Big Brother isn’t watching you
On Thursday the 4th of August 2011 the police shot and killed 29-year old Mark Duggan. Police had acted under the Trident operation that investigated gun violence in the black community. Policemen had shot under the assumption that Duggan was armed. However, this is even today still questionable. This lack of information before action by the police resulted in a series of riots in London between the 6th to the 11th of August. During the riots police lost control over the city where thousands of protesters destroyed and looted the streets of London. This assignment will analyze and comment on Russell Brand’s article “Big Brother isn’t watching you” from 2011. The assignment will focus on Brand’s style and on his
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Early in Brand’s experience with the show an incident happened which resulted in three contestants being thrown off. However, the event is unknown since it was never shown on TV; producers edited it out and other participants weren’t allowed to discuss its existence. A hard thing to do as Brand also states by quoting a British general: “You cannot rouse the animal in man then expect it to be put aside at a moment's notice.” Indirectly through the quote Brand explains why so many young people participated in the riots; they simply couldn’t contain the anger brought forth by the shooting. The quote also explains the title’s meaning. When the incident happened on Big Brother the producers quickly forbid it from escalating. However, this didn’t happen under the riots; there wasn’t anyone making it seem like the shooting never happened. So Brand concludes sort of sarcastic that Big Brother wasn’t …show more content…
Russell Brand’s background is to some extent the same has theirs. “I have been arrested for criminal damage for my part in anti-capitalist protest… I often attended protests.” It shows his target group, the rioters, that he isn’t just writing based on assumptions but opposite from personal experiences. Brand therefore knows what he is writing about and by that he gains the trust of his target group. His background is doubtless the reason why he wrote the article thus making him the right person to develop
While the society in Brave New World refrains from lethal methods of repression, the government in George Orwell’s 1984 build their power off of fear. Throughout the novel, the government holds daily gatherings in which citizens are shown the enemies of state and is always ended with the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Orwell et al). This alone demonstrates the government’s implementation of fear on its own people. The notion that the government is monitoring your every move creates an atmosphere of anxiety and oppression. Not only by displaying their ability to monitor their citizens, the government uses aggressive and almost always lethal methods to rid society of nonconformists. For “criminals”, or enemies of the state, ...
The government has total control: every room has telescreens with hidden cameras, everywhere people look, propaganda posters are hung with the slogan “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU,” (Orwell, 1) and Thought Police snoop through people’s
George Orwell’s Famous book 1984 is about a man who struggles to live under the superintendence of Big Brother. Throughout the novel, Winston struggles with constantly being surveilled and the lack of freedom. Similarly, in our world today, there are government agencies that have the power to listen to phone calls, track people's movements, and watch them through cameras. Winston’s world of surveillance and inadequate confidentiality both privately and publicly is in many aspects much the same as in our world today and the people should demand regulations to be set in place to protect their privacy.
Howard Rheingold notably mentioned, "You can’t assume any place you go is private because the means of surveillance are becoming so affordable and invisible." Judging by the efficiency of American surveillance, it would seem that Rheingold’s outlook stands as of today. Technology has advanced so powerfully that surveillance has become predominant in our society. On nearly every front, American citizens are under a great threat of control as well as persistent, high-tech surveillance.
Identity, in today’s society, is often taken for granted. We have the ability to be anything we wish to be and act in any way we wish to act, but in the 1984 novel by George Orwell, identity is not taken for granted because it does not exist at all. Winston Smith, the narrator, lives in a dystopian society based on the idea of totalitarian government rule. This government is known as Big Brother. In order for Big Brother to stay in power, a few things are necessary: identity cannot exist; everything and everyone must be uniform; the past must be controlled in order to regulate the present; and the people must constantly be practicing the ideas of Newspeak and Doublethink, a form of control the government holds over the people.
Is your privacy at risk? How did the tracking and monitoring being discussed relate or compare to what was taking place in Orwell's 1984?
In 1948, George Orwell wrote about a society in which individual privacy was nonexistent. In this society, which he imagined would become a reality in the 1980s, surveillance was foremost. Everything one did was under surveillance by “Big Brother”, an unseen figure who was always watching you. Surveillance in this society was imposed and malicious. Although this type of society has never fully become a reality in the Western world, changes in technology and media are indirectly bringing this imagined society, one of complete surveillance, to life. With the rise in corporate business and commercialism, surveillance in society increasing; however, new media has brought about a significant shift in its use. In the 20th century, surveillance was primarily used for “protective measures”, as Orwell had imagined. In the 21st century, there has been a rise in its use for commercialism. This essay will critically analyze the developments in new media that have contributed to this shift, as well as explain the reason for the ubiquitous nature of surveillance in today’s western society. To aid with this analysis, surveillance will hereby be defined as a “focused, systematic, and routine attention to personal details for purposes of influence, management, protection or direction” (Lyon 2007:14).
