The Panopticon

The following is a short paper written for my Political Geography class in response to Michel Foucault's Crime and Punishment. Additionally, I watched a Swiss documentary entitled The Panopticon by filmmaker Peter Vlemmix which can be found here! Feel free to leave thoughts/comments/questions etc.

It seems since the beginning of modern societies there has been a question of how to control the people who are a part of them in attempts to create a Utopian society. Governments, from monarchs to democracies, have used different techniques to accomplish this goal. In the beginning there was the spectacle; those suspected of committing crimes were publicly humiliated, beaten and often killed. This form of punishment, however, had a downside. It often led to public protests in which common citizens demanded the release of the accused and physically assaulted the executioner. In the end, instead of instilling fear, this technique perpetuated deviance. At the end of the 17th century societies became increasingly mechanized as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of capitalism. People began questioning the State and whether or not those in power were always correct in their assumptions and actions. As the judicial system weakened and its effectiveness waned, society transitioned from one of torture and punishment to one of discipline. Michel Foucault describes this process in detail in his book Discipline and Punish. With the rise of capitalism the focus of worship turned to the economy. Torture wasn’t economical nor was paying an executioner. Prisons solved this problem. Hiding the deviant members of society away, while reforming them to function in the newly mechanized world, brought States closer to utopian states. And with the creation of prisons came the Panopticon; the unequal gaze, the individualized, mechanized, orderly architectural system whose purpose was to ensure those being disciplined internalized their fear of punishment and as a result, became docile workers that the new world demanded. The Panopticon’s purpose varies drastically from the perspective of the prison, the prisoners and finally, society as a whole. Slowly, its presence has infiltrated every aspect of human life to the point where the modern society itself is a Panopticon, constantly instilling the fear of being watched and caught, thus, creating docile citizens fit to function in factories, schools and militaries.

The Panopticon was created by Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher turned political theorist. This architectural concept was meant to be applied to all orderly aspects of life; schools, hospitals, military organizations and the like. However, it became most useful in the prison setting. A circular structure made up of individualized cells with one central tower makes it possible for the guard in the center to see every inmate and any time. For the prison, this system is economically sound, as there only needs to be a few guards on duty at a time. Furthermore, it makes seeing all employees of the prison (doctors, nurses, teachers, warders) possible so the guard can not only judge the behavior of the prisoners but the employees as well. This system also allows for a decrease in the number of people able to exercise power and since those few powerful guards can intervene at any moment, the Panopticon creates something more powerful than ever imagined: an internalized discipline. With the constant possibility of being watched, prisoners are always fearful of deviance and thus, reform themselves by always acting according to the norms of society and the prison. They internalize the fear, becoming docile and “normal”. From the perspective of the prison, the Panopticon creates individualized, orderly beings.

For the prisoners, the Panopticon is a human test lab. It is anxiety. “Big Brother” brought to life. This system steals an individual’s soul and denies them basic humans rights of privacy and property. Prisoners become lab rats to test new psychological and medical techniques and drugs on. They are subject to constant observation, analysis and labeling. Constant supervision, as previously stated, forces the prisoners to act according to societal norms every waking moment. When an individual cannot be sure whether he is being watched or not, it is likely (s)he will consistently avoid deviance. Fear and individuality are internalized, thus creating human machines perfect for functioning in modern, industrial societies. The prisoner loses himself and becomes a means of production, a docile robot, data on a piece of paper. First (s)he limits his/her actions, then words, until eventually the individuals thoughts are limited and controlled.

From the perspective of society as a whole the Panopticon is a perfect way to ensure State power. This system creates automated individuals ready to perform their duty in the modern industrial age. It functions to create a Utopian society, to eliminate deviance and create an entire population of human puppets. The Panopticon enforces hegemonic ideals, beliefs, attitudes and actions by making individuals so afraid of the threat of discipline that the mere thought of deviance is eliminated entirely. There becomes only one type of acceptable behavior and way of thinking which is entirely dictated by the State. The world we live in today acts as the all-encompassing Panopticon. Street cameras, GoogleEarth, cell phones, GPS devices etc. combined with NSA tracking make the world we live in one in which we are constantly watched. Our behavior on the street, in schools, at work, and even in the privacy of our own homes is recorded and analyzed by those in power. Schools, military organizations and hospitals work to create a homogenized, docile population and when this is paired with constant supervision, our actions, words and thoughts become limited just like those of the prisoner.

Despite warnings from philosophers, authors and social theorists, the modern world has become the ultimate Panopticon. This control system dictates every aspect of human life from what is considered acceptable behavior to what is considered cool, it defines social hierarchies and keeps racism, sexism and homophobia in place, despite advancements in human understanding. It objectifies humans to the point where we are no longer creative beings capable of anything. We are controlled and kept in our tiny boxes (or cells) where those in power would like us to stay. Although I would like to believe revolt and revolution are possible, when every aspect of life is recorded and kept as data, I believe at this point those in power would make it entirely impossible.