The level of government interference within the populace of this movie is astonishing on multiple levels. As the audience, we are told of the surrounding events for the premise of the movie, immense overpopulation threatens our species and continues to do so. The Child Allocation Bureau (C.A.B.) maintains strict enforcement of the One-Child policy, this is everso present throughout the film as the Settman's try to survive and reunite with one another after a series of unfortunate events. It is questionable in nature for how C.A.B. rose to such prominence with their dedicated intelligence network, not specifically for the Settmans but the overarching population included in the film.
The identity bracelets are referenced multiple times throughout the movie yet our group agrees that their importance is undervalued. The bracelets are by far the most integral piece of technology included in the movie, allowing for the story to progress in unforeseen ways. When Karen Settman purchases a rodent from a street vendor, a multifaceted verification process takes place for the transaction to be completed. Karen has her name and facial profile displayed to the vendor to demonstrate this is in fact the individual who is making the purchase. The scene ends with the successful purchase of the rodent and shortly after the same rodent shared amongst the seven sisters as a meal.
This scene promotes underlying principles that revolve around user verification for initiating a purchase and the associated digital trail. As the payment was processed through confirmation of Karen's bracelet, the government has full access to her purchase history. This seems far-fetched, how does the government, more importantly the C.A.B. track this information? The government has full control on what information is displayed to vendors as the user identity is verified through the enforcement of the One-Child policy. To ensure this verification, detailed personnel files on all individuals must be stored in a database that C.A.B. has access to. A national registry, mass information collection and surveillance. If this conjecture is present for purchasing food from a vendor, then is it not also true for any and all transactions that will occur within the film?
Moreover, this theme is not only present within the movie, but within The United States of America. The federal government is capable of viewing credit card transactions in real time through “Hotwatchs” in the: ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT (ECPA) (PART II): GEOLOCATION PRIVACY AND SURVEILLANCE [1]. Tracked information ranges from airline, hotel, and dinner reservations to cell phone calls and microtransactions. Drawing similarities from the movie to our world, our Federal Government does not need to issue a warrant as judges can issue a subpoena to credit card issuers [2]. Judges who issue such legal documents additionally pass a non-disclosure order preventing the monitored individual from their knowledge and consent of being tracked.
Purchases carried out within the movie seem to carry much more importance with the previous information. This came to light as a relevant New York court case in which prosecutors were trying to gain access to cell phone records for the sake of tracking their movements in ongoing investigations [3].
Tracking the movement of individuals, this is strikingly similar to the actions the C.A.B. and other government agencies in the film promote through the implementation of checkpoints. Citizens within the movie are forced to provide legal identification to gain access to a neighboring block. This is a recurring theme as the sisters must travel daily through a checkpoint to their employment. As the government is able to track transactions and movement of individuals, what is not known by the government? The citizens of this film are voided of their privacy due to the massive surveillance network the government has imposed on integral technological advancements.
It would be daft to suggest communications through the identity bracelets are not monitored. The content of such conversations is surely monitored and stored within the database as well as the global positioning of the user at the time. This conjecture is proved by the death of Saturday as she is shot in the back of the head mid communication with her sisters.
Through policy enacted by C.A.B. and what is suggested to be other assisting governmental agencies, the government is able to track the sisters at a moments notice. As this is accomplished multiple times throughout the film, the team once again stresses this is present for any citizen within the film. There is not a single individual within this movie that is assumed to have privacy, the government controls the flow of information to and fro senders.
Works Cited
House of Representatives. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT (ECPA) (PART II): GEOLOCATION PRIVACY and SURVEILLANCE HEARING before the SUBCOMMITTEE on CRIME, TERRORISM, HOMELAND SECURITY, and INVESTIGATIONS of the COMMITTEE on the JUDICIARY HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION. , 2013, www.hsdl.org/?view&did=736596.
Chen, Tim. “Is the Government Tracking Your Credit Card Purchases?” Forbes, 26 Jan. 2011, www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2011/01/26/is-the-government-tracking-your-credit-card-purchases/?sh=263f57816701.
New York Eastern District Attorney. “In Re United States of America for an Order Authorizing the Release of Historical Cell-Site Info., 809 F. Supp. 2d 113 | Casetext Search + Citator.” Casetext.com, casetext.com/case/in-matter-of-an-application-of-us-4. Accessed 4 May 2021.
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