News of the Stoopid

Cameracontrol

Those who know me to any degree should know by now that I don’t like cameras much; the rest of you can probably work that out for yourselves for, as narcissistic as I’m accused of being all the time, there are no images of me on any of my websites.

We have a growing problem in the US and in the world. Cameras. Everywhere you look, and even where you don’t look, cameras have been installed. I can’t guess how the problem became so pervasive so quickly, but I think we’ve all seen the results. Though, for whatever reason, there are those who don’t yet consider camera ownership a concern. Which I can only assume means that they haven’t put much thought or research into the effects cameras have on a society.

There are those who would suggest that a filmed society is a safe society: that we have these cameras to protect ourselves. They’re unable to point out any constitutional right to cameras, of course; but they’re willing to argue that cameras prevent various crimes. Which may be true; but I don’t see how the existence of these devices, while they might prevent some crimes, can be allowed when they themselves can be used to commit other crimes. Let’s look at a few examples….

I won’t insult your intelligence by limiting the use of cameras to child pornography. Sure, it happens; but adults are at an equal or greater risk than children. The defensive argument is that adults can consent to be filmed; I say that adults can consent to smoke and drive drunk and any manner of things—the exploitation of even adults, while consensual, remains exploitative. It simply can’t be allowed. Too often do we hear the middleaged lamenting their decisions to have been filmed back when they were ‘young and needed the money’. We have the means to prevent this future: we can outlaw the ownership and use of cameras today.

Consent aside, the problem has become so prevalent in society that we’re reworking the laws around the crime itself. You’ve seen haphazard shots of city streets, innocent bystanders blurred digitally so as to hide their identities. But, is that really a solution? I have my doubts. Somewhere out there, the unedited images remain, ready to be exploited. And headshots are only one factor: suppose you’re wearing something by which you can be identified—a singular TShirt no one else possesses. The same people blurring and digitising faces might obscure logos on shirts, but see no harm in preserving for all time stains, rips, and other identifying characteristics.

And these problems are seen with the most basic of singleshot cameras. Don’t get me started on fully automatic camcorders. How can the ability to shoot thirty frames per second be defended as a ‘hobby’? It simply can’t. Go through this footage frame by frame; I guarantee you’ll see a majority of stills with people blinking, slackjawed, and otherwise depicted as drooling fools. If it was your intent to get a frame of President Junior making an uncommonly apelike face, then you merely support my argument.

Most sickening is that we’re now seeing virtual cameras in videogames. Allow me to present FatalFrame, in which children run around snapping ghosts; sure, the game is rated M for Mature by the ESRB, but there are really no laws in place to prevent the game from falling into the hands of toddlers. How can we, as an enlightened society, allow this to continue?

Worst of all, these cameras have no safety features at all. So you’re a responsible adult with a Canon, are you? What happens when your kids happen across this device, film each other, and upload the file to YouTube.com? Responsible parents indeed. At the least, we need lensecaplocks on these things, and, optimally, camerasafes; they won’t fully solve the problem, but it might annoy people to the degree that they’ll concede that cameras are more trouble than they’re worth.

I’ve had enough. Rosie O’Donnell can maintain that professionals in her employ use cameras responsibly, having been trained to operate the things and shoot only what they intend to shoot, but I’m not buying it. Any camera, at any time, can fall into the wrong hands and be misused. The only answer is prevention through prohibition. We can’t afford to take the chance.

Of course, that’s just my opinion; for the love of hell don’t screenshot it.

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