The Theory Of The Panopticon

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.

The fiction book I’m reading is titled The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. It’s the story of a young girl named Frankie who attends a boarding school and the misadventures she gets into with her boyfriend and the other members of the Basset Hounds secret society. One of the classes Frankie takes presents a very interesting topic, a concept known as “The Panopticon”- an idea for a circular prison thought up by Jeremy Bentham. It was designed so that the inmates could be observed at all times but would not know when. Although it was never built, the idea was so that the prisoners would be so afraid of constant surveillance that they would behave, in fear of being caught. That way, they wouldn’t actually need to keep an eye on anyone because they would essentially

The Holocaust was a genocide that occurred under Adolf Hitler’s rule in Germany where almost six million Jews were killed in camps and others were worked to death which aimed to fulfill Hitler’s idea of the purification of race. Primo Levi, a survivor of the Holocaust wrote the book Survival in Auschwitz (to illustrate) the system inside the camp and his experience as a prisoner. Capitalist modernity is the combination of capitalism and the ideas of modernity. In a capitalistic modernized society, people are exposed to the ideas of enlightenment, temporality, panopticon and capitalism. The ‘uniqueness and normality’ of the camp reflects the ideas of capitalist modernity as it is in the society beyond the electric barbwires of the concentration

Within the workshop there is a need for “intense, continuous supervision” (174). Just as in prison, where each and every action of an inmate is monitored, each and every action of the worker is noted. If a worker is not performing the correct task, it takes away from the economical profit of the machine it becomes a managers job to put the worker back into place. Workers and prisoners alike are disciplined by the constant thought of observation. At any time they could be under inspection. Foucault brings up Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon as the most effective institution to control and shape docile

The collection of metadata and recordings of phone calls from citizens has restrained the “intellectual diversity and eccentric individuality” that is bestowed onto American citizens. In “Surveillance and Intellectual Privacy” written by Neil M. Richards illustrates the effects of privacy invasion, which is a threat to democratic self-governance because “surveillance deters eccentric or deviant behavior” which is the basis of new ideas and intellectual thought. Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon is an example of the confined sense of freedom that Americans feel today. In the Panopticon, inmates were constantly monitored by guards in a tower giving access to the prisoners activities, this surveillance conformed prisoners actions desired by

In this passage, power implies that it’s the very essence of human nature. Something that sway’s us like tree’s to the wind. Most of us don’t even notice it since it’s so ingrained in our individuality. As things go most of the power go to the few, since Americans have set it in stone decades back. I can see most of this changing with the new revolutionary ideas that are coming to light with the newer generations. But as it states with the Panopticon, it’s more of a state of mind. That watchful eye in the sky that can take your freedom away by breaking a law or two. Consequence’s that have been placed in motion to keep its flock of sheep in its pen. There are upsides to the point of the Panopticon, gives anyone with any ill will that has a

Ruman begins by defining some key terms, such as “gaze” and “panopticon”. He looks at ‘gaze’ in the cultural sense, not only defining it as “the desire of one person that constructs the identity of another who is gazed”, he explains through which means the gaze is implied and employed, in films, posters, school, literature, media, newsreels, newspaper reports, consumer goods, advertising, and pop culture. After defining the term ‘gaze’, Ruman explains the concept of the panopticon, created by Michel Foucault. The panopticon is a type of model for a prison, in which the prison guard or overseer is in the center of an array of open yards and prison cells. From any angle, the guard can see, ‘gaze’, or ‘look at’ any of the prisoners. Whether or not the guard is actually judging each move of the prisoners matters less than the fact that they are completely and constantly under watch, with every move the possibility of scrutiny. This idea of a panopticon creates a “persistent self-monitoring and self-regulation”, causing the prisoners to internalize the disciplinary regime that they are under. The idea behind the gaze and panopticon is that through the both of them, they create an overwhelmingly

Postmodernism makes the most absurd ideas come to life, and, in my opinion, the concept of the Panopticon is one of them. Started as an architectural design, it found its way to evolve as a framework for social control and surveillance. Humans strongly believe that we live in the times when the individual has more freedom than ever. In fact, our society is becoming more resembling of a prison, the Panopticon to be more precise, than it was before.

