Foucault's Panopticism

While being visible, the prisoner's in the cells would be unsure if those in the guard tower were consistently watching them from the same place, and this combination of fear and confusion would cause them to become docile and complaint to the will of the wardens. French philosopher Michel Foucault argues that the Panopticon model is how power functions on all levels of society, and according to his thesis, power depends on a combination of isolation and ignorance of the nature and extent of the power's control (Foucault). Relating to this definition of power the differences between the “subject,” or the individual subject to a greater power, and the “self,” the self-determined individual free of power's constrictions and a comparison to a larger power (Nealon&Giroux). In the context of Bentham and Foucault's work, the individuals occupying the cells of the Panopticon are subject to those in the guard tower—literally in the structure and in the structure as applied as a metaphor for power in society. The principles presented here as to how power functions and protects itself can be applied to both novelist Bram Stoker's Dracula and abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth's speech Ain't I a Woman?.

Panopticism is a social theory named after the Panopticon, according to Foucault, his describes a watch tower in a prison and he thinks Panopticism is how people act different when they’re being watched. Rayner perspective on Panopticism is how we can use social media to our advantage. In this essay, I will analyze both Foucault and Rayner perspective on Panopticism and will determine the rhetorical appeals of both writings.

In order to understand the power structures present in her description of life as a low-wage worker in Nickel and Dimed, we need to first understand Michael Foucault’s philosophy regarding discipline and surveillance. Rather than perceive power and discipline as strictly political and authoritative, Foucault believes that society is structured in a way in which constant observation disciplines us to abide by social norms and expectations. This constant surveillance is omnipresent in the sense that observation occurs in all realms of society, from education to sexuality. To further explain this idea of disciplining through constant inspection, Foucault describes Jeremy Bentham’s panoptican, a type of prison in which

To start, is Foucault 's Panopticism. Panopticism uses the idea of Bentham’s Panopticon to elaborate the disciplinary ideas that he is trying to explain. The Panopticon is an “all seeing” structure that makes observations without the people ever knowing when they were being watched, even though it is clearly visible (Foucault, 204). Its gaze can be upon anyone, from a “madman, a patient, a condemned man” (Foucault, 200). These features allow Panopticism to be a passive power, rather than an active one. With this in mind, power is shifted from the hands of the individual to the anonymous “supervisor” of the Panopticon (Foucault, 200). This method of observation facilitates the transformation of individuals to controllable individuals (Foucault, 205).

Everyone has to have courage at one point in their life; whether it is to stand up to a bully or to overcome a personal problem. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characters are forced to act courageous. This book is about two siblings going through life, facing problems that result in them to act courageous. The book takes place in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama, in the era of the Great Depression. To Kill A Mockingbird shows the theme of courage in three forms; moral, physical, and mental by each character standing up for what is right.

The Panopticon is a building which has an annual part in the periphery and a tower in the centre. Next to omitting little details its most important feature is the ability to see into every cells without being visible. “The panoptic mechanism arranges spatial unities that make it possible to see constantly and to recognize immediately.” (Calhoun et al., 2007: 209) The consciousness of being watched make people put on their best behaviour, their best way of acting thus the inmates do not commit any further crimes as it usually occurs that could happen without being watched.

     The Panopticon, a prison described by Foucault, “is a machine for dissociating the see/being seen dyad: in the peripheric ring, one is totally seen, without ever seeing” (321, Foucault). This literally means that in the formation of the panopticon those who are being seen can not see one another and the one who sees everything can never be seen. That is the most important tool of the panopticon. Foucault makes this assumption about today’s 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

The author of the essay “Panopticism”, Michel Foucault gives his opinion on power and discipline in Panopticism. He describes Jeremy Bentham’s “Panopticon”, a tower in the centre of a room which has vision to every cell, generalized for prisoners. In simple words, it functioned in maintaining discipline throughout the jail. It’s most distinctive feature was that; prisoners could be seen without ever seeing. Prisoners would never really know when they are watched and when not. They are always under the impression that someone is keeping an eye on them continuously and if anything goes wrong, or they make mistake, they would be punished severely. Since, a prisoner would never know when he/she is watched, they have to be at their best. In a

