Review of Spy High Rating *****
This four-part Amazon Prime documentary series is interesting on many levels. First, there is the whole idea that a school district can single out students for surveillance through their school-issued laptops. Then, there is the back-and-forth social media, from support to personal attacks. Add to this the sleezy side of the legal part of the story, and then the racial disparity in the final outcome. There’s also a class and culture component. It all comes together in a fascinating story that changes minute by minute.
It all starts when student, Blake Robbins, is called into the principal’s office to explain a photo taken of him that appears to be a picture of him taking drugs. The problem is not so much the allegation of drug use, it’s that the photo was taken from his laptop computer while he was at home in his bedroom. That sets off a lawsuit where it is learned that the school district had installed security software on school-issued laptops that allows them to operate the webcam remotely.
Through discovery, the lawyer representing Blake learns that the security software was intended to help authorities track down stolen laptops. Instead, they learn that someone at the school district was using the feature to find incriminating images against students they deemed troublemakers. I say someone because no single employee was identified.
The spying story propels the first episode. As word gets out about the lawsuit, Blake receives support from fellow students and others. That support, however, is short-lived as the tides turn against him and his family due to the perception that they are in it just for the money. It swings back in his favor when word gets out that the spying involved more than just Blake and that the number of images collected surpassed 56,000.
Two more students, both minority black students, are added to the lawsuit. The lawyer who uncovers the truth behind the spying comes across as someone genuinely interested in bringing attention to the problem and advocating for his clients. By the end of the series, however, any respect the lawyer may have garnered early on goes out the window when it becomes apparent that his motivation appears to be more about his potential payout than it is about penalizing the school district.
I won’t ruin the ending, but while Blake does get some payback against the school, the disparity in what happens to everyone else involved makes you dislike the legal system.