Panopticism

"The look of a Panopticon"

                To understand what Foucault meant when he explained Panopticism, you first have to realize that it is used only as a metaphor. Foucault portrays his idea of the Panopticon with an example of prisoners being held inside a prison that is built differently from any other regular penal institution. This prison is built so that all prisoners are constantly observed by authorities in a watch tower that is located in the middle of the surrounding cells. What is interesting about Foucault’s example is that a person constantly aware that they are being watched may behave in ways they would not have acted in a private setting. Foucault points out that this metaphor also works with other groups of people such as employees of a company or children in a school. In a Panoticon environment a school boy would have less of an urge to cheat or behave in a bad manner. The reason behind this strange shift in behavioural activities is of the thought that someone could be watching your every move, it makes succeeding a higher priority and the rebellious actions are put into the back of their mind. Having everything you do monitored makes an individual act differently and they will do things in a different manner in order to obey authority figures.

           
With Foucault’s Panopticon, the entity that holds the power is shifted. Foucault is trying to portray power as something that is constructive, rather than something that is destructive. Power in the Panopticon works efficiently and succeeds in making behavioural changes to those under its influence. Power distribution in a Panopticon also exists within inmates. Instead of power held by one particular person, the prisoners now feel a sense of power for themselves. Prisoners realize that at any time they can be watched, and although they do not know when, most would accept that they should act appropriately at all times. They now feel responsible for their actions, and if they choose to disobey, they know they may be disciplined.

            It is easy to compare a Panopticon to present day societies. The idea of a Panopticon in a broad sense is having the feeling of constantly being watched and monitored, much like the societies that our world is made up of today. In societies, we are frequently being watched and observed by others, with or without our knowledge. There is a much greater demand for security in our current societies now than in the past and a lot more people seem to be starting to conform to this idea of constant monitoring, as the realization of others judgment has become clearer. There are many more cameras and systems in our world today that seem to take away our rights to privacy. We now live in societies where it is viewed as normal or acceptable to record videos of random strangers on the street, or take a picture of someone doing something embarrassing and post it for the world to see. In relation to the Panopticon, It is easy to understand how closely related this metaphor is to our societies. Just as the prisoners were observed and judged by watchmen, we are also judged everyday of our lives. We have learned that we have to act according to social norms because if we make a mistake or stand out, there is a threat that someone may be watching and ready to capture your flaw. It is not a comfortable feeling knowing that other people —people that you may not even know— can hold power within your life. Power has now been thrust upon complete strangers, as they can now permanently capture a piece of your life in something as small as cell phone. We have also conformed as a society with this new threat of constant observation. We are now paranoid that someone around us may be judging us at any moment of the day. People are now scared to go out in public with the thought of being made fun of and all of us have changed pieces of ourselves that make us unique in fear of being judged. With all that being said, this idea of the panopticon can be hurtful towards a society. Teenagers have been bullied because of videos that strangers put on the Web, or rumors that have been started about them. The power over your own life may still belong to you, but it is now a sad fact that others may be able to have some control in it. Societies now have a say in how your life may play out, as they may have watched a video of you captured by an unknown person that you were not aware of.

This constant surveillance by phones and cameras in today’s societies is a close link to what I believe Foucault meant when he gave his explanation of the Panopticon. To endure a sensation of always being filmed and judged by others within societies, people try to act in different ways which they believe will be accepted by other people around them. Just as the prisoners would act appropriately so the watchmen would see they are behaving, we know live in a place where we have to behave in certain ways that are deemed as normal.
Related Link: http://home.fnal.gov/~annis/digirati/otherVoices/Lyon.html