'The unsuspecting public'
The Sleepover Club: Society Of The Spectacle And How Filming Strangers For Content Became Common Practise
Which framework enables us to desensitise to the fact of privacy violation?
Post Paranoia
Paranoia
the fear of being watched
uncomfortable situations, in which overthinking, unknowing and fear play an integral part - someone can see me, what can they see? What am I scared of showing? What am I afraid of being exposed of?
-> surveillance
Surveillance
SURVEILLANCE - AESTHETIC - SPECTACLE - VOYEURISM - MEANING - POWER - SEXUALITY
Paradox of www needing consent(cookies, gema-music videos etc) yet at the same time www got rid of consent - everything is regarded as ‘content’ - what is the point/meaning of these pictures/videos? - in and of themselves there’s not much meaning, the comment section might create meanings
Intrigued by the use of 'strangershots' - aesthetically interesting in their combination of daily observations "authentic" - often with sexualised, maybe humorous perspectives (Vardaesque) yet so subtle in their humour & contextualisation that I wonder how harmful they are..
The Podcast deals with “the moral ambiguity of building an online following using the unsuspecting public.” Especially in the context of TikTok phenomena of randomly asking people about an opinion, music taste, for reaction, as well as ‘philanthropic stunts’ and pranks - without consent.
It is common knowledge that our data is recorded, utilised and cross-referenced virtually every second. These precarious conditions - precarious because we do not know exactly what the data is being, will be, or has been used for - determine the paranoid sentiment of the moment.
Aesthetics
Aware of the fact that these pictures, videos do not necessarily fall under the category of videos or pictures taken from people in public without their consent, AND furthermore, digitally uploaded and framed with the intent to ridicule and shame. No, the pictures here are often without further description or tags by the photographer. They are not published in forums with a clearer frame of humour, ridicule, shame - such as reddit threads /funny etc (find more examples). They are without the apparent danger of being made fun of online, suspect of going viral and being dehumanised by an anonymous commenting audience (these factors are still valid, yet, I'd argue, not as severe/likely - or could be interpreted differently because of the altered context).
Instead they fall under the category of art. Are they held in higher regard because they are seen as such?
Interested in the aestheticization of daily observations circulating on social media. What is the spectacle at hand? What is the meaning emerging through these shots? Is it about the person visible in the shot or the person taking it? Is it an innocent observation of the 'ordinary' or does it feed the ego pursuit for likes?
Voyeurism
you see elderly people, 'drunks', kids, people showing public affection, dancing, discussing,+ amplified body gestures, hunched backs, playing chess,... = subjects who are completely unbothered by the public eye
Voyeuristic method of art
- trend to raw material, 'authentic footage', 'real people'
- redefined with changing medium - reality tv, instagram 'authentic' aesthetic, bereal
Voyeurism as a form of power
maybe even violent as a consequence of the subtleness. violent for not being as apparent in their humour, ridicule. Violent for normalising surveillance, there's no apparent harm, often they are beautiful observations, especially beautiful in our oversaturated image based life, yet isn't the acceptance of constant observation the danger? acceptance, as more often than not, there is no resistance to this form.
somehow perversion in the fact that this unbotheredness in return becomes captured and digitally distributed - romanticised, or made fun of - the vicious circle - we want the beauty of the unbothered, however we put ourselves in a bind by uploading shots and pushing the ability to an unbothered state further away from us, making it more difficult for us to achieve a carefree existence, through the feeling of constant surveillance.
Power
Meaning
counterbalance this power - 'seemingly' unsuspecting public. maybe the public well aware. & t
How can I feel comfortable in my own space?
Paranoia
Post Paranoia
Paranoia
Sexualisation
disciplinary exercise of power on the body - foucauldian biopower
*strangershots - Lauren E.Cagle uses this term in her study, to describe shots that are published online with the intent to surveil and shame others
Fetishizing the unbothered
In a highly surveilled world, even our everyday movements and basic needs become sites of exploitation and spectacle. We fetishise the unbothered and romanticise their existence by posting their images online. Self-surveilling - we are at a point of no return. Resistance to balance the power of the voyeristic gaze comes almost exclusively in the form of exhibitionism. Reclaiming power as exhibitionists carves out space for the marginalised body. However, does this mean we stay within the system and feed it? Or can we transform our monitored existence by finding what lies in between? If we refer back to the simple need to drink water in order to learn from its qualities, can we grasp to flow through cracks, dissolve boundaries and change our form as needed?
starts
Surveillance
Voyeurism
Exhibitionist
WATER