“Before Sept. 11, the idea that Americans would voluntarily agree to live their lives under the gaze of a network of biometric surveillance cameras, peering at them in government buildings, shopping malls, subways and stadiums, would have seemed unthinkable, a dystopian fantasy of a society that had surrendered privacy and anonymity”(Jeffrey Rosen). Where were you on September 11, 2001? Do you remember the world before this tragic incident? Throughout history, the United States has adopted forms of legislation with the intention of improving national security. From prohibition, to gun laws, the outcomes of these legislations have not always been good.
Adam Penenberg’s “The Surveillance Society” reminds Americans of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and the instant effects the that attacks on the World Trade Center had on security in the United States. Penenberg discusses how the airports were shut down and federal officials began to plot a military response. Although those were necessary actions, they were not as long lasting as some of the other safety precautions that were taken. The Patriot Act, which makes it easier for the government to access cell phones and pagers and monitor email and web browsing, was proposed. Politicians agreed that during a war civil liberties are treated differently. From there, Penenberg explains that for years before September 11th, Americans were comfortable with cameras monitoring them doing everyday activities.
...f surveillance might serve to have real impact on people’s life chances owing to such institutionalized prejudice. For example, a recent study found that CCTV operators were disproportionately monitoring the young, the male and ethnic minorities “for no obvious reason” (Norris & Armstrong 1999). That is, in the absence of suspicious behavior they were choosing to focus their attention on these categories of people. The result is that anyone falling into these categories is more likely to be caught if doing something wrong than someone else, thus perpetuating the stereotype. Furthermore, as these groups were being watched more frequently than others, they were more likely to be seen as doing something suspicious. This in turn could lead to disproportionate response rates by security forces on the ground, contributing to a sense of alienation and rejection by society.
Russell Brand has been in the public eye for some time now. Between his movies and his relationship with Katy Perry, most people, at some level know who he is. Because of this, whenever Russell Brand speaks, or, in this case, stirs controversy, people listen. He is also a master of words, creating wonderfully written articles and providing well-spoken commentary on current events. He has gained an ear in both America and the UK. The influence that Brand has over people allows him to gain readership around the world.
When George Orwell wrote his acclaimed novel “Nineteen Eighty Four” in 1949, even he would be surprised at how things he wrote then would become part of society 60 years on. Results of the “Big Brother” effect which he predicted in his novel are now to be seen frequently in our daily newspapers. With the crime rate in Ireland, particularly the alarming increase in burglaries, home-owners are becoming more and more worried. Thousands of people are investing in high-tech security systems to protect their houses from being burgled. With S.S.I.A.’s still maturing at the moment, electronic gates, high fences, motion sensors and C.C.T.V. cameras in particular are popping up in communities around the country. These systems are installed to deter thieves from entering people’s homes but home-owners don’t seem to realise that by having such high security, they are literally telling people that they have something to protect. Apart from this, these systems also have side effects on the people who have them installed. Gone is the feeling of neighbourliness and community that rural Ireland boasted about for so many years. With the increasing number of ribbon developments in rural areas, things are getting to a stage where people have never even met their neighbours. Sturdy doors and strong gates may keep unwanted visitors out but they also discourage people from “popping round for a chat.” One has to wonder where this is going to end. It has been proven that over 55% of people who installed house alarms in 2005 did so after being burgled themselves.
James Stacey Taylor's article, "In Praise of Big Brother: Why We Should Learn to Stop Worrying and Love Government Surveillance" begins reviewing the concept of "Big Brother" as it was originally presented in George Orwell's 1984. The Big Brother started off as a fictional character in 1984-- a dictator of Oceania within a totalitarian state. Set within a society in which everyone is under complete surveillance by the authorities, mainly by telescreens, the people are constantly reminded of this by the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” (Wikipedia) . Taylor goes on to explain some examples of recent surveillance technology and how it is applied in lives today. An interesting note and comparison between today’s technology and that of the telescreens in 1984, is that people could be sure that they could not be watched by Big Brother’s telescreens by going out of the cities into the country, where they only had to take care that their conversations were not monitored by hidden microphones (Taylor 227). He contrasts the two, highlighting the fact that “Such an escape is not impossible, for spy satellites can be used to monitor people wherever they go” (277). From there, Taylor perpetuates the framework for his position on the Big Brother notion. Taylor argues that, "rather than opposing such an expansion of surveillance technology, its use should be encouraged -- and not only in the public realm" (227). Taylor’s argument presented in a more formal construction is as follows:
Big Brother and modern day government have been able to control its citizens through surveillance equipment, and fear all for a little more power. There is much to learn from such an undesirable form of society, much like the one of Oceania in 1984. Examining Big Brother government closely, alarming connections can be made to real-world government actions in the United States and the cruel world within Orwell's book.
The past decade has seen a proliferation of law enforcement security cameras in public areas, with central London having more cameras than any other city. In cities like New York, Los Angeles, and central London, cameras can be found at almost every intersection. Terrorist attacks have been a major basis for this significant increase in law enforcement security cameras; however, privacy advocates, along with many of the public, feel that it’s an invasion of privacy. People are concerned that all this video surveillance, which is continuously expanding, has created a “Big Brother” society, where people are constantly being watched. This creates paranoia and unease for people that just want to go about living their private lives, without feeling that their every move is being watched.