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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
informative
tense
medium-paced
Really beautifully written, really interestingly selected case studies
dark
informative
reflective
fast-paced
It’s certainly possible that I’m a moron, but I found this book far too dense and academic to be able to get much out of it. It constantly talked about what it was going to do next, a writing pet peeve of mine, and constantly made nouns into verbs or adjectives, another person peeve (like “operationalize”). And one could call it “wide-ranging” but it felt more like the author had a bunch of different topics that she wanted to explore and stuck them all in one book, and they didn’t feel all that connected (the discussion of Will Smith movies and biometrics? A South Park episode and TSA practices? Huh?)
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
I had to write a report/review on this book for class and don't feel like writing a separate review so here is my class assignment!
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In this interdisciplinary book on race and surveillance, Simone Browne guides us through the history of surveillance practices against Black people in America, drawing parallels between surveillance during enslavement and surveillance in the current digital era. This book contributes to evidence that history, as it pertains to white power over Blackness, is inherently repetitive with the investigation of surveillance practices.
I enjoyed reading this book for many reasons, from the creative and engaging way that it is written to the various mini-history lessons that I learned along the way. In one of my favorite sections of the book, Browne makes the connection between lantern laws and the hypervisibility of Black people today. Whether literally illuminated with a lantern or figuratively illuminated by occupying predominantly white spaces, “we come to internalize an expectation of the potential of being watched” (p. 76), which leads to a performative sensibility, or the common practice among Black people of performing respectable behavior to avoid negative attention or repercussions for stepping out of line.
The primary connection I made between this book’s content and the media context of our course is via fugitive slave advertisements and the way they were used to alert the public of Black incivility, encouraging white men to find, capture, and re-enslave these individuals. Furthermore, Browne details the surveillance that Black radicals including Frantz Fanon faced in the early to mid 20th century. These both allude to the ways modern media is used to surveil Black people who are labeled uncivil for asserting their rights as humans, whether that be via news that speculates on the justification of Black murder, or censorship of our self-expression on social media.
Browne highlights several instances where racism and sexism work together to oppress Black women in unique ways under this context. For example, she outlines the ways that Black women are subjected to “security theater” in the form of discriminatory surveillance, invasive searches, and detainment at the airport, particularly post-9/11. While this chapter does a great job at highlighting some of the ways surveillance shows up for Black women specifically, my primary critique is that this chapter did not fit well with the rest of the book.
Chapter 4 contributed to the book’s primary argument that Black people are subject to surveillance and control by state agents, however it deviated from the first three chapters in a number of ways. This chapter makes no explicit connection to surveillance during enslavement, which was a startling omission that made the book seem incomprehensive. Furthermore, this chapter goes on a few tangents that I felt were irrelevant. She discusses pop culture representations of Black women and security theater, particularly a South Park episode involving Black women TSA officers who are depicted in a stereotypically degrading way. While I see that she was trying to point out the irony of depicting Black women as TSA agents with power when in reality they are more often on the other end of that exchange, I didn’t see how this particular comparison contributed to the main point of the book. This chapter, while still technically relevant to the book’s thesis, took a side step that ultimately made it feel out of place.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and developing a deeper understanding of the historical and modern manifestations of racialized surveillance, or “the production of norms pertaining to race and [exercising] a ‘power to define what is in or out of place’” (p. 16; quoting Fiske, 1998, p. 85). I look forward to using it as a reference in my work going forward.
-----------------------------------------------
In this interdisciplinary book on race and surveillance, Simone Browne guides us through the history of surveillance practices against Black people in America, drawing parallels between surveillance during enslavement and surveillance in the current digital era. This book contributes to evidence that history, as it pertains to white power over Blackness, is inherently repetitive with the investigation of surveillance practices.
I enjoyed reading this book for many reasons, from the creative and engaging way that it is written to the various mini-history lessons that I learned along the way. In one of my favorite sections of the book, Browne makes the connection between lantern laws and the hypervisibility of Black people today. Whether literally illuminated with a lantern or figuratively illuminated by occupying predominantly white spaces, “we come to internalize an expectation of the potential of being watched” (p. 76), which leads to a performative sensibility, or the common practice among Black people of performing respectable behavior to avoid negative attention or repercussions for stepping out of line.
The primary connection I made between this book’s content and the media context of our course is via fugitive slave advertisements and the way they were used to alert the public of Black incivility, encouraging white men to find, capture, and re-enslave these individuals. Furthermore, Browne details the surveillance that Black radicals including Frantz Fanon faced in the early to mid 20th century. These both allude to the ways modern media is used to surveil Black people who are labeled uncivil for asserting their rights as humans, whether that be via news that speculates on the justification of Black murder, or censorship of our self-expression on social media.
Browne highlights several instances where racism and sexism work together to oppress Black women in unique ways under this context. For example, she outlines the ways that Black women are subjected to “security theater” in the form of discriminatory surveillance, invasive searches, and detainment at the airport, particularly post-9/11. While this chapter does a great job at highlighting some of the ways surveillance shows up for Black women specifically, my primary critique is that this chapter did not fit well with the rest of the book.
Chapter 4 contributed to the book’s primary argument that Black people are subject to surveillance and control by state agents, however it deviated from the first three chapters in a number of ways. This chapter makes no explicit connection to surveillance during enslavement, which was a startling omission that made the book seem incomprehensive. Furthermore, this chapter goes on a few tangents that I felt were irrelevant. She discusses pop culture representations of Black women and security theater, particularly a South Park episode involving Black women TSA officers who are depicted in a stereotypically degrading way. While I see that she was trying to point out the irony of depicting Black women as TSA agents with power when in reality they are more often on the other end of that exchange, I didn’t see how this particular comparison contributed to the main point of the book. This chapter, while still technically relevant to the book’s thesis, took a side step that ultimately made it feel out of place.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and developing a deeper understanding of the historical and modern manifestations of racialized surveillance, or “the production of norms pertaining to race and [exercising] a ‘power to define what is in or out of place’” (p. 16; quoting Fiske, 1998, p. 85). I look forward to using it as a reference in my work going forward.
Provactive argument and great addition to the ongoing discussion of how Blackness exists in America's seemingly contradictory consumer but also surveillance world. Wish the book was a bit more exhaustive, I was constantly left with many questions, especially in wondering how the author perceived the existence of her historical findings (especially around slave branding) in contemporary society, so I actually wanted MORE. It also feels at time a little scatterbrained but I think thats because of my wish for a bit more. But its a great piece, a great way to look at surveillance as not just "policing" or "discipline" but also its the collection of data that aims to commodify, place and oppress by creating systems. I hope she does a follow up because I feel there are more avenues to touch.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Browne traces the surveillance of blackness from past to present. While at times infuriating, the book is important. What’s also great about Browne is that there is an element of hope in her writing as each chapter concludes with a description of an art instillation that “talks back” against these practices.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This was so interesting though I feel I can’t rate it bc I read most of it in the airport after waking up at 4 am then my flight getting delayed and moved, so def deserves a re read soon