Lee Heidhues 6.30.2020
America and the world have become a surveillance society. Nations spy upon each other. People spy upon one another.
As far back as 1996 researchers found that people felt a loss of control when they knew they were being watched. As surveillance increases so does anxiety.*
Cinematic examples of surveillance and its destructive impact upon those being spied upon have fascinated me dating back to my teenage years:
The Hitch-Hiker (1959)
The Conversation (1974)
Red (1994)
Caché (2005)
“The Hitch-Hiker” goes back to 1959. It is one episode from the classic television series, “The Twilight Zone.” I watched “The Hitch-Hiker” as a teenager. It is dystopian, eerie, nightmarish. “The Hitch-Hiker” has been ingrained in my mind for decades.
“The Hitch-Hiker,” a 25 minute story, is available on DVD and other media platforms.
It reveals a lot about the creepiness of abusive and unchecked surveillance in human form. It leaves the viewer to ponder the unfathomable.
I will be discussing “The Conversation,” “Red,” and “Caché,” in future Posts.
Following is a Wikipedia link to “The Hitch-Hiker.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitch-Hiker_(The_Twilight_Zone)
* Watch Out: The Psychological Effects of Mass Surveillance 9.16.2013
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