Surveillance and Storytelling

Rachel Blake

This assignment taught me that security and surveillance is happening everywhere. I initially had plans to go to Downtown Oshawa to shoot for this assignment, however before I made it that far I captured multiple shots I liked from just staying close to my home. I never put too much thought into public surveillance because I have always felt it was a means to protect me if anything were to happen in public. This assignment has made me more paranoid realizing these cameras are being watched even when nothing bad is happening. I got my final shots at my old high school. I was able to think about how important the surveillance of these areas is considering the amount of fights and drug problems I remember happening at the school. It also made me think about how despite the cameras there are always ways to work around it. Students would go to the bushes next to the school where there were no cameras to fight, or into the bathroom stalls to do drugs to avoid being seen. Public surveillance is a scary concept. Thinking about being watched all the time, wherever I go is pretty terrifying, however, I think it is incredibly necessary and has made the streets a lot safer. In reality, as a chronic rule follower, I am probably rarely the focus subject on the footage so I feel as though these cameras are just there for my safety, but it does make me anxious not knowing who could be on the other end watching these cameras. With security cameras being on almost everybody’s front porch these days it's never a guarantee that the footage is being used for the intended use, so this class and assignment has helped me think more about how I view public surveillance.