Surveillance In Max Hjortsberg's Drone Poem

As the technologies that enable surveillance activities become available to the average global consumer, these surveyant technologies permeate into the desires of the individual as a tool to spectate other people. Technologies of surveillance such as camera monitoring, data-doubles and drones have changed how individuals choose to In Max Hjortsberg’s "Drone Poem", it is important to remember that there are living people piloting the drones mentioned in the poem with motives behind their decision to watch. The introduction of drone technologies changes what it means to watch or be watched on a basis of presence. This essay will facilitate an understanding of "Drone Poem" expresses the changes that surveillance technology has on the dynamic of the watched, witness, and the watched location through a close reading of the themes of presence, …show more content…
It is important to recognize the world of "Drone Poem" not as science fiction, but as a reflection of the world we live in. The first stanza of "Drone Poem" titled “127830” introduces the vocabulary that establishes a general structure for the rest of the stanzas. Specifically, the first two lines establish a non-geographical location to contextualize the text in a realm of reality that the reader can believe: “in the shimmering sun of late afternoon/heat mirage across an empty plain” (Hjortsberg 8). Even though the descriptors of location are general (shimmering sun, empty plain), it is that implicit imprecision that makes the location impressionable to the reader. The reader is encouraged to place their reality into the image of a world being presented in "Drone Poem" by filling the void of information purposely placed by Hjortsberg. If the location was more precise or geographical, the reader would not be able to place themselves within the realm drone is watching. To