Say “cheese.” This is a film about the camera, or more precisely, how we use it and how images shape what we believe about the world. Consider this, a shot of the Giza pyramids, the perfect postcard etched into our collective minds, evoking a sense of timeless solitude and mystery. But move the camera, and the pyramids are right next to the sprawling city of Cairo. Move the camera once more — Or this, a 1994 press photo of U.S. soldiers in Haiti, rifles ready, preparing for battle. But shift the angle, and you see a row of photographers, 11 in total, each capturing the same scene. What appears to be a moment of warfare is in reality a carefully staged photo op. This film invites you to look closely at the impact of images … … and consider the incentives behind what we see. The camera began as a marvel in 1839, freezing moments in time on silver plates. A few years later, the technique to capture movement is discovered, and the author Elizabeth Eastlake writes about the camera: “Its purpose is to give evidence of facts. Each image becomes an authentic chapter in our world’s history.” In 1895, the Lumiere brothers hold the first public film screenings. The films picture real people, places and events — a mirror to the world. However, a magician sitting in the audience thinks differently. Georges Mélies sees other possibilities with the camera. His visual tricks become a success, and in search of new ways to make money, the magician starts to produce news footage. This is the coronation of King Edward VII, or rather, it’s not. Instead of filming the actual ceremony, the magician stages it in his studio in Paris with French actors. When the king sees the film, he exclaims: “What a fantastic machine the camera is. It even recorded the parts of the ceremony that didn’t take place.” From this moment on, the camera becomes a tool for telling stories. Its images begin to spread across the globe, first through cinemas and newspapers. And then in the 1950s, a groundbreaking invention spreads, ushering in a new era of mass media. “I am privileged in being the first to address you on our new service, Telefis Éireann. I must admit that sometimes when I think of television and radio and their immense power, I feel somewhat afraid. Like atomic energy, it can be used for incalculable good, but it can also do irreparable harm.” With the advent of television, the images from the camera flow directly into people’s homes. TV now becomes big business, and at the center of the business model are the commercials. To fill in the gaps between the ads, popular programs need to be produced. To achieve this, companies start measuring viewers’ reactions and use this data to create content that keeps them hooked. “It’s a diet that fits into my busy lifestyle, and they didn’t try to make me buy anything that I didn’t want or need. They were just there for me.” “Are you going to find gold in them there skies, Mr. Turner?” “I sure hope so. I don’t want to die in debtors’ prison.” “You’ve described your station as escapist. What are you escaping from?” “The realities of the world we live in. Do you remember a show — they probably showed it in England years ago — called ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’?” “Yes.” “Everybody’s scared over here now. And everybody else is always telling us that gold’s going up and the stock market’s going down and the floods and earthquakes and everything, and we show ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ and let them forget about it for a minute. I mean, that’s what entertainment is supposed to do. It’s supposed to make you forget your miserable life.” “You understand how important this trip is to me.” “Come on, then. “Move.” “It just seems like you’re chasing Bobby’s dreams.” “I’m sorry you feel that way because it’s not true.” “I think after a long day at work, I don’t think you want to do anything physical when you come home or anything. I think just to sit down and relax in front of the television — that’s it for the night. I’m happy with that.” “Well, I like the telly, and I wish I could turn it on and off when I wanted to watch what was on. But he has to have it on all the time. Whether there’s anything on he wants to watch or not, it’s on. But I’d just rather watch it, turn it off. But not him.” “Here it comes, television’s most exciting hour of fantastic prizes.” “Lev gel and the Contour-Plus system with Lubrastrip, the complete shaving experience.” “What would happen if all the other stations decided to stop showing the news and show ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’?” “Because then I’d put on the news, you dummy.” Seven years later, Ted Turner expands his formula and founds the largest news network in the world, CNN. “Cruising down the road No fun getting old The girls are hot But the beer is cold Yeah, that’s the way ——” “Starting right now on ABC’s ‘This Week,’ deadly rampage.” “Shots fired. Shots fired.” “Breaking