I walked amid the lichen covered memorials to the past, the history of life and death in stone. I had my Kindle with me, containing the book I had started reading that morning, George Orwell’s 1984. It was a modern classic that until recently I had avoided. It seemed so popular that I probably wouldn’t like it. A recent reading of a couple of other works by Orwell had convinced me to give it a try, and I was hooked.
I enjoy the peace and solitude of cemeteries; it was going to be a great place to spend an hour or so reading and taking notes. I was the only living soul there. Occasionally I would hear the swishing of tyres on a distant road, but mostly all I could hear were the native pines whispering the names of the dead, and the crows calling out to them. I took a seat on the bench, notebook beside me and entered the world of 1984 as Orwell imagined it.
I’d been to the local newsagent on the way to Moonta cemetery to buy a new notebook. I liked the symbolism of writing my notes in a new book in the same way that Winston did in the story, except I didn’t need to hide mine and kick it along the floor below the telescreen. If I was observed with my fresh new notebook there was no consequence. In 1984 it would have meant a visit from the thought police, and eventual slow and painful death. But I had been observed when buying my book; security cameras watch every move in almost all shops in 2015, always on the lookout for theft or other shady activity. I began to wonder how far we are from Orwell’s world. Was Big Brother really watching me ?
In imagining a world 35 years into his future, George Orwell foresaw a time where London and another third of the world were under the control of The Party, Ingsoc, led by the omniscient Big Brother. Every movement and sound was being observed by hidden microphones and the ever- present telescreen, which not only gushed constant propaganda, but watched every movement for signs of disloyalty or independent thought. History was rewritten at a whim, and entire lives just vanished.
If Orwell were to cast his mind another 30 years forward, he would find that much of London is under constant surveillance by closed circuit television cameras. The British Security Industry Association estimates that there are up to 5.9 million security cameras in Britain, one for every eleven citizens. Even in 1999 the average visitor to London could expect to be filmed by up to 300 cameras on an active day. The idea of using camera footage to identify trouble makers appears to have begun in 1947 when the London Metropolitan Police wanted to view live footage of the Royal Wedding for security purposes, but the request was denied for economic reasons.
An event that seems to have inspired the widespread take up of CCTV was the abduction and subsequent murder of Jamie Bulger, caught on camera in 1993. By 2003 Sheffield police were monitoring cameras all over the city, scanning for wanted people, stolen cars and signs of trouble. The footage could be relayed to patrol officers who could deal with the situation in real time.
The rest of the world is not far behind Britain, with camera sales booming. In promoting their new 360 degree view camera, Panasonic projected sales in the Middle East to expand by 17% in four years. More locally, in South Australia with the upgrade to the Adelaide oval, the city council has installed another 20 CCTV cameras along the main route from the city centre to the oval, claiming that it will create a safe corridor for citizens. The cameras will be monitored by police 24 hours a day. Local councils have been encouraged to apply for a grant of between $20 000 and $100 000 from the state government for the installation of more cameras. The aim of the cameras is not only to reduce crime, but also to increase the perception of safety, and encourage community collaboration in crime prevention strategies.
I know that the little black domes and clearly visible cameras are designed to instil a sense of security in the populace, but I’m sure I’m not alone in my sense of unease at potentially being watched whenever I am in a public place. The argument of “If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear” doesn’t really sit well with me. If my sister and I want to dance to The Time Warp when it’s played over a supermarket PA system, should I have to worry that it’s being recorded and stored somewhere ?
What if I just like my business to be my own business ? There seems to be loud discontent about the prospect of the retention of internet records, but few seem to care about records of their physical actions.
A ratepayer in the NSW town of Shoalhaven has taken his council to court claiming that the use of cameras in public spaces is collecting private information and violates privacy laws. The council in response has asked for the law to be changed to allow it to continue using the cameras. It has been revealed recently that new televisions featuring voice control are constantly monitoring the speech of those in the room with them. The TV manufacturer has suggested that viewers not discuss anything that they wouldn’t want shared with a third party, or that they disable the feature, which comes standard on the sets.
Clearly not everyone is uneasy about constant surveillance. In 1998 an Australian radio station organised a share house to be fitted with cameras. Contestants in The House from Hell volunteered to be watched constantly by thousands. This was soon followed by a worldwide success with the Orwell inspired title Big Brother, first being filmed by Dutch company Endemol in 1999. Shows like Big Brother have spawned many variations on the same theme with people volunteering to be scrutinised constantly in exchange for cash rewards or promises of fame. Recently the theme of the public watching the supposedly private lives of others has taken a new twist, with viewers being watched while watching TV, including shows featuring Big Brother like surveillance. Gogglebox began in the UK in 2013 and has recently begun to be filmed in Australia.
For someone like me, the quiet and solitude of the cemetery, with only the crows and trees for company is much more of a haven than the constant gaze of cameras. Digital storage of information makes the rewriting of history so much easier than imagined in Orwell’s novel. Would we really know if names and dates were changed ? Some things seem set in stone though, the details on the headstones around me have been there for more than a century, but even then, at the main gate I read a sign informing me that some stones have been taken away to be repaired because of vandalism. Big Brother isn’t watching me, but sometimes I get the nagging suspicion that his little brother is.
References
Agd.sa.gov.au,. ‘Additional CCTV Cameras To Boost City Safety | Attorney-General’s Department’. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Barrett, David. ‘One Surveillance Camera For Every 11 People In Britain, Says CCTV Survey’. Telegraph.co.uk. N.p., 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
BBC News,. ‘Samsung Warns About ‘Listening’ TV’. N.p., 2015. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
Brenton, Sam, and Reuben Cohen. Shooting People. London: Verso, 2003. Print.
IMDb,. ‘Gogglebox (TV Series 2013– )’. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Lga.sa.gov.au,. ‘Local Government Association Of South Australia – LGA News – LGA’. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
McKenny, Leesha. ‘Council CCTV Use May Break Privacy Law’. The Age. N.p., 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2015
Moran, Albert, and Chris Keating. The A To Z Of Australian Radio And Television. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2009. Print.
Norris, Clive, Mike McCahill, and David Wood. ‘Surveillance & Society CCTV Special’. Surveillance-and-society.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Orwell, George. George Orwell Premium Collection (Kindle Edition). Business and Leadership Publishing, 2014.
Security Middle East,. ‘Panasonic Analyses Growth For CCTV In Middle East’. N.p., 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Sitting with the Gargoyles 