“Panopticism” by Michel Foucault Essay

Our edict is non bingle of spectacle, scarce of oversight at a lower place the surface of images, one invests bodies in depth behind the great abstraction of exchange, there continues the meticulous concrete training of useful forces the circuits of communion ar the supports of an accumulation and a centralization of knowledge the play of signs defines the anchorages of queen it is not that the beautiful totality of the individualistic is amputated, repressed, altered by our social order, it is or else that the individual is c arfully fabricated in it, according to a self-colored technique of forces and bodies. (240, Foucault)In the essay, Panopticism, by Michel Foucault, he bewilders the argument that we live in a fellowship of surveillance. It is mainly this surveillance that diversitys the basis of authority that draws the individual to believe that the world he lives in is one that is continually honoring over him. This becomes another aspect of power where it un derlies the main desire of breakup as one of the many forms of forces in the Panopticon.The effects of surveillance be clearly discussed in Foucaults essay. The infected population was always notice by presenting themselves at their windows for attendance. If they did not look verboten the window at that time, they would be considered and marked as dead. Their family would be removed, the house would be cleaned out, perfumed, and then, absolute hours later, people would move back in. Obviously, the fear of not being watched would be strong in this situation, declarationing in drastic measures taken once person could not be watched. The plague stands as a representation against which the idea of discipline was created. The existence of a whole set of techniques for measuring and oversee abnormal beings brings into play the disciplinary mechanisms created by the fear of the plague.The Panopticon, is a prison house that is a machine for dissociating the see/being seen dyad in t he peripheric ring, one is totally seen, without invariably seeing. (228, Foucault) This means that those who argon being seen stand not see one another and the one who sees everything can never be seen. For the commentator, the benefit of being observed is that is establishes the ability to control, change and influence the person. The observer separates the individual from the group by observation, thereby making them individually apprised of themselves, further mainly the observer. This helps obscure the concept of cohesion with others and prevents organization and conspiracy. The panopticon computer architecture in which everyone is observed and analyzed is incorporated in a twist that makes these operations easy to perform. The theory of discipline develops out of the need for surveillance shown in the plague. Plague measures were needed to protect society, which as a result allowed the panopticon to operate power efficiently.Foucault makes this assumption around todays society by saying that we are always being watched whether we know it or not. One always keeps an eye over their shoulder as a result of the constant fear that someone is watching them. The power gives those in charge a safety net, making the individual conscious of the charge of a cloak-and-dagger watcher, causing them to find twice before acting.An framework found in todays society would be the thought of Santa Claus and how Santa Claus can be used as a form of power to make children be move over. He knows when you are sleeping. He knows when youre awake. He knows if youve been grim or good. So be good for goodness sake. The song about Santa Claus is more than a Christmas carol, it is used to plant the constant fear in the mind of a child that they are being watched even when they cant see who is doing the watching. The mere threat at Christmas time of this hidden force is enough to keep children well behaved.Another example is that when we are born, we are given a social se curity number and a record of our birth. Information goes into a database that is accessible to many people. The government and mastermind offices in the United States can track us with ease since ever job and school we can attend uses our social security number. in that respect is not a single bank account we can pass or a loan we can receive without people in higher places knowing about it. Even though we can not see people watching us, we are constantly being watched and track by our government. These are examples of many in our society.Also, verbal communication in the Panopticon was not an option. The prisonerswere not allowed to speak to one another. This limit on communication dehumanizes the inmate. If one cannot communicate, not only is new knowledge difficult to gain, but one cannot feel comfort in the simple knowledge that they are not alone.Throughout this endless mind-game, people do not have the idea that they are fabricated and reshaped. Being under surveillance ha s brought discipline. In the central tower, one sees everything without ever being seen. (226, Foucault) Foucault describes the inside of the Panopticon where in the plaza stands a guard. Whenever we walk into a retail store, we are always under observation. There is a circular glass piece on the run of the ceiling with a rotating camera looking down upon each of our movements. We think someone is watching us. And from that, we react with discipline. It has proven to be a form of behavior to give us a guilty conscious or the simple fear of being caught.In conclusion, Foucaults argument may not be easily understood given the difficulty of his writing, but with the examples and proof of such the mind-games that we live in in our society today is a good way of understanding his point of view. Michel Foucaults Panopticism shows that society is under surveillance. The panopticon represents the way in which discipline and punishment work in modern society, where it shows how the proces ses of observation and examination function. Schools, factories, hospitals and prisons resemble each other, not except because they look similar, but because they examine pupils, workers, patients and prisoners, classify them as individuals and try to make them conform to the norm. The fact that the modern citizen spends much of his life in at least some of these institutions reveals how far society has changed. We live in a society that watches over ones movement to seek if their behavior is wrong. It is in ultimate fear and anxiety that we live out our lives everyday.