Panopticon – the “perfect prison,” the “ultimate surveillance machine” and the “new model for modern society” (Knachel, par. 1). According to Dictionary.com, “Panopticon” is a combination of the Greek words pan, meaning “all”, and optikon, referring to “sight”. Collectively, the etymology of the word defines panopticon as “all-seeing”.
The Panopticon is an architectural design proposed by Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher. It is a circular building wherein “all parts of the interior are visible from a single point” (Panopticon). This point, in particular, is the guard tower located at the heart of the Panopticon and surrounded by a ring of cells. In this model, the central tower serves as a constant reminder for the inmates, that the guards …show more content…
9-10). This is because the one being observed is entirely visible but can never catch sight of the observer. On the other hand, the observer, the guard of the institution, has the ability to see everything but remains unseen. Therefore, anonymity and uncertainty play major roles in the mechanisms behind the power of the Panopticon.
A popular TV show that we can relate the Panopticon to, is the Big Brother. The Big Brother house is filled with surveillance cameras, placed for the purpose of monitoring the housemates’ every move. However, the question still remains, on whether or not the housemates are showing who they really are to the viewers, or if they are merely showing a façade, designed to please the crowd, in a conscious effort at avoiding eviction. Moreover, if we can still consider it as a ‘reality TV show’.
We can view the Big Brother house as a miniature version of the society. The housemates should obey the house rules all the time, because disobedience will certainly lead to a corresponding punishment. Thus, the Big Brother house effectively illustrates the power of a …show more content…
This is because most people make a habit of posting regular updates about themselves, tweaking their public profiles every now and then, and presenting to the observer, valuable information about their lives.
Social networking sites exhibit certain characteristics that make them a modern-day Panopticon. Just like the original Panopticon, visibility still plays a crucial role in this modern-day Panopticon. Whether it is the visibility sought by a person or the visibility enforced by the social networking site itself, it is visibility nonetheless.
“They are like so many cages, so many small theatres, in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible”(Foucault, par. 9). Social networking sites are the metaphorical prison cells of a virtual community. However, we still have the ability to choose, or at least limit, our ‘guards’ by changing our profiles’ privacy settings.
Inside these metaphorical cells, we are under the inescapable gaze of the public. Conversely, we also function as the guards of other people, monitoring their lives as we scroll through their Facebook profiles and Twitter
The Panopticon is an architectural design proposed by Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher. It is a circular building wherein “all parts of the interior are visible from a single point” (Panopticon). This point, in particular, is the guard tower located at the heart of the Panopticon and surrounded by a ring of cells. In this model, the central tower serves as a constant reminder for the inmates, that the guards …show more content…
9-10). This is because the one being observed is entirely visible but can never catch sight of the observer. On the other hand, the observer, the guard of the institution, has the ability to see everything but remains unseen. Therefore, anonymity and uncertainty play major roles in the mechanisms behind the power of the Panopticon.
A popular TV show that we can relate the Panopticon to, is the Big Brother. The Big Brother house is filled with surveillance cameras, placed for the purpose of monitoring the housemates’ every move. However, the question still remains, on whether or not the housemates are showing who they really are to the viewers, or if they are merely showing a façade, designed to please the crowd, in a conscious effort at avoiding eviction. Moreover, if we can still consider it as a ‘reality TV show’.
We can view the Big Brother house as a miniature version of the society. The housemates should obey the house rules all the time, because disobedience will certainly lead to a corresponding punishment. Thus, the Big Brother house effectively illustrates the power of a …show more content…
This is because most people make a habit of posting regular updates about themselves, tweaking their public profiles every now and then, and presenting to the observer, valuable information about their lives.
Social networking sites exhibit certain characteristics that make them a modern-day Panopticon. Just like the original Panopticon, visibility still plays a crucial role in this modern-day Panopticon. Whether it is the visibility sought by a person or the visibility enforced by the social networking site itself, it is visibility nonetheless.
“They are like so many cages, so many small theatres, in which each actor is alone, perfectly individualized and constantly visible”(Foucault, par. 9). Social networking sites are the metaphorical prison cells of a virtual community. However, we still have the ability to choose, or at least limit, our ‘guards’ by changing our profiles’ privacy settings.
Inside these metaphorical cells, we are under the inescapable gaze of the public. Conversely, we also function as the guards of other people, monitoring their lives as we scroll through their Facebook profiles and Twitter