Extreme Close-Up (1973)

 Extreme Close-Up (1973)

aka

Sex Through a Window

Writer: Michael Crichton 

While doing a story on the intrusion of surreptitious surveillance in peoples’ private lives, a television reporter rents some surveillance equipment to get a feel for what it’s like to spy on people. When he finishes his report, he returns to the equipment rental store to discover that he was too late and the store is closed, so he’ll have to keep the equipment for another day. As a lark he sets up the equipment to “spy” on the residents of a nearby building, but soon finds himself caught up in the dark world of voyeurism, begins to descend further and further into that world and realizes that it is becoming a disturbing obsession with him. (IMDB frankfob2)

Released in 1973 the film in part deals with the growing invasion of privacy. It seemed like a much more innocent time. COINTELPRO had been exposed a year or two earlier but it could be argued that it was viewed more as dirty tricks than spying. At that time things like the bodily search of a drug test before a person could work, or the massive data collection and spying justified under the Patriot Act would have seemed like something out out of a frightening work of fiction.

As mentioned a few times in the film, people just don't care.