Eye See You
Power manifests itself in a relational manner. Power is a process that exercises a social structure. Michelle Foucault argues that disciplinary power becomes a dominant mean of control within institutions such as prisons and schools and becomes a dominant form of power. Disciplinary power gives ways of controlling the way the body operates which urges docility among individuals. Disciplinary power affects both the mind and the body of the individual. It is not something completely institutional, but has to be continuous among individuals, which creates a new form of individuality. The goal of disciplinary power is to create obedient and docile individuals as a way of self-policing.
In the Discipline and Punish article, Foucault mentions the docile body. Foucault’s states, “that the docile body may be subjected, used, transformed and improved,”[1] in which individuals are under constant surveillance and regulation. With having big brother always watching, it becomes normal and big brother becomes invisible observing the individual’s every move. The Panopticon is also a structure of power, because the more bodies added under surveillance, the more power gained, then the more control is gained over people’s minds. Before getting into Foucault’s discussion on Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, the Professor asked the class to first Google panopticon. When I did that, the repeated image of a prison with a tower in the center popped up. From the image it was if the guard(s) kept watch of the prisoners at a 360-degree angle, however, the prisoners could not see the guard(s). Visibility then becomes a trap, because panopticon secures power that function over permanent visibility. In other words this idea of the Panopticon was meant to keep bodies or individuals subordinate. Within a prison system bodies are subjected under institutional regulation.[2] Foucault quotes,
“So to arrange things that the surveillance is permanent in its effects, even if it is discontinuous in its action; that the perfection of power should tend to render its actual exercise unnecessary; that this architectural apparatus should be a machine for creating and sustaining a power relation independent of the person who exercises it; in short, that the inmates should be caught up in a power situation of which they are themselves the bearers.”[3]
Bentham discussed how power should be visible and unverifiable. The inmate should always see the outline of the tower, but the inmate should never know if he is being watched, but must be assured that he is.
Discipline creates docile bodies, making bodies to become easily managed and ready for the modern society, however, I disagree. Panopticon is the human functioning being under power in individuals’ everyday lifestyles. It is the result of regulation and surveillance. From prison systems of control to different forms of control, technology can now be seen as a new form dominating the minds of society. During the 18th century, technology developed regulating time, bodies and social forces. Due to the power of technology, society cannot live or function, and therefore cannot step into a modern society. Individuals are not able to walk freely, because surveillance cameras are now regulating everyday lifestyle. Modern society should be based on the notion at all citizens are free. However, authority or power manipulates the natural body, which then gets replaced by a more mechanical body. It is the power that transforms bodies into parts of a machine, leaving no room for individuality.
[1] Discipline and Punish; The Birth of the Prison. Foucault, M., pg. 136
[2] Discipline and Punish; The Birth of the Prison. Foucault, M., pg. 136
[3] Discipline and Punish; The Birth of the Prison. Foucault, M., pg. 201