Surveillance is being used to control the behavior of, label, and hierarchize people. In Discipline & Punish, Michel Foucault describes how the first prisons use surveillance to watch the prisoners in the 1600’s. As quoted from Foucault (1977), “He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, and never a subject in communication” (p. 200). Foucault describes his idea of the panopticon. There is a ring of prison cells that surround a guard tower. From the guard tower, it is possible to see into all of the prison cells. The prisoners couldn’t see the guards in the guard tower, but the guards could always see the prisoners. This

You can physically see and know that she is in the hospital, but you never know when she will read the logbook, when she will talk to patient and when she will talk to the orderlies. This creates a panoptic environment, which verifies that Michael Foucault’s panoptican theory is true but not ultimately perfect because of other underwritten circumstances such as cruel and unusual punishment. In a perfect world panopticans have a certain degree of power, with one person being the central power that sees everything; and has the ultimate control over everyone in the institution. All panopticans are not perfect though, just like a pyramid or Ponzi scheme; a panoptican in any shape or form will be destined to collapse and fall hard! The person running the panoptican will lose their power like a cult leader whose cult just collapsed and lost everything. A panoptican will never be the answer to society’s problems. Foucault even says that a panoptican is not perfect; the system of panoptic institutions does not work the way we think it does. The idea of a circular shaped building, so that everyone can be watched and kept under constant control; with the fear of getting caught doing something wrong and being punished. Will fear almost anyone who thinks about it, according to Foucault in a panoptican. In an “enclosed, segmented space,

According to Foucault, power does not belong to the individual, but to the system, to the institution. In his essay on Discipline and Punish, Foucault presents his idea of the panopticon mechanism, a mechanism in which visibility is a trap. With little importance over the actual individual in the role of the observer or of the observed, the object of the system is total power over the observed. Due to the unique shape of the panopticon, there are no corners and thus no blind spots for the observed to hide in. The private space is replaced by the public one. Furthermore, as final evidence of total control, the observed never knows for sure if they are being watched or not, as they can’t see the observer (Foucault 200-205). Foucault further argues that this system is followed by any government institution, placing the society under permanent observation. Individuals might try to evade the system, but achieving liberation and freedom is not something that anyone could do. Dostoevsky’s famous novel, Crime and

Foucault's "Panopticism" (1979) is a careful piece that talks about how a panoptic framework would impact culture, society, the political, and individuals. Foucault describes panopticon is to “induce the inmate a state of conscious and visibility that assures the automatic function of power.” Foucault mentions, surveillance has a lasting effects, regardless of the fact that it is discontinuous in its activity; that the perfection of power ought to render its real unneeded practice. The Inmates are in a dominating circumstance that they are them-selves the bearers. Foucault (201, 202–3) also mentions that "He who is subjected to a field of visibility, and knows it, expect responsibility regardless of the constrains of power; he makes them play spontaneously upon

Much change in the global media by means of mergers and increased concentration has resulted in the limited diversity of content. In addition, the media consolidation does not only effect the content but the ownership and employment opportunities. Winseck (2011) and Havens (2014), both discuss the media mostly in the United States and other parts of the world; comparisons can be drawn to relate to Canadian media. Different theories have been developed around the capitalistic nature of the media corporation on the creativity and diversity of media (Havens, 2014). The following will examine the current standings of the large media corporations in the United States and other countries. In addition, the focus will be put upon the effects of consolidation

“The Panopticon functions as a kind of laboratory of power,” Foucault declares; indeed, much knowledge can be ascertained by “penetra[ting] into men’s behavior” (379).

In the article (A Global Language English Language Essay) the author explained what a global language, and what makes a certain language to be a global language. The author believes that English is a global language. There are many factors that coincide with the author’s opinion. The author had a lot of points that proved that English truly is a global language. The author demonstrated his facts with a cohesive argument, using logos and ethos, however due to this being a more research-based article, there is little to no pathos. In the following paragraphs I will analyze the article and show what kind of rhetorical appeals the author used to further prove his argument.