Surveillance
Analiese Gerald & Jami Baird
1984 and Surveillance
-telescreens
-thought police
-the Spies
The book 1984 by George Orwell really calls into question the nature of control and power, and does so using exaggerated surveillance. In 1984's dystopian society telescreens monitor everything you do and everything you say. Thought Police and organizations, such as the Spies, are constantly watching and listening too. This surveillance questions how much control those in power should be given, and if control and power gives you the right to invade others privacy.
Divergent and Surveillance
-video cameras in all faction compounds
-tracking chips in citizens
These is also enormous survelliance in the book Divergent by Veronica Roth. A tracking chip is inserted in all the citizens of this society. There are also video cameras in every compound. In a way this surveillance transfers to control because the citizens know the government is watching and, therefore, know everything they do and must be in line with the governments rules. That begs the question, does the government have the right to execute this type of control? Does power override the right to privacy?
Current Events and Surveillance
-IKEA worker is followed by a private investigator
-landscape workers are secretly tracked by GPS units on their phones
As mentioned earlier, in the dystopian novel 1984 kids are recruited to spy on adults in order to catch any treachery against the Party. This mirrors something that happened recently in today's modern society. An IKEA worked in France was followed by a private investigator hired by her employer. Orwell used the kid "Spies" to show how excessive surveillance can be. In the case of the IKEA worker, Orwell was actually very accurate.
A second even in today's world that is comparable to a dystopian novel, was when a manager of a landscaping company secretly put a GPS tracking chip in each of his employee's phone. This is similar to what happened to the citizens of the Divergent society, when they all received tracking chips. This example of surveillance through tracking definitely mirrors our society which is full of GPS tracking also.