Private reality TV, for the badge-wearing, flashlight-toting members of the viewing public. There was more than bad hair and shoulderpads to 1984.
(Click to enlarge)
When I see this walking to the shops, I put a little Fred Astaire into my strut. If there’s 43 cameras, then many viewers?
The funny thing is, I’m pretty sure anyone can take pictures of anyone else when they’re walking on the street. When I worked in papers, the photogs would do it all the time — it was a buzz to watch them work. Staking out the courtroom steps, snapping high-profile fraudsters and teenage killers coming or going. Provoking residents of the ‘Hellhouse’ of the month to come out and pull the fingers and shout and look monstrous. Papping (the verb formed of the noun papparazzi) low-grade celebs out with their families on a Saturday morning or drunk on a Saturday night.
Then, and now, I wrote off any hurt feelings or sense of invasion of personal space with the newsman’s mantra of Our right to know. Sticky questions of ethics and privacy get glossed over when you’ve got a scorcher of a story — and the pics to go with it.
Who watches the watchmen blah blah great power great responsibility blah blah Orwellian nightmare blah blah. But really, this presents a wonderful opportunity. We’re all Paris Hiltons now, baby, all the time. There’s always someone watching. Warhol laughs in thin, reedy mono from beyond the grave.
And now the filth, as local argot quaintly terms the noble fraternity of law enforcement officials in this country, advertise their capability of getting better footage than anyone else, though their ability to be watching everywhere at once.
Hawt gang-bang teen stabbing action! Tony’s first steelcap facial! Our cameras never blink or lie! Only on TVBlue!
But seriously now, another question this raises is who owns your face? Like movies and MP3s on the internets, when you’re released to the world outside your house, does that make you public domain?
2 Comments
22 January 2008 at 7:48 am
And now the filth…
22 January 2008 at 7:49 am
assclown69 said: Your comment is awaiting moderation.
LOL!