The ubiquity of surveillance systems has deprived people of their privacy and empowered those who monitor them. In Rear Window, the neighbors’ rooms are in front of the protagonist Jeff’s apartment, all within Jeff’s sight. The semi-private architectural space exposes the relationship between the voyeur and the ones being watched. The voyeur is always in the dominant position and possesses a sense of control, while whose being observed remain unaware. This leads to ill-matched rights, which enables Jeff to discover a crime. This inequality of power is magnified in The End of Violence since voyeurism is not limited to individual entertainment yet becomes a form of state control when the government assumes the power of surveillance. Besides, in Sliver, in many scenes the main characters stay in the monitoring room. The fixity and narrowness of the space imply their addiction to voyeurism and neglect of real life.
Zhou Yingqi 3035919793
You summarized the three films and several of Al Sayyad’s key points on the voyeur and power well. To what extent do you think these ideas are relevant to a context that is more familiar to yourself, given that the examples by Al Sayyad are from the United States and an earlier period?