watched the criminals, and then reported privately to other
members of the government. However, Emily went too far by recording and posting
the events online. There are rules and guidelines for privacy which she did not
consider, and neither did the government when they classified her as a ‘hero’.
Describing Emily’s actions as ‘heroic’ was one of the only
points in the film that really stunned me. It left me confused and made me
question whether her actions were truly ‘heroic’. While she did save the world,
her actions went against rights of humans. Surveillance is all around us, no
matter where we go. The super market, ATM machines, even in the workplace. But
there are many ethical issues regarding Emily’s actions. In von Silva- Tarouka
Larsen’s (2011) text, she discusses Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) and its
issues with ethics. Although the
intruders were not recorded by CCTV, but via a mobile phone, the same ethical
considerations apply to any type of video recording. Firstly, the notion of
anonymity was disregarded by Emily. As stated by von Silva- Tarouka Larsen
(2011), ‘unless the person provokes special attention by the way he comports
himself, he has reasonable expectations to be left alone and to remain
anonymous’ (von Silva- Tarouka Larsen 2011, p.2). When the video was uploaded,
full identification of all people involved in the attack was accessible.
Secondly, the attackers’ privacy was invaded. It clearly states in von
Silva-Tarouka Larsen’s (2011), ‘unwanted exposure is demeaning’ (von
Silva-Tarouka Larsen’s 2011, p.7). Consent should also be given before
including persons into a digital file as it seems ethically correct. So
although the criminals had no right to invade the White House and try to
destroy the world, Emily had no right recording the event and posting it on a
public forum without consent.
The film ‘White House Down’ poses many issues related to
social media, surveillance and privacy and ethics. Although the attack on the
White House was illegal, the visitors were held hostage and there was not many
options for the hostages to alert the people outside of the White House of the
situation, Emily’s actions were definitely controversial. The film not only
provided entertainment, but got me thinking deeper about new media and its many
different effects on society, positive and negative.
References
Hier, P and Greenberg, J 2009, ‘Surveillance: Power,
Problems, and Politics’, UBC Press, Vancouver, retrieved 8 October 2013, http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxym.deakin.edu.au/lib/deakin/docDetail.action?docID=10378041
Miura, A 2007, ‘Psychological and
Social Influences on Blog Writing: An Online Survey of Blog Authors in Japan’, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol.12,
no.4, retrieved 8 October 2013, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00381.x/full
Von Silva-Tarouka Larsen, B 2011, ‘Setting The Watch:
Privacy and the Ethics of CCTV Cameras’, Hart Publishing Limited, Portland, retrieved 8 October 2013,
No comments:
Post a Comment