simondelliott

CCTV posters, look at them through media eyes.

This poster reads “A bomb won’t go off here because weeks before a shopper reported somone studying the CCTV camerars”.

This poster has been made by a professional media company, and has been placed in public places throughtout Britian. The chosen image is deliberatly amature and familiar so that you the viewer will engage with it. Quite simply it feels like you are in the image, doing an every day thing. The CCTV camera and the lamp post have an equal placement in the photo. Both objects are shown as depicted as benevolent helpers to our society. This poster is designed to invoke an emotional reaction. You look at the picture, not noticing the physical environment. Then as you read the text you realise that our society is at risk, and you feel fear, then as the cerebral message is delivered you realise that its safe because of CCTV … phew!

This poster reads “Secure beneth watchfull eyes”. Again this poster is very clever. The image shows an eye with the london transport logo in it floating above a typical london city scape. The design is in the style of art deco and suggests some kind of modern shiney metroland. The floating right eyes hover over us like friendly flying saucers.

Whether you believe CCTV is a natural progression for the bureaucratic need to protect our society from groups that have marginal interests or a state sponsored invasion of privacy is not important. What is clear is that state funded organizations are spending considerable money trying to show you that CCTV is being deployed to make you safe.