Foucault’s Panopticism: Which Punishment and Discipline Work in Today's Society

In Michel Foucault’s essay, Panopticism from 'Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison,' he introduces Jeremy Bentham’s panopticon, a circular building with a tower in the center that enabled guards to have a perfect viewpoint of each prisoner in their cell. For Foucault, the panopticon symbolizes the way in which punishment and discipline work in today's society. Foucault’s argument that this approach of using surveillance to watch over people is incorporated in our contemporary society is what led to him developing the Panopticism theory. The idea is that power is not something to hold or control, it is exercised throughout society, and collectively, we follow societal rules, respect policies, and act in such a way because we know that someone is monitoring every move we make. For example, have you ever been looking for something on the internet and a few minutes later see dozens of advertisements pop up for precisely what was searched? In our digital age of media, privacy does not exist. We cannot do anything on a phone, computer or tablet without someone else knowing about it. Individuals post tweets, Snapchat their friends, and upload photos to Instagram without realizing that no matter how many privacy settings are enabled, we are essentially living within an enormous panopticon where everything we do on or off the Internet, is seen.

Performativity

In American philosopher Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble, she defines gender as something that is performed by a person through gestures, movements, and styles. For something to be performative means that it produces a series of effects; we speak, walk and act in such a way that consolidates an impression of a specific gender. Butler investigates into the construction of identities as they are caused by performative actions, behaviors, and language. Butler’s view of performativity and the education of gender parallels to Foucault’s theory on the body. Foucault notes that disciplinary systems of power produce the subject they subsequently come to represent, i.e., the prisoner within the panopticon adheres to standards. Similarly, gender is made up of regulatory practices which people adhere to in order to be considered viable and validated by society. When it is applied to one’s infancy, an example of the notion of gender performativity explores the idea that from the moment a child is conceived, who they are is predetermined. In our society, we learn at a very young age what it means to be male or female. For example, by assigning colors that are only considered appropriate when particular sex utilizes them or providing girls with Barbies and boys with Monster Trucks, we only aid them in recognizing their ‘proper’ places in society. Gender reality is performative which means, it is only real to the extent that it is performed. Therefore, if we simply refuse to implement our gender stereotypes, then they will cease to exist.

Essentially, the Panopticon perfected the enforcement of power by raising the number of people who can be controlled and reducing the amount needed to operate it. Panopticon is a circular-shaped building with a watchtower at its center. Every floor of the building is separated into cells, each containing two backlit windows giving perfect visibility of the inmate to whoever is sitting in the tower. Additionally, shutters prevent the inmates from knowing whether the watchtower is occupied or not, i.e., each prisoner is seen but cannot see or communicate with any guards or other prisoners. It is like a coercive power that forces individuals into acting a certain way and doing things because they have been led to believe that they are on a 24-hour watch. It would be erroneous to say that the guards in the tower have power over the inmates because the power belongs to no one and everyone. The guards maintain the knowledge that they are also being watched by the warden as well as the public who can enter at any time. Additionally, the power operates automatically and is eternally present through the permanent gaze of the watchtower. Due to the omnipresence of the watchtower and the fact that it is impossible for any inmate to know when or if they are being watched, Bentham stated that power is both visible and unreliable. It is not in the hands of the guards; the tower is what holds all the power. Therefore, it does not matter who occupies the watchtower, or even if it is occupied, the inmates come to train themselves to regularly exercise self-restraint because even though they can always see the tower, they can never know from where they are being watched. When looking at the modern panopticon, it is much subtler in its operation. It no longer exists as a massive watchtower in the middle of a circular-shaped prison but has been updated as algorithms, security cameras, and data trawlers. Very little concern has been raised as we continue to lose more of our freedom to this metaphoric, inanimate all-seeing eye.

Communication, More than the Simple Transmission of Messages

The 'Circuit of Culture' was developed as a tool of cultural analysis by theorist Stuart Hall from his encoding and decoding model. As a structure, the ‘circuit’ can be used to modify and employ an in-depth study of culture. The tool allows individuals to look beyond the surface when examining a theory, an image, or a document. In our modern world, media is the most significant tool for communicating, defining, and understanding every aspect of a specific culture. The 'circuit' as a whole is an articulation of ‘moments.’ The theory suggests that in studying a cultural text or artifact, you must look at the five interconnecting 'moments': representation, identity, production, consumption, and regulation. However, this essay will be concentrate on three exclusive 'moments;’ the theories of representation, identity, and regulation. Although these are ‘moments’ that have separate elements associated with them, as a 'moment' in the 'circuit of culture,' they are never entirely black or white. This paper hopes to eradicate the assumption that communication is only a means of sending/receiving messages from one to another and prove that the theories of regulation, representation, and identity within the ‘circuit of culture’ can define communication as more than just the transmission of messages.

