tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post6559065006477510754..comments2023-05-09T02:31:07.268-07:00Comments on CTCS 587: TV Theory 2017: TV, Surveillance, and Screens (Core Response #3) Tara McPhersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09874394027026185133noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post-10745844523433926232017-02-20T18:13:52.567-08:002017-02-20T18:13:52.567-08:00I think this is a very valid point you have brough...I think this is a very valid point you have brought up here, Sasha. And one that will interestingly play a crucial role later on in the series. If the military surveillance is considered detail oriented in theory but in practice, as you said, "more often targets unidentified victims on pixellated screens and all those unlucky enough to be within its blast radius" are affected by the fallout. Later in the first season it is revealed that the reason Brody became radicalized (Carrie was right about him, btw) was because of a US drone strike that accidentally hit a school and killed 83 children. While the military was targeting the terrorist Abu Nazeer, Nazeer's 9 year old son, Issa, and Brody's student was killed by the blast. So, if the series seems to vindicate the practice of surveillance in the first episode, this attitude is quickly complicated and begins to take a much more critical approach. Iftinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10552807163736840009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post-53528402334052095082017-02-14T08:49:22.295-08:002017-02-14T08:49:22.295-08:00It strikes me that the type of looking Carrie does...It strikes me that the type of looking Carrie does is a detail-oriented scrutiny that we share (emphasized by strategies such as close-ups), and this meticulousness lends validity to her later claims. Accordingly, it frames counter-terrorist surveillance as a precise activity that simply does not correspond the reality of this practice. For instance, the US Military frequently conducts drone 'signature strikes' by targeting anonymous victims based their patterns of behavior (e.g. visiting a particular compound or mosque). As in Homeland, domesticity is invaded as a site of evidence, but the precision of Claire's targeting -- represented by her HD screens -- vindicates a practice that more often targets unidentified victims on pixellated screens and all those unlucky enough to be within its blast radius.SashaCHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15243584920114368772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post-72019931883841770462017-02-13T22:43:34.119-08:002017-02-13T22:43:34.119-08:00Your connection between Homeland and the reading w...Your connection between Homeland and the reading was very interesting. I think it's also interesting to explore the idea of surveillance space being used as the non-space for Carrie's character. In many ways this defies many notions of the specific mechanism of 'television' in the classical sense being something that must be designed to provide the sort of waiting and flow that encourage people to use it as a non-space/ separate from their daily lives. <br />Carrie's role in observing Brody and the obsessions he develops almost demonstrates how simply watching life reproduced without any of the commercial structure can still create a compelling point of escape for an individual within their own domestic space. I wonder what this does to notions of narrative. In many ways it shows that the "fiction effect" that Morse describes may still be in effect even outside of the institution of television. Carrie is watching uninterrupted documentation and her "sinking into another world" as Morse describes it, becomes even more complete. <br /><br />It's fascinating to think about the show's creators designing something that deeply challenges notions of viewership and what makes a compelling narrative/ escapist media while building it into their own narrative India Sage Wilson https://www.blogger.com/profile/06361181447250629613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post-66329337257108657192017-02-13T22:39:34.526-08:002017-02-13T22:39:34.526-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.India Sage Wilson https://www.blogger.com/profile/06361181447250629613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5512870689197311087.post-57976024185115124052017-02-13T19:36:18.390-08:002017-02-13T19:36:18.390-08:00I really like how you've connected the reading...I really like how you've connected the readings to Homeland (and I always appreciate your pictures, too). I have some stray thoughts on the role screens play in the pilot--maybe you have some thoughts?<br /><br />--I like your point on how the act of surveillance, as mediated through the TV screen, invades the sphere of domesticity. I also wonder if a connection can be made between the act of surveillance and the act of waiting? To a certain degree, Carrie is really playing a waiting game. She can't really do a lot of the active "spy work" (following, interrogating, etc.) and is subjected instead to this sort of passive observance of Brody's life, waiting for him to reveal himself in some way as a terrorist. So I think, to an extent, the screen is related to passive waiting, and the constant viewing of the action on the screen helps to demarcate time (the kids go to school in the morning; Brody eats dinner; Brody goes to sleep; etc.).<br /><br />--Also interesting that she has that realization about Brody's "code" by glancing at a television that is located in a bar. I'm not sure how significant that is, but one could argue that it reinforces the idea of TVs promoting a sense of productivity in places that are associated with leisure?Josie Glorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06664167482075409980noreply@blogger.com