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A review by keegan_leech
Abolishing Surveillance: Digital Media Activism and State Repression by Chris Robé
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
Not quite what it promises on the tin, but very interesting nonetheless. A more accurate title might be Four Case Studies in Digital Media Activism. Surveillance and state repression certainly feature (the latter more prominently than the former) but it is the differences of context and approach in the various examples of digital activism that are the real focus of the book.
Robé takes almost a film critic's approach to his subject. He often approaches activist video with an eye towards its cinematic technique, and explicitly draws on Third Cinema to comment on, for example, copwatching videos filmed on the streets by activists with smartphones. It's a fascinating approach that prioritises the practicalities of digital media activism. Which messages does a particular framing amplify, which does it undercut, when are activists forced to use particular methods, when can they alter their approach, and how does digital media activism complicate interactions between activists and the state? These are the kinds of questions at the centre of the book. They make for an especially unique perspective on activism in the modern day.
Despite the broad range of activist causes and approaches that Robé discusses in his case studies, his tight focus on video in particular and the further tightening in on the cinematic techniques of activist video make for a very close look at the book's chosen topics. I would have appreciated a broader view (or perhaps, as I suggested earlier, my expectations would simply have been more appropriate with a change as simple as a different title).
The book was well-written though, barring a few moments where I felt like Robé was re-treading ground that had already been covered. A great deal of research has gone into the four case studies covered, and Robé's subjects are always treated with an intimacy and depth that must have taken many hours of exaustive interviews and context-building research. For this quality of the writing alone, I feel the book will have a broader appeal than it's focus on activist video might otherwise give it. But for those involved in modern activism (and particularly digital activism), it will be an invaluable read.
Robé takes almost a film critic's approach to his subject. He often approaches activist video with an eye towards its cinematic technique, and explicitly draws on Third Cinema to comment on, for example, copwatching videos filmed on the streets by activists with smartphones. It's a fascinating approach that prioritises the practicalities of digital media activism. Which messages does a particular framing amplify, which does it undercut, when are activists forced to use particular methods, when can they alter their approach, and how does digital media activism complicate interactions between activists and the state? These are the kinds of questions at the centre of the book. They make for an especially unique perspective on activism in the modern day.
Despite the broad range of activist causes and approaches that Robé discusses in his case studies, his tight focus on video in particular and the further tightening in on the cinematic techniques of activist video make for a very close look at the book's chosen topics. I would have appreciated a broader view (or perhaps, as I suggested earlier, my expectations would simply have been more appropriate with a change as simple as a different title).
The book was well-written though, barring a few moments where I felt like Robé was re-treading ground that had already been covered. A great deal of research has gone into the four case studies covered, and Robé's subjects are always treated with an intimacy and depth that must have taken many hours of exaustive interviews and context-building research. For this quality of the writing alone, I feel the book will have a broader appeal than it's focus on activist video might otherwise give it. But for those involved in modern activism (and particularly digital activism), it will be an invaluable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, and Police brutality
I found the chapter on animal rights activism to be the most graphic. Repeated descriptions of animal cruelty which include quite sensory details (sounds, smells, and other emotive details). Other chapters deal with police brutality and racism, without much graphic detail. Though descriptions of some incidents, like the murder of George Floyd, are more graphic.