Lecture Library

If the Panopticon is a discipline-mechanism, what happens when people actively in the center cultivate its power to be seen--virtually or physically? by Krishnan Unnikrishnan

As described by Michel Foucault, the panopticon emerged in the 19th century as "the technique of power proper to disciplinary partitioning...the Panopticon is a machine for dissociating the see/being seen dyad: in the peripheric ring, one is totally seen, without ever seeing; in the central tower, one sees everything without ever being seen." The power is collected from the individualized masses by an unknown, unseen individual in the center.  If the Panopticon is a discipline-mechanism, what happens when people actively in the center cultivate its power to be seen--virtually or physically?

In The Fifth Element, the opera singer could be standing in what is a reverse panopticon, she is actively asking to be seen by the audience in their chairs.  In this way, her performance captivates all the chairs, so that the masses are not interacting with each other and focused on her.  In the regular Panopticon, it is the cells who perform and the center who watches. 

The clip also illustrates that reversing the Panopticon seen and be seeing dyad, we also lose the community discipline.  The center only holds the power if it is granted by the audience.  In fact, it is the opera performance that allows for some community members not to watch the center, which then creates the opportunity for the violence taking place outside between the fifth element girl and the raiders.  The performance becomes a distraction that allows for destruction and violence to take place outside of the reverse Panopticon--a definite downside to the reversal if one seeks communal structure.  Bruce Willis character is completely engrossed with the concert when he should be protecting the girl.  The power of being viewed only exists so as long as the viewer grants the center the power.

In the Nike Ad, we see this reverse Panopticon playing out a different way in a similar circumstance.  Sporting events are very similar to Opera performances in that the power of the players in the center comes from being observed by the people in the seats--their attention is willingly given.  The ad is unique in that it puts us, the audience, in the center seat.  Now, the audience is able to experience the power they provide to others through the act of viewing.  Duality of the dyad between the viewer and being viewed in a fictional way is transcended.  It is fictitious because although we are the audience being watched--we are NOT the audience seen in the television ad.  However, the ad does illustrate the objective possibility of being both the seen in the center as well as the seer in the outer cells. 

The next clip from Surrogates actively illustrates what this process would be like.  By creating a surrogate that can exist in the real world, we are able to both be in the center as well as the cell of the panopticon.  This is very empowering to both the cells and center.  However, isn't the idea of the Panopticon destroyed...the power of being watched is no longer enough to encourage discipline as watching the surrogate does not necessarily mean you are being watched.  This is where the ability to disconnect becomes very important.  The ability to disconnect a surrogate means that someone in the cells no longer has the ability to enter the center.  Power is distributed not by being seen or seeing, but by stopping the process completely. 

When we transcend the duality between seeing and seer, the entire system is empowered and the only way to stop abuse becomes to disconnect from the process of being a surrogate.  Interestingly, the main man issuing the disconnect warrants does not have a surrogate.  Does this mean that someone must still watch or witness the process in order for order to be maintained? 

Yes, but even those watchers can be a surrogate.  Jerry, the robotic watcher in the virtual tower is a surrogate himself.  He works from his beach house in Maine.  From the luxury of his own cell--the beach house in Maine--he is able to use his surrogate to be in the center and observe all the other cells.  We end up in a never-ending cycle.  If we create an interactive Panopticon, then we must have a witness in order to maintain the balance.  There will always have to be a seen and a seer--however, this clip illustrates that in the end, it does not matter who is the seer or who is the seen--it is the fact that the process has a witness that is important--the interactive Panopticon. 

Does this not insert a new duality between the witness and the interactive Panopticon? It could, but even that duality can be subsumed by imagining a larger more inclusive interactive Panopticon.  In fact, the interactive Panopticon can subsume all dualities described. 

The final two clips from V and Avatar illustrate how this interactive Panopticon can occur within levels as well as between levels by illustrating the interactive Panopticon not only inside humans but also beyond humans.  The Interactive Panopticon or the process of being seen and seeing occurs at every scale--which needs a witness at every scale.   The clip from V illustrates that every human being is in their own private panopticon of memories.  The visual metaphors used in the clip is exactly how a virtual panopticon would be structured.  Each person's sense of self watching the memories can have an interactive Panopticon if they cultivate an inner witness inferred when the aliens describe the human weaknesses of being trapped inside their emotions and memories.  Also, the aliens are witnessing this process as a way to understand themselves.  The clip illustrates the ability to have a duality within and between species and anywhere you can have a duality you can insert the interactive Panoptiocn.

The clip from Avatar describes how the roots of the trees are all connected to each other and that information can be downloaded up and down the network almost like a neural network.  If the brain can function as a interactive panopticon, then so two could a global network function as an interactive panopticon.  The interesting thing about this clip is when Sigourney Weaver's character attempts to explain how this large interactive system is as complex and similar to our brain, she is implying that the interactive panopticon is happening at every level by her act of expression. 

Is that why facebook, tweeting, and youtube has become so prevalent? Do people wish to incorporate the power of the Panopticon into a system that does not exclude the "other" to derive its power? Remove the duality between the seen and seer and observe the process and you maintain the empowerment of both the individual and the community. The choice to participate is up to each of us--it is interactive.