Photo by Shane Grates
“Why do you want to know my name?” “Cause I want to know who I’m looking at.”
These are the utterly bone-chilling words spoken by Ghostface to Drew Barrymore’s Casey in Scream to reveal that he’s been watching her for an entire night.
See, Jerks, thirty years ago, being watched was one of the scariest things audiences could imagine. It might seem relatively unfamiliar, because now it’s our whole world. Phone and laptop cameras, app tracking, Life360, Siri, Alexa. At least some parts of our lives are always under observation, whether we like it or not.
Flock cameras are a recent example, originally designed as license plate readers to help stop car break-ins. They’re now outfitted with artificial intelligence technology that some have linked to ICE agents unfairly cracking down on immigration policies.
These tracking concerns have become more prevalent as Flock cameras have been popping up everywhere. There are almost 144,000 Flock automated license plate readers (ALPRs) in the U.S. according to DeFlock, a volunteer group against the cameras.
The Wall Street Journal reported in September that, while Flock has come out against these allegations, audits have shown that their databases have been searched for immigration-related purposes. DeFlock and other groups have taken to vandalizing and protesting the cameras, and many political candidates have spoken against ALPRs before the upcoming midterm election. Montana senate hopeful Seth Bodnar posted a video of himself shooting a Flock camera on various social media platforms and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he would welcome a ban on the cameras.
And it’s not just Flock; your mother was right, social media is stalking you too. Meta’s newest AI agent Muse has reportedly read messages without user permission and made personal information public. Apple also has a feature where apps can track your activity on other apps. TikTok collects your data across platforms to hyperpersonalize your feed and advertise to you.
Conspiracy theorists that were paranoid about being watched now have an even larger platform to confirm their surveillance state theory. Social media is so prevalent in our society that it seems impossible to avoid. The population did not consent to Flock cameras and ALPRs, they’ve been forced upon us.
Unwanted surveillance is the focus of not just Scream, but many unsettling horror movies: In Halloween, Michael Myers stalks Laurie Strode and in Parasite, Da-song sees Oh Geun-sae emerge from the staircase to stare at him. It’s also a popular theme in music: “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell, “Destroyer” by the Kinks and “Noid” by Tyler, the Creator. Clearly, the world’s anxiety is already heightened about being watched.
The government is now a threat to our safety just like our favorite horror movie villains. Except this isn’t fiction anymore. So, smile! You’re on camera.