My tagline here, when there were such things, was , “Orwell was an optimist.”
In 1948 George Orwell correctly predicted that video technology would make it possible for government agents, and a lot of other people in addition, to monitor every public place.
The novel 1984 was written long before the transistor and later the microchip arrived, both of which have made it possible for every citizen to have high quality video capability in a pocket or purse. And now we do. Not only that, we also have a means to distribute these images, a means which can no longer be easily controlled.
Mr. Orwell never envisioned that the citizens would have cameras of their own. The look back at the government has changed a lot of views. American police have an image problem, not because they have suddenly changed their practices, but because police work, as “practiced” against society’s outcasts and powerless, is available for all to see, no matter how little credibility or ability the victim has in voicing his own complaint.
Arguably the first “viral video” was the Rodney King beating, and prophetically, it showed police overreacting when they thought no one was looking, or at least if anyone was looking, so what? Now the latest police outrage is a daily event on video sites, sparking a conversation that would have been unthinkable in 1948. We’re a long way from having police accountability, but the fact that it can no longer be hidden is a start.
Mr. Orwell would be amused.