Cinema, television culture of fear
12 February 2013

Just putting together a listing of cinema and TV that have at least something to do with a culture of fear – and perhaps in some more recent cases either comment directly on paranoia and security – or in others contribute to an overall social unease. My curiosity is NOT just with representations of surveillance in Hollywood film – like the use of (fake) CCTV footage within their narratives, BUT the way their premise is developing a rhetorics of surveillance and paranoia. An obvious reference would be Thomas Y. Levin – his thoughts on contemporary Hollywood and its fascination with imag(in)ing video surveillance. a good reference: Black, J. (2002) The Reality Effect: Film Culture and the Graphic Imperative, NYTHE FILMS. Also Video Surveillance in Hollywood Movies, Dietmar Kammerer

minorityReport

  • Tony Scott – Enemy of the State
  • Steven Spielberg – Minority Report
  • and the cheezy – Panic Room – David Fincher
  • Time Code (2000) Mike Figgis: very much about surveillance
  • Rope (of course) Hitchcock
  • The Conversation – (1974) Coppola with Gean Hackney
  • Enemy of the State (1998)
  • The Truman Show (1998) – Peter Weir
  • Wag The Dog (1997) Benny Levinson
  • Snake Eyes – DePalma (1998?)
  • Sliver – (1993) Philip Noyce
  • Menace to Society (1 & II) – Hughes (1992??)
  • Call Northside 777 (1948) Hathaway
  • Manchurian Candidate (original & remake)
  • Seven days in May – with good old burt lancaster
  • Elephant – fantastic – on the HS shootings
  • Blow Up, Michelangelo Antonioni — YES – weirdly engaging scene in the park
  • Chelsea Girls, Andy Warhol (1966) – maybe
  • I Thought I Saw Prisoners, Harun Farocki (2000) – powerful
  • Lost Highway, David Lynch – can’t leave that one out

thats all for now folks .. any contributions to the list are MOST welcome