Poetics and politics of the trace – Notes on surveillance practices through Harun Farocki’s work

Abstract

The article presents an interpretation of the discourse of surveillance after its shift from a discipline model to a control one, adopting the notion of the trace as a key concept. In this perspective Harun Farocki’s latest production works as an analytic device used by the author to explore the facets of the contemporary surveillance scenario and to couple it with a reflection on the ontology of the cinematic image. Through the prism of the director’s camera three strategies for thinking surveillance (represent, replicate, sublimate) are discussed, simultaneously suggesting a meta-cinematographic reflection on the filmic image.