Panopticism In The Truman Show

In the film “The Truman Show”, directed by Peter Weir, many techniques are strategically used to position the audience to respond emotionally to Truman Burbank. Techniques such as lighting, music, camera shots and angles are used in three specific scenes throughout the film co-ordinated by the shows director Christof. He uses these techniques to encourage the show’s audience to believe that what they are watching is unscripted and real.

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.

It is used all around the world in many institutions in the hope that perfect order can be achieved within its population. In the 1800’s, an English philosopher by the name of Jeremy Bentham, developed the theory of the “Panopticon”. The theory was initially developed in a hope to resolve an issue brought in by the industrial age where institutions were becoming so large and systematic, that they were no longer able to monitor, and therefore control each one of their individual members. The theory was originally developed to be implemented in penitentiaries due to the rampant behaviour of the inmates. The underlying attribute of the theory left a large tower being built in the centre of the institution that allowed the guards to monitor any one of the inmates at any given time. The crucial philosophy of Bentham’s theory was that the inmates were unable to see back through the tower so essentially they never knew when or if they were being watched. Due to human nature, the prisoners would then have to constantly be under the assumption that they were being watched so therefore their behaviour would reflect on this and would produce both obedient and compliant inmates. It was then further realised by the French philosopher, Michel Foucault, that this theory could be used in any form of institution seeking to regulate human behaviour such as schools and

Utopia - A perfect world. Truman's world was an utopia. Everything, including the weather, was controlled in a huge Hollywood dome. Truman grew up having no idea he was being watched every hour of the day, and that every step he took was being viewed by millions all over the globe. As the show progressed, it became clear how much media influenced Truman's life, and also how Christof played a huge role in Truman's well-being.

Throughout this journey to find the truth, lots of similarities between the life of Truman and Siddhartha can be found. By depicting his life as a parallel version of Siddhartha’s life, the idea of spiritual journey and enlightenment is indirectly shown in the film. Furthermore, The Truman Show can be analyzed as the

Foucault once stated, “Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance; under the surface of images, one invests” (301). By this, he means that our society is full of constant supervision that is not easily seen nor displayed. In his essay, Panopticism, Foucault goes into detail about the different disciplinary societies and how surveillance has become a big part of our lives today. He explains how the disciplinary mechanisms have dramatically changed in comparison to the middle ages. Foucault analyzes in particular the Panopticon, which was a blueprint of a disciplinary institution. The idea of this institution was for inmates to be seen but not to see. As Foucault put it, “he is the object of information, never a subject in

The film ‘The Truman Show’ directed by Peter Weir, shows how society is manipulated by the power of media. We see how Christof creates a ‘perfect’ environment for Truman to live in since his birth to his adulthood without Truman knowing that his life is being watched by millions of people around the world. The society is quickly being manipulated by Christof and doesn't realise that Truman gets no privacy and he is just being used for their entertainment. This is shown through a series of verbal and visual features in this film.

Truman uses introspection to dig deeper into his mind. Truman reflects and looks into himself, his thoughts and desires. This movie is not only a journey of Truman discovering the outside world but also a process of developing his internal mind. In a scene, Truman is looking into his mirror and speaking to himself which is a sign of self-reflection, which Truman needed to get out of this make-believe world. Although, he believes that having the urge of wanting to discover is not childish at all and knows that his curious mind will always be an important part of his life.

This critical definition of the panopticon was popularized by Foucault and later applied to present-day surveillance measures by other social critics. According to Foucault, the panopticon is simply an older form of biopower, that is, a technology of power for overseeing people as a large group. It indicates the control of individual bodies through state discipline. While primarily imposed from external sources, it becomes internalized as the human body progressively complies with indirect regulations and goals. Therefore, the use of biopower has allowed for the rise of modern capitalism and the modern nation state. Ideas of the individual and subjectivity would inherently confront modern capitalism hence the state’s adamant approach to generalize and control entire

Panopticism is a social theory named after the “panopticon”, which was originally developed by the French philosopher, Michel Foucault. Panopticon was first mentioned in his book, Discipline and Punish. In his book, he refers "panopticon" to “an experimental laboratory of power in which behaviour could be modified.” Foucault considered panopticon as a symbol of the “disciplinary society of surveillance” (Panopticism). In the two novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four and Frankenstein, panopticism is an element shown greatly. Though these two novels have many differences, this similarity shared between the two is equally important.

The Truman Show is a non-stop, 24 hour live broadcast of a man named Truman Burbank. Truman has no idea that his life is fake, full of actors, and that there are over 5,000 hidden cameras that document his entire life, although his life and emotions are still genuine. The show is watched by Truman fans all over the world that are addicted and can’t get enough of it. These fans want to know his every move. The creator of the show was a man named Cristof who claims that he knows everything about Truman because he has had him trapped in a fake city called Seahaven in a giant television studio in a super dome his whole life and watches his every move. Everything seems to change when Truman begins to notice strange things happening around him. For example, while on his daily routines to work he sees a hobo who looks exactly like his

In Michael Foucault’s “Discipline and Punish”, the late eighteen century English philosopher Jeremy Bentham's model of Panopticon was illustrated as a metaphor for the contemporary technologies of mass surveillance.

In the film The Truman Show directed by Peter Weir, in a sequence of events in which the protagonist, Truman Burbank, goes missing. Which in effect causes everyone in the vicinity of his last known location to assure search positions in effort to locate and retrieve him.This sequence uses several film techniques to add to the atmosphere and mood of this moments with the intention of comparing these events to ones of WWII concentration camps. This Intention I believe is used to show and compare the conditions in which the protagonist and victims of concentration camps were treated. The techniques that are used to achieve this intention are the lighting,

“We accept the reality of the world with which we’re presented. It’s as simple as that,” quoted Christof (Ed Harris) when asked about Truman’s oblivion to reality versus “the city” surrounding him. When presented with a film like The Truman Show, Peter Weir (Director) raises questions about the “Real”, how does it function in society and why is it seen as a desirable living environment? What are the typical aspects of city life that can be depicted in an artificial space? Midway through the film the hidden cameras on the set revealed that the set is placed in the centre of Hollywood, Los Angeles instead of the man-made creation of Seahaven Island. The main protagonist, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is raised to grow up in a reconstructed world, where his friends and neighbors are all hired actors/actresses without his knowledge. His world is influenced by what is called “New Urbanism” in the 1980s where cities tried to transform back into original middle-class lifestyles to restore cleanliness, walkability and a family-friendly neighborhood. The Truman Show seems to represent a contrasting view on American cities such as New York, Chicago or even Los Angeles, thus also critiques the arguments presented on the negative aspects of city life by theorists such as Tom Slater.

You never know the outcome when people in power keep changing. Each one of these people oppress a different level of control over the nation or group they’re in charge of. In the Truman show, Weir displays ways that power in the wrong hands is bad. This is majorly shown throughout the whole film. As in when Christof, the director of the reality TV