Society's Panopticon

The concepts that eventually led to the creation of the Panopticon prison may have had their origins in the era of the black plague. When the plague was seen in a town, the residents would be forbidden to evacuate – with the consequence of death if disobeyed. Besides that, the residents would often be subjected to a lockdown, in which they were not allowed to go outside their own homes. Syndics kept watch over every street, and anyone they caught trying to venture outside their house was killed. The syndics may not have been on constant guard during these lockdowns, but the townspeople could not risk taking a step out of their homes for fear that a syndic would happen to be watching.

This strategy of basing fear on the notion of being watched is exactly how Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon prison worked. The prison was designed so that the levels of cells ran in a ring around a large tower where the guards were. The prisoners would be clearly seen from the tower, but, using backlighting, the effect was created of the prisoners being unable to see clearly whether or not anyone was actually in the tower. As Foucault states in his essay “Panopticism,” the prisoner “is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication.” The prisoners, in this position, became very conscious of a lack of personal power. In the Panopticon, the prisoners never needed chains, bars, or heavy locks to keep them docile and in their cells – the threat of being watched was enough. This, along with a decreased need for guards, made the Panopticon prison very efficient.

The Panopticon design relates to today’s society in that people often are under some kind of surveillance. With today’s technology, cameras have gotten smaller and more precise, and images are heavily relied upon. Our computers act also in a way that is similar to the Panopticon; most of us have been warned that our activities online are being monitored – we all see this when we get pop-up adds on our computers advertising items that we had previously searched for.

Is this surveillance causing a similar response as that in the Panopticon prison? Would people behave differently if they weren’t reminded that their actions may be recorded? There are positive benefits that come out of the knowledge that people are being watched. Stores that set out security cameras where people are sure to see them tend to have fewer shoplifters – the cameras remind the customers that they are seen. But, are there negative consequences, also? Our country places much emphasis on being seen. Most U.S. citizens carry at least one form of identification with their picture on it. In a way, it seems like your picture proves your existence as a citizen. Authorities frequently use pictures to identify people; at routine traffic stops, the police officer will first ask to see a driver’s license, and will then check the picture to make sure you are who you are supposed to be. As a citizen, your face is in various records so that you can be identified. This is not as extreme as the Panopticon prison, but sometimes it is disconcerting to know that you are always seen.