Task One

Choose an example of one aspect of contemporary culture that is, in your opinion, panoptic. Write an explanation of this, in approximately 200-300 words, employing key Foucauldian language, such as 'Docile Bodies' or 'self-regulation, and using not less than 5 quotes from the text 'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave MacMillan.

An aspect of contemporary culture that may be seen as panoptic is hospitals. To back this up there are a series of quotes from the text, ‘Panopticism’ by Julia Thomas that support this view, the first one, is ‘…strict special partitioning…’ which refers to the procedures when the Plague appeared in a town, which is how the layout of the panopticon was set out. In hospitals, there are the beds in the wards with the curtain partitions, and the separate rooms for individual patients.

The next quote ‘…each street is placed under the authority of a syndic…’ , again, this is still referring to the Plague and one person (the syndic) would be responsible for the surveillance of the street, in a hospital situation, each patient is under the authority of a doctor/nurse, and is observed on a very regular basis which can alter the behaviour of that individual, knowing they are being watched and can create a self regulating, self correcting kind of behaviour, as in a normal everyday situation, that person may not behave like that, but under the institutional gaze it can change one’s mindset. In the panopticon, each prisoner was under the authority of the guard who would observe from the central tower, eventually the prisoners would be conditioned into thinking they’re being watched which can make them self regulate their behaviour.

Following on from that ‘…everything that may be observed during the course of the visits- deaths, illnesses, complaints and irregularities.’ This could tie in with the previous point about being under the authority of a doctor/nurse, and in each visit to a patient they take down any symptoms and problems etc and noted on the file at the end of the patients bed, which is always kept out of view of the patient, and contains essential information about that individual, and in the time of the Plague, the syndics would take a report and send it to the intendants to then be forwarded on to the mayor, ‘…document bears ‘the name, age, sex of everyone, notwithstanding his conditions…’ which is a similar kind of method, as this would not be seen by the public.

The last quote in support is, ‘The magistrates have complete control over medical treatment…’, in the contemporary example, a doctor has complete control over the medication given to a patient, which shows the Foucauldian concept, docile bodies, because people as patients are quite easily controlled, and unquestioningly take instruction, putting ultimate trust in the doctor as they have the specialist medical knowledge.

Quotes taken from:
Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave MacMillan.