Political influence

From our second lecture on November 3rd, The Moving Image, I didn't think we were given all that much information. It seemed to be mainly examples of early 'films' or 'animations', not sure which category they fall into. However one point I did pick up on was how the Phonovisor never took off. At the same time as television was being developed a two way video communications device was in the design process. However, politicians didn't like the thought of what the public might do with this kind of communication and stopped its development. I found this fascinating! Why do politicians have the right to halt the progression of technology? It seems crazy! It's like 1984 to some extent.

It also made me wonder how much control there is over what is released into the public today. We all know that there is much more available to us today. Films which were banned maybe ten years ago, are now available in local shops. We have online communities and almost to the point of unlimited communication anywhere on the globe. But is what we perceive true? Are we really in an age where the public has the right to everything? Or is that what we are wanted to think? Is it all just a cloud of security hiding the true reality from us? That we are as much controlled by those in power as we ever were?

Scary thought huh. I recently read Dan Browns 'Digital Fortress' and although I am aware it is fictional, it put forth some discomforting ideas. It talks about a machine run by the government which grants access to any e-mail, even those coded with supposedly indecipherable codes. Giving the government access to our everyday lives....Not that a students e-mail describing how much work they have at uni, or who's sleeping with who is going to interest the government much. But still I think it's the principle of the matter that offends.

I leave the question...Are we living in an age of freedom of speech, artistic license and personal secrecy? Or are we just hiding from the truth?