Panopticism, surveillance and society.
THE PANOCTICON:
- Designed by Jeremy Bentham in 1791- metaphore for hierarchy structures in contemporary society.
- Michael Foucault ‘Madness and civilisation and discipline.’
- The great confinement (late 1600’s) houses of correction to curb unemployment and idleness, it was considered a social requirement to work, give something back to society, have a purpose. People that were held in these houses were vagabonds, pregnant single women, insane people, tramps, drunks, lazy people anyone who was not considered an asset to society, had no use to us so was locked away.
- Within this confinement the people were made to work, teaching them how to be ‘normal’ and made use of them in general.
- This was a form of repressing the deviant, hiding them away so that no one saw them makes society as a whole look better.
- The problem with this process was that the insane people started to corrupt the sane who were also in confinement. Because of this the asylum was brought in.
- People inside the asylum were treated very different to how they had been in the confinement, here people were given rewards instead of being beaten.
- An asylum was still technically a prison but was disguised as not, the people were treated different and it physically did not look as threatening.
- Criminals were put into a pillory, so that they could be judged by society publicly, in order to demonstrate others exactly what happens if you are a criminal, it was a kind of warning to the society.
- Disciplinary society, discipline is a technology used not only to discipline but also control society and make people learn.
- When bentham designed the panopticon in 1791, each cell was set out individually in a large circle with a tower in the centre which could see every single cell.
- This design was the complete opposite of the design of the dungeon, instead of the prisoners being hid away out of site, everyone can always be seen, they are constantly being observed.
- This internalises in the individual the conscious state that he or she is always being watched, after a while the guards were not even needed as the fear of being watched was still there. Also known as the automatic function of power.
- This was thought to have been a form of psychological torture, the prisoners had no idea that they were being psychologically manipulated.
- Panoptical prisons are no longer made as it is now considered to be inhumane.
- Reforms prisoners and treats patients, the building was created or used in order to help make society better.
- Foucault is describing a new form of social control, open plan offices today work in the same way. There is no where to hide away you are constantly being watched and visible to everyone.
- Pubs too are also more open plan than they used to be, before pubs had small corners or snugs for people to hide away in whereas now, most of the tables can be seen by the bar. Encourages less deviant behaviour. Easier to control people, people begin to self regulate.
- How we can be surveyed alters how we act in society, the idea that we are constantly being surveyed within society changes the way we act and appear to others.
- For example within our own college, there are cameras everywhere to deter people from mis behavining, also the college can access our own desktop at any time in order to see what websites we have been viewing etc. Because we are aware of this we alter the sites we would look at normally as they might not be considered acceptable.
- There is also a strong relationship between power and the body. Power relations have an immediate hold upon the body.
- We change the way we look, move (body language), and even talk.
- This can change disciplinary societies as it can produce docile bodies. This refers to bodies that are easily controlled and that behave in the way that the society wants them to behave.
- Danaher, schirato and Webb 2000.
- Health warnings et in order to keep society going, if we are healthy we can work more and keep society moving forward. Which is a similar idea to what the Nazis believed, if the population is 100% healthy then it therefore is unstoppable in a way.
- The TV is too a tool of social control, we are becoming passive, we are not outside being active or making things we are sitting inside in front of the television. It is a distraction away from real life.
- Power is not a thing or capacity people have but a relation between individuals, which only exists when it is being exercised.
- The exercise of power relies on there being the capacity for power to be resisted.
- The way your face book page looks is also a form of social control; we edit our profile, as we know that people are going to be looking at it, and judging it.
- Bruce Nauman- thinks how you act inside a gallery. ‘Video corridor pieces’ 1960’s
- Chris Burden Samson 1985 you could be the one who brings down the entire gallery, and why would you not want to? Because we are made to believe that a gallery is a very important part of society.
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