- André Lepecki’s article, Choreopolice and Choreopolitics: or, the task of the dancer, identifies “subtly provid[ed] pathways for circulation” within the modern age of technological advancement (Lepecki 15). These routes are made possible by personal devices such as cellphones and computers that enable access to a plethora of topics, while simultaneously tracking each of these searches and online recorded activities. As a result, technology is more restrictive and detrimental to individuality than earlier mechanisms of confinement which include “schools, prisons, asylums, [and] military barracks” (Lepecki 15). Through the available “pathways for circulation,” it is vital to note that the more one participates online, the more data is generated allowing for technologies to more precisely shape behavior (Lepecki 15). A prime example of this phenomenon is the “For You” or “Recommended” tabs within numerous websites and applications. These all go beyond physical institutions by asserting control through anticipation of behavior and present opportunities that seemingly intend to serve the individual, but only serve the systems themselves by narrowing what is desired and chosen. Therefore, freedom, according to Lepecki, is paradoxical, as users are guided through an ever-updating set of options that have been filtered by algorithmic inference. In this way, what appears as freedom is itself a meticulously organized form of movement, where circulation replaces confinement as the primary mode through which behavior is structured and directed.
- In US v Jones, Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s concurrence accounts for privacy rights, distinct from the majority’s emphasis on private property. She argues that regardless of physical trespass, long-term GPS monitoring “violates a subjective expectation of privacy that society recognizes as reasonable” (Sotomayor 1). Her reasoning identifies conflicts between the fourth amendment’s protections and the digital age, proposing that the government can produce a comprehensive record of individuals’ activities that can be stored and accessed years following their occurrence. This ability “evades the ordinary checks that constrain abusive law enforcement practices,” and Sotomayor continues to note that these mistreatments stem from police officers (Sotomayor 3). Public backlash to such violations also ensures authorities are accountable, yet digital surveillance removes this conflict and as a result, any discernment of privacy infringement. Conversely, the third party doctrine aims to provide awareness, holding that if one voluntarily submits information to a third party which includes GPS monitoring systems, they lose their Fourth Amendment reasonable expectation of privacy of that information. However, Justice Sotomayor posits that the doctrine is inapt, as modern technology is not truly voluntary. Smartphone usage requires submitting vast amounts of data to third parties, unlike the limited information required for physical banking and analog phones prompting the third party doctrine’s establishment. Therefore, Justice Sotomayor concludes that the Fourth Amendment must safeguard “the sum of one’s public movements” to prevent a digital panopticon in which the government can monitor the intimate details of a citizens’ life without oversight (Sotomayor 4).
- In the introduction of their book, A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: A Guide to Capitalism, Nature, and the Future of the Planet Raj Patel and Jason Moore argue against the current and longstanding divide between nature and society. They first note that “demand for profit” was a driving factor, as a “conceptual split between Nature and Society” was necessary (Patel and Moore 24). This split also resulted in certain humans to be regarded as part of nature, in that they too were among possessions that would increase revenue, and thus, the lives of “most women, Indigenous Peoples, slaves, and colonized peoples” were “cheapened” (Patel and Moore 24). The seventh chapter, “Cheap Lives,” deepens this historical analysis by identifying John Locke’s theories of property within his book, Second Treatise of Government. Locke’s perspective that private property is a natural right acquired when individuals mix their labor with natural resources is built on the notion that nature is free or “cheap”, and therefore available solely for exploitation (Locke). With this framework in mind, Locke and other colonists deemed Indigenous peoples who often utilized land in ways that did not involve permanent or intensive agriculture, as vacant territories. My portfolio theme of waste was additionally conceived from Locke’s logic, and seeing how Patel and Moore draw such parallels expands my thinking. I devoted a large portion of my research studying how individuals and cultures are deemed wasteful, without focusing on how nature is so frequently categorized in the same way. By applying Patel and Moore’s ideology, it becomes clear that “cheapening” nature is the ultimate act of waste that sees a systematic refusal to see the value of life forms unless its product is consumed or commodified (Patel and Moore).
