In the first years of the invention and use of elevators or lifts, it may be a common thought that these four-cornered, tiny, enclosed spaces would surely give a high degree of privacy. But as time went by, technology and modernized living had surely changed too. Who could have imagined that these tiny claustrophobic boxes fitting 15 to 20 people could now give the best stage exposure one would ever want—or not? This holds true especially if you are prominent enough for people to be interested in learning what you are doing in a building lift.
Cameras. Since the invention and the use of closed-circuit television or CCTV cameras, crimes can now be caught happening in isolated building hallways or even in the city streets and can now be easily recorded. This is why it is no longer a question how a four-cornered building lift can actually give you the best recorded performance without the subject even noticing it. This often-mistaken notion of being in a “private” location makes people fall prey to doing the unthinkable in elevators. It’s not surprising then that what you thought was private or confidential can be seen and heard through CCTVs and broadcast to everyone’s television screens.
Case in point was the big media frenzy caused by the elevator camera footage of DJ Solange Knowles, sister of performance prodigy Beyoncé, hitting her brother-in-law Jay Z, with Beyoncé simply looking on. Who would have thought that this supposedly private family situation could bring news to the entertainment world when TMZ sports released the video on national television? This footage did not have audio so everyone else who had seen the confidential video gone public could only surmise what Jay Z did to make his sister-in-law blow up? It also revealed that Jay Z did not hit back and just kept on dodging the hits as his wife, Beyoncé, seemingly looked unperturbed. The situation escalated to the point that security had to force stop the lift on the 12th floor just to get the three stars off in the midst of their fighting. What is even more confusing is that Beyoncé even posted a photo Tuesday after that night of the Met gala event, with a cheery Solange alongside co-stars, but on other photos of the event, the cheery DJ can be seen leaving the event ahead of the star couple with a mask of pure disappointment on her face. All of this “family dirt” would not have gone public had it not been for those elevator cameras.
Following this family fiasco is Baltimore Raven’s football star Ray Rice’s violent video showing a domestic altercation with his fiancée inside an elevator. Ray Rice was caught on camera hitting his fiancée twice and even knocking her out. She was able to dodge the first blow, but the second was stronger and sent her crouching on the lift’s floor. This violent video ended the career of the once much-loved football hero.
With all these scandals and scenarios quickly spreading on national television and discussed over the Internet, surely you would think twice about what you do inside elevators. There are lots and lots of other videos that even show worse scenarios, but whatever the circumstances are, one thing is for sure: these seemingly private enclosed boxes that bring you from floor to floor can surely bring you into other places: media, police, and even your most unimaginable tragic downfall.
Lesson learned. Most importantly, it would be best to bear in mind that you are never really “private” in public, and that you should always just be on your best behavior at all times. Indeed, it is better to be safe than sorry.
*Originally published on The Femme Code January 05, 2015
