Foucault highly esteems Bentham’s Panopticon, which is
verified when he describes this “laboratory of power” as “royal,” “a victory” and ”ingenious.” Foucault also
worships this “power” that the Panopticon exerts as it’s a “subtle coercion,” with
many “great essential functions” that such an “ideal” and “privileged” place of
supervision may impose. And, as an architectural structure, yes, the Panopticon
does create a strategic platform for surveillance. As a chapter in a book
titled Discipline and Punish,
Foucault gives a clear look at a functional structural system for discipline.
Yet, the
horror I felt when reading this work made me want to analyze why I was having
such a repulsion to this idea being presented. Garrett had presented me this
Panopticon idea in a Critical Theory course last year and I did not have this
terrible reaction to the structure. In fact, as my brother is a C.O. at a
Federal Prison, I completely understood the layout, and the reasoning. So, why
am I repulsed now? After looking over what I underlined, I noticed a theme, it was the diction and therefor the tone Foucault created in this chapter, which frightens me.
The actual threat is felt in the
oppressiveness of the “authority’s” rights to instill social moral behaviors
upon the "unknowing."
I
understand completely about contamination and deadly medical issues, which is a great way to begin his
chapter, as it is obvious that some type of quarantine is needed to stop a
plague, and so presenting the reader with a surefire reason to have such a
“surveillance” makes sense. But then to change the dynamic of the issue, to go
from patient to implied ROBOT really exerts hatred on my part. This illusion of
control, which the Panopticon creates, is based solely on the fact that the
criminal, or society member, “thinks” they are being watched. This “fear” of a
consequence keeps their behavior in line.(I understand this concept, as I am
raising a boy). This is NOT my issue
with Foucault’s obsession with the Panopticon. It is when he shows himself to
be obsessed with the “power of the mind over mind” that irks me. By having such
an infatuation to control the masses scares me. Not only is he idolizing the
authority’s position among society, but he is no longer viewing people as
individuals, but as machines, in a “structure” with a “function.”
The fact
that this “surveillance” structure "instigates progress" scares me! If the
watcher is continuously threatened by rules and regulations then this fear of
punishment "to produce" becomes the basis of his actions. There is no longer a
natural desire to perform, which corrupts what is defined by America as the
“pursuit of happiness” or really the universal acceptance of “living” life.
When these watchers are surveyed, they become where they are placed, the
criminal, the patient, the school children. To say that this “discipline”
forces and "increases the skill of each individual, coordinates these skills,
accelerates movements" (on the firing line of military) shows completely that
PEOPLE become machines in a MANufactured system.
To even say
that this structure will help those who have the “ignorance of God”
grosses me out. As if ONE religion, one view of morals, one option of praise
imposed upon others can civilize and satisfy all. Foucault writes that “it is not that the
beautiful totality of the individual is amputated, repressed, altered by our
social order, it is rather that the individual is carefully fabricated in it, according to a whole technique of
forces and bodies.” I would rather carefully fabricate myself thank you to a
structure of my choosing. (Yet, I do believe in conspiracy theories, and know
that since I can afford sushi and holiday vacations, that the illusion that I
am not a slave is instilled in me, but I’m playing along with taxes and
landlords- because I -unlike others in class LOVE VEGAS).
OK. I am
getting anxious, and have surpassed my 500 word count (another means of
surveillance in a way right?) and can’t wait to find out in class tomorrow
night that I have read Foucault’s essay completely backwards, that he is a
loving and caring man whose ideals of the “spectacular manifestations of power”
is just a 19th century satirical essay.
Tylene,
ReplyDeleteFoucault would agree with your second reaction. Didn't you see the word "evil" next to "ingenious"? Have you seen "Orange Is the New Black" on Netflix? It's the best dramatic series I've ever seen, and it takes place in a women's federal correctional facility.
I think you're right, Bill. I'm seeing a lot of shock at Foucault's apparent embrace of this thing, but I think it's more of a matter of style- his praise is almost irony. Think Brave New World. But by dropping it so deadpan, he creates a disturbing tone of acceptance to such an inherently unromantic force. Qualifying that tone with the occasional moral condemnation ("evil") tells us that he is with us as to the horrible implications involved here.
ReplyDeleteTrue that, Luis. Foucault is easy to misread.
ReplyDeleteBill, Foucault used "cruel, ingenious cage" (p. 205), which I am going to believe glamorizes the evil of imprisonment. And no, I haven't seen the series you refer to. I do notice the swaying of tone from a mere journalistic account of portraying specific disciplinary means, but I felt too many times that he enjoyed the authoritarian aspect of his topic.
ReplyDeleteTylene, Thanks for the correction. You might also consider that the purpose of the Panopticon is to control behavior. Foucault believes that anything that does this is implicitly bad because it prevents people from acting out their true consciousness. That doesn't make him an anarchist—actually he was a Marxist—but wants to identify all the microscopic ways that the state and institutions exercise power over our lives that we are not even aware of. There's an very good iTunes podcast on the book "Discipline and Punishment" that puts the chapter we are reading in perspective. It's Lecture 49 in "The Partially Examined Life" series, but the easiest way to locate it is to open iTunes and in the search box type "Foucault." The first podcast that comes up with be it, "Foucault on Power and Punishment,"
ReplyDelete