June 4th
This project is based around the Dark Web and how it is used by citizens in authoritarian regimes. In countries with extreme censorship issues like China and Iran, freedom of expression is limited. In China, discussing topics such as the Tiananmen Square massacre, or speaking out against the government, can result in arrest or even imprisonment. The Dark Web offers them anonymity and allows them to circumvent state censorship, essentially offering them a safer way to operate online. To make this point I contacted Chinese citizens on the Dark Web and asked for their opinions about their government to see how honest they were when given complete freedom of expression.
I was looking for a topic for my final year project and became interested in how peoples perception of right and wrong changes when they are online. This led me to researching criminal activities on the Dark Web. It then became apparent that while the Dark Web is largely portrayed as a negative, it is used for a lot of good. To me this was a far more interesting side to the story. Dissidents, journalists, whistleblowers and political advocates use the Dark Web as a means of operating safely. I felt this was a largely untold story and wanted to bring it to light, to show the positive aspect of it, and the potential it holds as a way around the violation of human rights that many are subject to.
The video was made in Adobe After Effects. I spent a long time working on the design of the video, only to completely strip it back at the end. I wanted the design to reflect the bare nature of the Dark Web. These hidden websites are mostly built to serve a purpose, with no thought going into how they look. As a result the video was left black and white, with simple movements. I felt the message was the most important part and did not wan't over the top visuals to take away from it.
I then wanted to display the video in a manner that would reflect the Dark Web as an anonymous internet, and how people who use it are hidden. I made a secret monitor that was completely white, and hung a special piece of glass in front of it. The viewer could only see what was on the screen when they walked in front of the glass.
People were were very interested in this project because firstly it introduced them to the Dark Web, for those who didn't know about it. And secondly it showed a positive aspect to it for the people who believed it was only used for bad. For me, I learned that it serves an important purpose for the oppressed and is an extremely beneficial tool for many.
More and more people are turning towards the Dark Web, and not just people living in authoritarian states. After people found out about the mass surveillance program carried out by the NSA, many turned towards the Dark Web for the purpose of keeping their information more private. Even Facebook has launched itself on the Dark Web. With an increase of people using this hidden internet, it could play a major role in the future of internet communications.
Full video can be viewed here https://vimeo.com/172080074