- The final page of David Wojnarowicz and James Romberger’s graphic novel, 7 Miles A Second, depicts Wojnarowicz as a yellow figure within a larger yellow light illuminating him. The radiance is further underscored by the blue and green backgrounds. Within these cooler colors are underwater life forms including a turtle and fish. It is important to note that this is the only instance in which Wojnarowicz is in an aquatic setting, serving as an antithesis to the city atmosphere depicted throughout the novel. This environment embodies a prevalent theme of water within Wojnarowicz’s work. As Pei-Ru Keh of Wallpaper Magazine observes, “the theme of water is often linked to dreams and myths of emergence” (Keh). I find that this environment is crucial for Wojnarowicz to unravel fully as he “pull[s] things apart” (Wojnarowicz and Romberger 67). In doing so, there is an implication that all of the moments, actions, and circumstances that comprise 7 Miles A Second result in the inception of an individual who can finally see themselves for the first time as an individual, rather than a body merely implicated. Here, Wojnarowicz asserts himself and the aforementioned light that consumes him affirms this intention, as he is being recognized by forces greater than the illness and society that debilitate him. Finally, the gears are operating, as depicted in the panel to the left of him. Wojnarowicz can now function fully, no longer impeded by what is out of his control and through this realized capability recognize his own individuality.
- The “Eliza on the Ice” segment of Bill T Jones’ Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land includes a man adorning a mini skirt and high heels. Watching this performer strut across the studio introduced another conflict, aligning with the theme of precarious positioning between two states. Jones’ illustrates a conflict unlike the previous Elizas who grappled with their affirmed identities as women and how such conflicted with the dog’s embodiments of male heterosexuality. Rather, here, gender binaries and sexual orientation are probed simultaneously. Both conflicts were rendered as impenetrable by the general public during the 1990s period in which the dance was performed and thus, when presented together, represent something especially unstable. This instability is so profound, I find that it offers a glimpse into a world entirely separate from the general notions of identity utilized within Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land. In this separate sphere, gender performativity is perceived as the dramatization of gestures that aim to establish gender, rather than the acquiescence of these behaviors for serving as true markers of gender and identity. With this, Jones is on the precipice of proposing that gender should not be invoked or performed through action or that attempts at labeling gender should exist. Gender fails to portray a reality that truly characterizes individuals, as even drag performances succumb to stereotypes that implicate authentic expressions of identity.
Works Cited
Keh, Pei-Ru, et al. “Cape Cod Exhibition Explores Legacy of Artist David Wojnarowicz.” Wallpaper*, Wallpaper*, 21 Aug. 2022, www.wallpaper.com/art/david-wojnarowicz-tidal-motion.
Lepecki, André. “Choreopolice and Choreopolitics: or, the task of the dancer.” TDR: The Drama Review, vol. 57 no. 4, 2013, p. 13-27. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/526055.
Locke, John. “Second Treatise of Government.” Second Treatise Of Government by John Locke, Gutenberg Files, Dec. 1689, www.gutenberg.org/files/7370/7370-h/7370-h.htm?ref=americanpurpose.com.
Patel, Raj & Moore, Jason. (2017). A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: Introduction. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320990980_A_History_of_the_World_in_Seven_Cheap_Things_Introduction
Patel, Raj & Moore, Jason. (2017). A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: Cheap Lives. https://app.slack.com/client/T09EH723JLR/C09EH72SYQ1
Scorer, Mischa, director. Dancing to the Promised Land. BBC, 25 May 2004, https://drive.google.com/file/d/128uhMScne79KwPJZImAwjRWfrORRrRNQ/view.
Supreme Court of the United States. US v. Jones. Vol. 565, 23 Jan. 2012.
Wojnarowicz, David, et al. 7 Miles a Second. Ground Zero Books, 2018.
