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Diptych

The Art of Peeping and How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets Response

The Art of Peeping: Photography at the Limits of Privacy

I found this article to be quite thought provoking.  I completely agree that what Arne Svenson shot was legal.  He wasn’t shooting anything inappropriate and he wasn't trying to expose any of his neighbors.  If he shot his neighbors with the intentions of using them as examples of humanity then I do not see a problem.  I am however shocked that he won his case.  Now it seems all of our laws are taken so seriously no one can get anything creative done if it involves dealing with the general public.

             I really like this project and find it very reviling, not of the subjects but of humanity in general.  I personally feel the freest when I am completely alone and surrounded in privacy.  Taking photos of people while they experience complete privacy allows people to look at humanity and see what they do when they are completely free. 

How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets

            At first I found this article very difficult to follow.  Then as I got further into it I begin to see why we were asked to read this article along with The Art of Peeping in the same week.  While The Art of Peeping looks at surveillance as an art form How Laura Poltras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets looks at how the government abuses their power to survey the people.  Poltras is a filmmaker who was put on a do not fly list because of her work.  She was harassed every time she flew just because of a list she was on.  I find this to be ridiculous; I can’t even imagine how this could have gone on for as long as it did. 

            Our government was worried about her not because of what she was trying to do but because of what she was trying to expose.   Our country stands by the right to freedom of speech in theory.  Yet if anyone tries to expose the government they will be put on a list and harassed until they stop.  There is no freedom in this.  I enjoyed this article because it really opened my eyes to how controlling the government can be.   

The Medium is the Message Response

            I found Marshal Mcluhan The Medium is the Message to be a very interesting read.  I really like some aspects of this book but at the same time I also disliked other elements.  I thought the way the book was put together was interesting and kept the reader’s attention.  Switching from pages of just text to just images to pages that had both text and an image kept the book feeling fresh.  Although the content was rather dull the layout made it easier to get through the reading.

            One of the first points mentioned in the reading was that society has always been shaped by the way men communicate, not by the content of their communication.  This is an interesting point because I cannot tell if I agree or disagree with it.  While it makes sense that our society would be shaped by the changing technologies that we use to communicate, I also feel it makes sense that our society is shaped by the messages passed through these means of communication.  It was not the telegraph or letter that shaped the way we thought about nuclear war but the affects of the bomb after it had been dropped.  This is one of the many examples that I believe disproves that point.

            Another thing that was mentioned in the first sixty pages that I found interesting was Mcluhan’s points on privacy.  He brings up the point that people seem to be losing their privacy because of societies need for electrical knowledge.  I agree with this and believe we are seeing this even more so now.  Everywhere you go you need to give your information.  Even if you just want to buy groceries from the supermarket you have to at least give your email.  This increased need for companies to know your information seems very unnecessary to me. 

            Lastly I would like to talk about the section complied of images and phrases explaining how the media is an extension of all of us.  While I agree books can be considered an extension of our eye’s and clothing can be an extension of our skin I disagree with some of the others.   I do not think electric circuits can be considered an extension of the central nervous system.  Electric circuits resemble the central nervous system; they do not enhance the ways in which our nervous system operates.  I believe this section is one of many sections that seems far-fetched to me. I thought The Medium is the Message was an interesting read I found some parts to be a little exaggerated or forced. 

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Self-Surveillance   Part 1

Woke up - 7:40
Made Bed - 7:42
Walked to bathroom - 7:43
Shaved - 7:50
Went to bathroom -7:54
Fix hair - 7:58
Check weather outside -8:03
Get dressed - 8:09
Eat a poptart - 8:15
Lock house/start walk - 8:16
Arrive at Schaffer - 8:25
Arrive at classroom - 8:27
Leave classroom - 12:10
Walk to shine - 12:16
Eat in shine - 12:20
Walk to Aepi - 12:24
Leave AEPi -1:30
Arrive at Schaffer - 1:47
sit down in class - 1:58
Walking home from class - 4:19
Arrive at house - 4:28
Do hw/relax - 4:30 -5:45
Walk to basketball court - 5:50
Play basketball - 6-6:50
Shower - 7
Browse computer - 7-8:40
Cook diner 8:40 - 9:10
Eat diner - 9:15 -9:35
Relax on porch - 9:35-10
Watch a movie - 12:45
Brush teeth and shower - 12:50
Go to bed- 1:15



My Walk                    Part 2

Walk from house to campus - 12:05
Arrive at campus - 12:20

Walk home from campus - 4:03
Arrive at home - 4:14

Leave house -9:45
Arrive at friends - -10:07

Leave friends - 11:07
Arrive home - 11:23