details on the California shooting spree. The moment of terror, the urgent calls for action —” “We don’t have to live like this.” “— and the chilling video and manifesto left behind.” “We’ve had 20 years of mass murders, throughout which I have repeatedly told CNN and our other media, if you don’t want to propagate more mass murders, don’t start the story with sirens blaring. Don’t have photographs of the killer. Don’t make this 24/7 coverage. Do localize this story to the affected community, and make it as boring as possible in every other market, because every time we have intense saturation coverage of a mass murder, we expect to see one or two more within a week.” “But, I mean, hold on a second here.” In the early 2000s, new technology enables anyone to consume images, anywhere, anytime. Every day, we spend an average of seven hours looking at our screens. Today, there are billions of cameras on Earth. Every minute, over 500 hours of footage are published just on YouTube. New ways of using the camera emerge. Identities and careers are built. In this media landscape, the images that trigger our most primal emotions are the most successful. “No! No! No! No!” “Whoa!” “There’s a dog under that truck. Oh, my goodness, look at this. He just stole the — oh, my God. Oh, my goodness.” “Are you not afraid?” “I’m afraid. Are you not afraid of the tone?” “Well, you should be afraid, too.” “You should be concerned. You should be afraid.” “Maybe you should be scared about war in Europe.” “The streets of New York, right through that window back there, are more dangerous now than I have seen in a very long time.” “That’s who you should be afraid of.” “You should be scared. We’re scolding you. Democracy’s on the ballot. Don’t let them win.” “You should be scared. These are dangerous times.” The science of capturing attention has come a long way since the days of Ted Turner. Today’s media companies don’t just study what we watch. They study the brain and how we think, not to serve our needs, but to profit from our impulses. “You used to ask people, here are ten movies, what do you think? Which ones of these are your best movies, and then try to match those movies with recommendations for what was coming. And then you changed away from that. Talk about that.” “Everyone would rate ‘Schindler’s List’ five stars, and then they’d rate Adam Sandler, ‘The Do-Over,’ three stars. But in fact, when you looked at what they watched, it was almost always Adam Sandler.” “And so what happens is when we rate and we’re metacognitive about quality, that’s our aspirational self. And it works out much better to please people to look at the actual choices that they make. And so, yeah, we have some candy, too, but we have lots of broccoli. And if you have the good mix, you get to a healthy diet.” “But isn’t it the case that algorithms tend to — just, actually, by being smarter — tend to drive people towards more radical or specific content?” “If you had 24 hours with me and I couldn’t say, no, what would we do?” “If you had 24 hours with me and I couldn’t say, no, what would we do?” “If you could have me for 24 hours and I couldn’t say, no, what —” “Sexual intercourse. That’s the answer for all of these. Every single one of you that are — well, if you had 24 hours with me, what would you — sexual intercourse, every single time. We don’t need to do any more. All done. You’re so hot. Hubba-hubba. Want to have sex. There’s no more. What more do we need — I need to [EXPLETIVE] delete this app, dude.” The algorithms are designed to pull us in, each of us in our own world of content. “Kobe Bryant was assassinated by the Clintons.” “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut the [EXPLETIVE] up, bitch. [EXPLETIVE] you.” “— you stupid bitch.” “[EXPLETIVE][BLEEP] your life. I hope you [EXPLETIVE] die, homie, straight up.” “You’re a [EXPLETIVE] sheep. Get the [EXPLETIVE] out of here, commie [EXPLETIVE]. Hey, this is our town, [EXPLETIVE]:. Try to take it. Try and take it.” “You’re on stolen land, you [EXPLETIVE] bitch.” “You going viral?” “I am.” “Are you going viral? Are we going viral?” “Hopefully. Hopefully, we get a bunch of fights today. “President Biden. President Biden, Mr. Blinken. Mr. Blinken, can you hear me? Prime ministers and presidents of the European countries, can you hear me?” “Pay attention! We’re losing our democracy. Wake up. Wake up.” [BEEPING] The camera simply saves what’s in front of it. It is a machine that can show us our world. But the business model is leading us somewhere else. [THE SHIRELLES, “WILL YOU LOVE ME TOMORROW”] “Tonight, you’re mine completely. You give your love so sweetly. Tonight, the light of love is in your eyes. But will you love me tomorrow? Is this the lasting treasures, or just a moment’s pleasure? Can I believe the magic of your sighs? Will you still love me tomorrow? So tell me now and I won’t ask again: Will you still love me tomorrow? Will you still love me tomorrow?”
