Big Brother’s Eyes – analysis
Writers
This article about camera surveillance has been posted in The New York Post on 2 May 2002, about 1,5 years after 9/11 where the use of video surveillance has become a bigger part of the reality. The article is written by William D. Eggers and Eve Tushnet. Both Eggers and Tushnet are at the posting time working at the Manhattan Institute where they are working on a book on how technology is transforming government. Eggers is at the posting time at the age of 35 as a senior fellow (member) and Tushnet is at the age of 24 as a research associate and by the way is a lesbian.
Readers
The New York Post is an American daily newspaper, mostly distributed in New York City and the area around. The intended reader for this newspaper is the common American, thus it reaches out to most people possible.
Language
The use of language in the article Big Brother’s Eyes is quite simple and easy to read and understand. The article doesn’t consist of long sentences with a high academic language; it is more informal and based on a reader-friendly style, which by the way gets along with the audience the newspaper reaches, i.e. the common American. Let me give an example of how the structure of the sentences is:
“Many civil libertarians insist that the only way to protect privacy is through prohibition: tear down the cameras. Ban government from using face-recognition and other biometric technologies.” ll. 10-12 p 46.
It is a good illustration of the easy readable style, which is generally used throughout the article.
Argumentation
In the argumentation Eggers and Tushnet in the beginning make use of a quotation by the House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who is against the increase of a society of camera surveillance, an opinion that is expressed in the quote:
“Do we really want a society where one cannot walk down the street without Big Brother tracking our every move?” ll. 3-5 p 46.