Empowerment and disempowerment using the gaze is manifested as one of the fundamental themes in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) as well as Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Written soon after the Second World War, Nineteen Eighty-Four was a novel which portrayed the experiences of Winston Smith, the protagonist and other significant characters who are bound to live within a totalitarian regime in which the powerful forces are punishment and fear. The Handmaid’s Tale, published in 1985 and set in the Republic of Gilead is also a novel which utilizes the notion of a totalitarian regime. Although both novels originate from contrasting literary traditions, they both share the visionary concept of how totalitarian
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The knowledge of ‘being watched’ affects human behavior to a great extent. This ideology is evident in Foucault’s Discipline and Punish as he uses Bentham’s Panopticon to demonstrate the principle. The Panopticon is essentially a model for external surveillance as it consists of a circular building constructed around a tower with guards who can watch the rooms at any given time. This model allows the guards to see the inmate, however, the inmate cannot see the guard or other inmates. This architecture induces good behavior from the inmates as they do not know when they are being watched. Therefore, Foucault demonstrates that the basis behind power is visibility and non verifiability. Mulvey’s article utilizes a psychoanalysis theory as a "political weapon" to discover how the patriarchal consciousness of society ultimately embodies our film watching experience and cinema itself. Mulvey argues that the attraction and popularity of Hollywood films reinforces pre-existing social patterns of fascination and her focus is on pleasure in seeing. She argues that narrative films in Hollywood use women in order to provide a pleasurable experience for men. The gaze mentioned throughout this article is predominantly a male gaze in which females are objectified. The use of Foucault and Mulvey’s respective …show more content…
Similar to this, Nineteen Eighty-Four which is set in London consists of four large buildings towering above the entire city. The government manages to keep great control over this future dystopia using powers such as manipulation and fear. The ever-present dominance of the Thought Police, and the presence of the overpowering ministries and their towers all contribute to the power being handed off solely to the government of this society. The towers are composed of the governmental system and the major ruling departments which are the home to the four Ministries: The Ministry of Love, Ministry of Plenty, Ministry of Truth, and Ministry of Peace. The towers in the city of London are a reminder of the government's continuous ability to watch and observe the citizens at all times and is evident when Winston expresses the confinement, “The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at
The knowledge of ‘being watched’ affects human behavior to a great extent. This ideology is evident in Foucault’s Discipline and Punish as he uses Bentham’s Panopticon to demonstrate the principle. The Panopticon is essentially a model for external surveillance as it consists of a circular building constructed around a tower with guards who can watch the rooms at any given time. This model allows the guards to see the inmate, however, the inmate cannot see the guard or other inmates. This architecture induces good behavior from the inmates as they do not know when they are being watched. Therefore, Foucault demonstrates that the basis behind power is visibility and non verifiability. Mulvey’s article utilizes a psychoanalysis theory as a "political weapon" to discover how the patriarchal consciousness of society ultimately embodies our film watching experience and cinema itself. Mulvey argues that the attraction and popularity of Hollywood films reinforces pre-existing social patterns of fascination and her focus is on pleasure in seeing. She argues that narrative films in Hollywood use women in order to provide a pleasurable experience for men. The gaze mentioned throughout this article is predominantly a male gaze in which females are objectified. The use of Foucault and Mulvey’s respective …show more content…
Similar to this, Nineteen Eighty-Four which is set in London consists of four large buildings towering above the entire city. The government manages to keep great control over this future dystopia using powers such as manipulation and fear. The ever-present dominance of the Thought Police, and the presence of the overpowering ministries and their towers all contribute to the power being handed off solely to the government of this society. The towers are composed of the governmental system and the major ruling departments which are the home to the four Ministries: The Ministry of Love, Ministry of Plenty, Ministry of Truth, and Ministry of Peace. The towers in the city of London are a reminder of the government's continuous ability to watch and observe the citizens at all times and is evident when Winston expresses the confinement, “The Ministry of Love was the really frightening one. There were no windows in it at