Task 1 - Panopticism

In 300 words describe one aspect of contemporary society that you consider to be panoptic or influenced by panopticism.

I feel that the most obvious example of Foucault's theory of panopticism in current society is that of CCTV, it is forever present and we are constantly aware of it, it takes the ethos of the Panopticon and brings it to our streets. Foucault states 'surveillance is based on a system of permanent registration' and this is exactly the case, in a public place we are constantly aware of CCTV and feel conscious to act in a certain law abiding way, even if that is our unaltered nature.

This links directly to another of Foucault's points about the Panopticon, he states that 'power should be visible and unverifiable'. In this scenario he is talking directly about the centralized towers within the Panotpicon, they are the symbol of power and they are constantly visible, however due to the nature of the lighting and the blinds there is no indication as to whether or not the station is manned at any time.

The concept of CCTV is, in theory, for our own safety but it leaves us in a state in which we feel 'perfectly individualized and constantly visible', making us feel that 'visibility is a trap'. It makes us feel that we are secure but also that we cannot act how we may want to due to fear of being seen, this is because 'surveillance is permanent in its effects'. Although we all know that there isn't somebody constantly watching the feed from every CCTV camera we do not know when they are, thus resulting in a constant awareness that we may be being watched.

This brings me to a fairly succinct conclusion that CCTV is the most apparent example of panopticism in our society as it is the exact process of the Panopticon but applied to the general public.