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Autopsies of Surveillance


"Your papers?"
Objects of Surveillance
at the US-Mexico Border

Stephanie Fuller
August 2011
Picture
Police secretly watch and record an interrogation through
a two-way mirror in Borderline (dir. William A Seiter, 1950).
Picture
In Borderline, Madeleine Hayley (Claire Trevor) documents
evidence of illegal drug-smuggling across the US-Mexico
border with a secret camera disguised as a compact mirror.
Picture
Passports and identity documents are carefully examined at the
US-Mexico border in Touch of Evil (dir. Orson Welles, 1958).
Picture
From on high in the oil machinery, Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston)
covertly records Captain Hank Quinlain’s confession
on a radio device. (Touch of Evil). 
Picture
Fake ‘wanted’ papers are used to interrogate Joe Pasquale
in T-Men (dir. Anthony Mann, 1947).
Picture
Criminal people-smugglers use radio and visual
surveillance technology to outrun the border patrol.
Border Incident (dir. Anthony Mann, 1949).
Picture
In Border Incident, marked US work permits enable the
authorities to track criminals smuggling undocumented
Mexicans into the country ...
Picture
... while Fake criminal documents enable
Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) to infiltrate a smuggling ring. 
Picture
Caught in the spotlight: guards keep watch over undocumented
Mexican immigrant Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban)
to ensure he does not escape.
(Border Incident).
Picture
Nick Ferraro (Raymond Burr) orchestrates his plan to steal
another man’s identity through complex international
radio machinery and secret code-words.
His Kind of Woman (dir. John Farrow, 1951).
Picture
A map of Mexico charts the flight path characters take
in His Kind of Woman, demonstrating the monitoring
and surveilling qualities of mapping.
Picture
Picture
Police officers Ray Castro (Luis Guzman) and Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle)
monitor conversations in the house of a suspected drug smuggler.
Traffic (dir. Steven Soderbergh, 2000).
Picture
The border control room: in this documentary-style tour of
immigration services at the US’s southern boundary,
Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) gets a
first-hand look at border surveillance techniques.
(Traffic). 
Picture
Judge Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas) observes a
criminal’s house in Mexico from across the border.
(Traffic).
Picture
A show of surveillance: border security in Traffic. 
Picture
The denouement of Touch of Evil is revealed
through the speaker of Mike Vargas’ (Charlton Heston)
audio surveillance device. (dir. Orson Welles, 1958).

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