The first 'moment' in the 'circuit of culture' to be discussed is Representation. In everyday usage, a 'representation' can be defined as a symbol, a substitute, or a description of something. Hall argues that there is no fixed meaning to any single image or occurrence. The interpretation of meaning varies from person to person and is entirely dependent on the cultural circumstances from which it is being observed. This theory allows media platforms to utilize a detailed set of notions and values in order to depict certain groups within a community. A representation can become a procedure or a tool for media through its reproducible character. There is a parallel between Stuart Hall’s “Encoding/Decoding” and the ways in which the media relays messages to their consumers, followed by said consumers processing the given message. A simple example of this can be explained through the Leonardo Davinci painting, Mona Lisa. While not everyone has access to the original art itself, most people, when asked, have some idea as to what the Mona Lisa looks like. This is to say that individuals have come to identify the Mona Lisa through representations or reproductions of the original, and because of its ability to be copied, the representation becomes easily communicated on a mass level. Mass media plays a significant role in how we see the world as well as shaping our values, beliefs, and ideologies. We are all subtly influenced by the representations we see, hear and read on a daily basis. Representation in the media has the ability to reinforce a positive ideology and understanding or, can have the opposite effect by influencing a very negative and biased viewpoint.

Identity, the second 'moment' in the 'circuit of culture,' is a concept that refers to any represented meaning that is absorbed to create a sense of understanding for an individual or a social group. It influences the beliefs of how people who represent certain cultures are supposed to act and interact with each other. In Paul Gilroy's “British Cultural Studies and the Pitfalls of Identity” he discusses the three themes of identity, self/subjectivity, sameness, and solidarity, which can illustrate how communication is seen as more than just the transmission of messages. The identity of self/subjectivity discusses how people choose who and what they want to be; no one wants to be automatically constrained to a place before them. People are misled into thinking that they are who they are because life has placed them in that specific reality. The second theme concerns an identity that can contain differences, identity as solidarity. Individuals are able to find common interests, but within the common interests, people don’t feel that they have to be the same. The identity of sameness examines how people identify themselves as a part of certain groups that often are associated with nationalities, genders, races or ethnicities. The people within these groups frequently have similar ideologies and tend to shift from the identity of themselves to an identity with the group as a mass unit. These themes can show how meanings are internalized in people since they will usually be restricted to whom they can and cannot interact with based on the group they identify most with. When people identify with these groups, they take on behavioral traits in order to be seen as a conventional members of said group. From the moment of conception, identity and cultural norms are predetermined for a child and will often be ingrained in their minds which causes them to abide by it for life. In Terry Eagleton's 'What is Ideology' he discusses how the ideologies, habits and cultural norms that we have grasped over time make us who we are and are a part of our identity. Among the other members who represent the same identity, these ideas become collective truths and universal beliefs. These identities are not being transmitted through messages but communicated through the ideologies imposed by a particular society and to the people when they decide to be part of it.

Finally, while Regulation may frequently be linked with official law enforcement bureaus and the government, as a 'moment' in the 'circuit of culture,' it is perceived in a much broader sense. It is essentially the rules and mechanisms that different cultures attempt to enforce or not enforce in order to control how people act within that community based on their cultural norms. Recently, societies have had to adapt to many new versions of what is culturally ‘normal’ as well as countless modern ways to address different individuals. People in the LGBTQ community who were once deemed ‘unconventional,’ are now pushing the boundaries on what is considered a gender norm. Gender-neutral pronouns such as using they/them/theirs in the singular or Ze which replaces he/she are an example of one of the most basic ways to communicate your respect for someone’s gender identity. Regulation is talked about in terms of gender identities and traditionally, societies and cultures use gender to identify and predetermine a human’s position in society from the moment they are conceived. We continue to see young girls and boys abiding by these assigned gender-specific roles and although these roles differ depending on upbringing, religion, and individual values, there are popular stereotypes that both men and women are regularly subject to. Theorist Judith Butler elaborates on her rejection that each gender is expected to act in ways that have been regulated through heterosexual stereotypes. Butler theorizes that people should not be allotted a gender at birth but live and grow up as the gender they feel the most significant connection to. However, several cultures will continue to enforce these gendered guidelines to form a common opinion about how each gender should act that can be carried on for generations. As an outcome of being born into groups that live by these gendered ideologies, children are oftentimes subjected to these stereotypes from a very young age.

The Circuit of Culture combines the interconnected ‘moments’ of representation, identity, and regulation as processes through which one can analyze various cultural phenomena including how communication is more than just a transmission of messages. Representation, the complex ‘moment’ in itself, plays a variety of roles and is integrally connected with language, beliefs, culture, and communication which prominently impact how we interpret information as well as the encoded message. It can be understood as the practice through which meanings are established; however, it should not be considered the only or even the main element in this ‘circuit.’ Identity is constantly being shaped by the world around us and often is constructed and defined by what we are not. Regulation refers to the various forms of authority that create and enforce the formal and informal rules that shape and are shaped by culture. The Circuit’s five ‘moments’ have become even further interlinked with the emergence of the internet and is clear that communication is much more than just the simple transmission of messages.

References

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