![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptRandom thinky from my brain:
While watching television shows like NCIS, especially the LA spinoff, and more extendable to police shows in general, I'm noticing just how much of a panopticon society the main characters benefit from. Of course, they're using it To Catch Bad Guys, instead of the purposes that we've seen it used for out here in the real world, but there's almost always camera footage being reviewed, whether from traffic or ATMs or surveillance or anything else. Bank records, credit card statements, and other paper and electronic trails are accessed and used routinely. Usually with a warrant or search order attached - at least occasionally, there's a nod to the requirement of the law regarding actually having to get court orders, although it usually turns up in ticking clock, high-stress scenarioes as an impediment to the team's ability to Catch Bad Guys. It doesn't seem like the writers ever question whether or not this ability to track anyone is intrinsically good. It just makes their work easier and lets them catch the bad people in time for show resolution. I'd like to see an episode written where the team has to deal with the consequences of someone having access to that panopticon and using it for bad ends.
While watching television shows like NCIS, especially the LA spinoff, and more extendable to police shows in general, I'm noticing just how much of a panopticon society the main characters benefit from. Of course, they're using it To Catch Bad Guys, instead of the purposes that we've seen it used for out here in the real world, but there's almost always camera footage being reviewed, whether from traffic or ATMs or surveillance or anything else. Bank records, credit card statements, and other paper and electronic trails are accessed and used routinely. Usually with a warrant or search order attached - at least occasionally, there's a nod to the requirement of the law regarding actually having to get court orders, although it usually turns up in ticking clock, high-stress scenarioes as an impediment to the team's ability to Catch Bad Guys. It doesn't seem like the writers ever question whether or not this ability to track anyone is intrinsically good. It just makes their work easier and lets them catch the bad people in time for show resolution. I'd like to see an episode written where the team has to deal with the consequences of someone having access to that panopticon and using it for bad ends.
