The idea that is presented in the two pieces of writing (Kaschadt, 'Jeremy Bentham - The Penitentiary Panopticon or Inspection House') and (Foucault, 'Panopticism') can both be applied and are very relevant to today's contemporary society. Both of these texts strike me as a functional design more than a scientific experimentation.
Recently watching a motion picture starring Will Smith as the main character named Robert Dean in 'Enemy of the State', (Rethinking Architecture: 1997, p356) Foucault states that, "in the seventeenth century, there were measures to be taken when a plague appears in town", this film can directly apply to Foucault's statement. In the film Robert Dean is a successful attorney and his life gets turned upside down when he unknowingly receives a video tape containing damaging evidence against very important and powerful people. On this tape, it shows a murder of a congressman being killed by members of the NSA (National Security Agency) for refusing to sign a new legislation that allows the government to increase their power of surveillance over the nation and its people. Robert is then being tracked by the NSA after they learnt that he holds this damaging evidence. In the case, Robert Dean is the leper, the plague is the tape and the syndic is the NSA. As Dean is now out of authority, he is now condemned and this results in damaging his career as an attorney, his friendships and his family. Though he isolated himself, he could not get away from the surveillance of the syndics (NSA). Luckily for Dean, he finds himself a saviour who is known as Brill, he can also be regarded as a 'leper'. Brill presents this idea to Dean that he's has been infected and the NSA have fully taken control of his every move, Brill is a professional who has learnt over time how to avoid this gaze. This relates to Foucault's writings about lepers and what happened to those infected. The leper could infect others with the disease at any given moment, thus forcing Dean into isolation. On the Panopticism extract (1997, p 357 Foucault states "Each street is placed under the authority of a syndic, who keeps it under surveillance; if he leaves the street, he will be condemned to death.". In running from the agency, the consequences Dean faces not only changed his life, but also for his friends and family, this resulted to his Ex lover/business partner being murdered. He is put through hell by this idea of a faceless gaze, whether it is through security cameras or through tapped phones Dean and the entire population are being watched.
People are fully aware of this gaze and therefore this alters people's behaviours when they are in public, Foucault describes this idea of the faceless gaze when he writes about the Panopticon. Bentham also wrote on (Kaschadt, 'Jeremy Bentham - The Penitentiary Panopticon or Inspection House 2002, p 117 "People who constantly think they are being watched because they know they are under surveillance but cannot control exactly when they are really being observed would have to lose the possibility and finally the desire of wrongdoing".
In Conclusion: The idea presented in Foucault's 'Panopticism' and the motion picture 'Enemy of the State', teaches us that although it can be beneficial to be under a watchful eye for a sense of security, too much power of surveillance can invade people's personal lives and in the case of Robert Dean, it ruined his.
Bibliography:
Foucault, M. 'Panopticism (extract)' in Leach, N. (ed.) (1997) Rethinking Architecture: A reader in cultural theory, London and New York, Routledge, p 356-367
Kashadt, K. 'Jeremy Bentham: The Penitentiary Panopticon or Inspection House' in Weibel, Levin and Frohne (eds.) (2002)Ctrl [space]: Rhetorics of Surveillance from Bentham to Big Brother, Cambridge Massachusetts, The MIT Press, p 114-119
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