Panopticism, developed by Michel Foucault, is a social theory that someone is always watching you, which in turn causes you to discipline yourself. According to Foucault, panopticism would be defined as “the general principle of a new ‘political anatomy’ whose object and end are not the relations of sovereignty but the relations of discipline” (209); it focuses more on people governing themselves and each other when it comes to what’s right and wrong due to the threat of constant surveillance and subsequent fear of getting caught. Therefore, if a person knows they are being watched—or at least thinks they are, they are far more likely to refrain from partaking in criminal activities. An example of this would be stopping at a red light. With the invention and use of traffic light cameras, you never know when you’re being watched on the road. For that reason, people tend to be far more cautious when driving, especially when approaching red lights due to the potential of getting in trouble; they begin to self-police themselves subconsciously.
This theory was inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s theorization of the panopticon, a building that is circular in shape which contains an observation tower in the center, from which people can see out but those outside cannot see in. The best example of this would be a prison; the guards are located in the central tower, while the inmates are in their individual cells, unable to neither the guards nor other inmates.
The 2002 Steven Spielberg-directed film Minority Report starring Tom Cruise is the perfect example of panopticism in recent popular culture. The movie is set in the year 2054, where murderers are prematurely apprehended due to a specialized police department called “PreCrime”, which uses psychics known as “precogs” to provide them with foreknowledge on criminal activity that has yet to occur. From this information, the members of this futuristic police force learn not only who will be committing the murder, but how many people will be killed and more importantly how long they have to stop the act from happening. They are then able to go to the scene of the future murder and put a stop to it before it occurs, thus preventing the crime.
There is a scene in the movie in which Captain John Anderton (Cruise) visits the Hall of Containment—where would-be murderers are held after they are taken into custody. Anderton goes there to find out information that can help lead him to learning why he sees himself killing someone in the future. The hall is set up like a panopticon: Gideon, the warden (played by Tim Blake Nelson), sits in a confined, enclosed space in the center of the room, watching over the prisoners who have been forced into “halo sleep” in which they are unconscious. If someone were to try to break them out, they would be seen (if not already stopped by the PreCrime unit) because Gideon is always there to monitor them.
I have included three videos of the film related to the topic, the first two illustrating the utopian panopticon and the third showing the panopticon as described by Foucault and Bentham, to fully display how the Minority Report represents panopticism. The movie as a whole is a wonderful depiction of what some would consider a utopian panopticon. It creates the perfect situation in which people are watched over and crime is nipped in the bud before it happens. The specific scene in which Anderton visits the Hall of Containment portrays the physical aspect of the panopticon, whereas the movie in its entirety is a utopian example of how panopticism theorizes that someone is always watching you.
This theory was inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s theorization of the panopticon, a building that is circular in shape which contains an observation tower in the center, from which people can see out but those outside cannot see in. The best example of this would be a prison; the guards are located in the central tower, while the inmates are in their individual cells, unable to neither the guards nor other inmates.
The 2002 Steven Spielberg-directed film Minority Report starring Tom Cruise is the perfect example of panopticism in recent popular culture. The movie is set in the year 2054, where murderers are prematurely apprehended due to a specialized police department called “PreCrime”, which uses psychics known as “precogs” to provide them with foreknowledge on criminal activity that has yet to occur. From this information, the members of this futuristic police force learn not only who will be committing the murder, but how many people will be killed and more importantly how long they have to stop the act from happening. They are then able to go to the scene of the future murder and put a stop to it before it occurs, thus preventing the crime.
There is a scene in the movie in which Captain John Anderton (Cruise) visits the Hall of Containment—where would-be murderers are held after they are taken into custody. Anderton goes there to find out information that can help lead him to learning why he sees himself killing someone in the future. The hall is set up like a panopticon: Gideon, the warden (played by Tim Blake Nelson), sits in a confined, enclosed space in the center of the room, watching over the prisoners who have been forced into “halo sleep” in which they are unconscious. If someone were to try to break them out, they would be seen (if not already stopped by the PreCrime unit) because Gideon is always there to monitor them.
I have included three videos of the film related to the topic, the first two illustrating the utopian panopticon and the third showing the panopticon as described by Foucault and Bentham, to fully display how the Minority Report represents panopticism. The movie as a whole is a wonderful depiction of what some would consider a utopian panopticon. It creates the perfect situation in which people are watched over and crime is nipped in the bud before it happens. The specific scene in which Anderton visits the Hall of Containment portrays the physical aspect of the panopticon, whereas the movie in its entirety is a utopian example of how panopticism theorizes that someone is always watching you.