Abstract
This chapter examines some of the narrative and ideological aspects of portraying the contemporary surveillance state in a scripted network TV series. The inherent ambiguity of the discourse of surveillance and security is highlighted using selected surveillance studies paradigms. As regards their practical application, references are made to Person of Interest, a show which goes beyond the generic confines of science fiction and crime drama in order to address the anxieties of the post-9/11 world allegedly on the brink of technological singularity. The chapter also discusses human and non-human character development in the series and draws attention to the ways in which the demands of mainstream storytelling may have undermined its subversive potential.
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This was presciently captured in the episode ‘No Good Deed’ about an NSA analyst who realized that his agency used illegal methods to spy on American citizens. The episode aired more than a year before Edward Snowden’s revelations surfaced.
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On the issue of participatory panopticism, see Mitrou, Kandias, Stavrou, and Gritzalis (2014).
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Krawczyk-Łaskarzewska, A. (2019). Person of Interest or Crime and Surveillance on Post-9/11 Network TV. In: Akrivos, D., Antoniou, A.K. (eds) Crime, Deviance and Popular Culture. Palgrave Studies in Crime, Media and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04912-6_4
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