Panopticon Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In his text Panopticism Foucault deals with a term coined by Bentham. In this order of Panopticon which is described by Foucault, the syndic observes the street, calls every by their name and keeps them under control by taking information by one by. If a person does not comply with these rules or answer when s/he is called, the syndic call them to account for it. The main objective of Foucault, when handling with the term Panopticon, is to analyze the structure of these technics and power while investigating the relation among them. This surveillance process is recorded on an ongoing basis by the reports from the syndics to the intendants, and from there to the magistrates or the major. All the citizens are given a role, they are kept under record during visits even in case of any death or disease. This implementation, which began in a state of emergency, provides the recordings of all the events by proceeding in usual times, too. In this structure depicted by Foucault, one can see obviously the duality of structuralism: for example; in prisons, educational places or the other places (the insane and sane; harmful and harmless; normal and abnormal). Here mentioned architectural structure Panopticon belongs to Bentham. In the center of this building, watchtower, which is by its nature sees everything, is located. One side of the cells is condemned to the incessant surveillance by the tower, while the other half is designed to receive light. Each prisoner in a cage is observed and kept under surveillance by a supervisor as s/he is in almost a theatre stage. Contrary to the before established structures with control and surveillance purposes, what Foucault introduces here is a structure which rotated the functions of the early buildings designed to keep somebody in somewhere dark, and just keep them inside. However, in this new system it is claimed to be the opposite. Still, by maintaining the functions of keeping them inside and in dark place, surveillance is achieved. In fact, because of the incessant supervision by the tower, the psychological affects of the early implementations are created, although in the cells which suggested by the new system. By this new system, they aim to penetrate lives and personality of individuals, while the previous systems aimed at surveillance and keeping them inside. Here people are prevented to escape or harm the other, for example in case they are in a prison. We can assume that Panopticon here intends to make the existence of power appear incessantly. While in previous systems, the mission of supervising of the guards are taken over by supervisors who watch the cells from a central structure. Prisoners here, whoever they are; for example, a student in a school, a worker in a building, a prisoner in a prison, or a patient in a mental hospital, are never going to know that they have been observed and supervise themselves as if they were observed all the time. In this system, power ceases to be individual, hiding behind a automatic image, come to be the secret superior eye view of society. In this system, the absence of power is designed to prevent any obstacles. Furthermore, Foucault states that this system works like a kingdom zoo, but here humans take place of animals and the power machine of king. Unlike the previous system, this system can provide remedies for various specific needs of individuals. Thanks to the automated observation mechanism Panopticon, power will be able to intervene in any kind of threat in every structure of society. However, the Panopticon were not depicted as a dystopic structure, for today's society, through technology our society is logged in every step, its cruelty and the way it creates a cage for people, it is not far from the concept of Panopticon.