How does the panopticon function to create self-disciplining and docile subjects? Note one way in which this social design works to create self-policing subjects and one instance in which it fails.

Schools, factories, hospitals and prisons today resemble each other, they are fit into the format of a panopticon structure, examining pupils, workers, patients and prisoners at any given time. When we enter a building, make a phone call, purchase with a credit card, or visit a website, we are being watched, if not recorded, analyzed. The increasing use of surveillance by commercial and government entities caused the technology to become omnipresent in our lives. With the name of

In the article The Panopticon in Encyclopedia of Criminal Justice Ethics, Karol M. Lucken described "Panopticon" the idea of Jeremy Bentham, father of "Panopticism", a social-philosopher as "a power of mind". Farther than schools, workplaces, poorhouses, and hospitals which kinds of social institutions Bentham believed his Panopticon could be used for, as society has progressed, the Panopticism has applied into other institutions such as online social networking service, or Retail Corporation. Indeed, based on the Panopticon, Target, a retail corporation is consolidating their power under surveillance by the cover of coupon advertising.

The panopticon is a type of institutional building introduced by Jeremy Bentham. To gain a mental picture of the design of the panopticon, imagine a circular building with a tower in the very center. This tower can be referred to as an inspection house. The purpose of this tower is solely for round-the-clock surveillance of inmates, ensuring they can always be seen. Observers are able to see all individual cells to monitor behavior at all times. The catch is that the prisoners are never able to tell when they are being watched. They are also unable to communicate with fellow prisoners as the sidewalls cut off that possibility of communication. Bentham came up with the principle that power should be visible and unverifiable. “He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never the subject in communication” (264). The prisoners are able to see the tower but have no way of knowing from where they are being observed. This well thought-out design of the panopticon maximizes efficiency and ensures control.

Whereas those under surveillance, accommodated in separate, individual cells, are seen without witnessing the person who is observing them. Initially meaning the few saw the many (Mattelart, Taponier, and Cohen, 2010). The theory/theories of surveillances put forward by the panopticon are largely suggestive and provide some conceivable explanations of how some surveillance works, through to the present. Noting that the synopticon is also a key characteristic in today’s modern society (Lyon, 2010). Mathiesen (1997) conversely introduced the idea of the ‘Synopticon’ as an expansion from the panopticon. The synopticon is momentous in relation to celebrity culture as it implies that growing progressions in technology and the mass media increasingly mean that the many have been enabled to see the few. Mathiesen relates particularly to the many seeing the few as VIP’s, the reporters and significant to this critical reflection the Celebrities. The journey from the panopticon to the synopticon has almost caused an emergence of new class in the public sphere and caused a transferal of normal surveillance in today’s society (Mathiesen,

Foucault idea of the panopticon is to make power in society more powerful and effective. Creating a system that ensures a functioning way of how the people do things. Having been under surveillance to protect the need for anything that’s disorderly. But also creating too much security and restraint for individuals. Thus causing convenience but also a downfall towards individuals.

In today's world we use our screens to hide behind, from making avatars, to Facebook, to simply adding a friend on any media site. We constantly avoid human interactions, using media as a front. Hiding Behind the Screen was written by English philosopher Roger Scruton. This article goes into great depth about Scrutons views on the use of technology. A title such as Hiding Behind the Screen can catch the attention of pretty much anyone, mostly more of the younger crowd. The words “hiding” and “screen” already sets up that this article is going to be about social media in some form. From the beginning to the end of the article his usage in strong arguments,words, and information appeals to his readers. Listing more and more ways the media plays tricks on our perception of the world around us.