Task 1... Panopticism

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 McMillan.

An example of panopticism in contemporary culture could be reality television; a good example of this is Big Brother. Cameras constantly monitor the subjects inside the Big Brother house, and they have the knowledge that they have the entire nation watching their every move. This is of course going to effect the way they act. The cameras are placed, and visible all over the Big Brother house, an ‘omnipresent and omniscient power’, and serving as a reminder that the contestants are always being watched. The fact that they are being surveyed is not hidden, and even the Big Brother voice serves as a reminder that there is an upper power and governing body, controlling what they do and watching their every move. Both this voice and the cameras are 'representatives of power'.
The power that is imposed by the Big Brother body makes the housemates change how they behave and make them become 'docile bodies' who are 'self monitoring' and 'self correcting' their very actions and behaviour. The housemates are not necessarily aware that they altar their behaviour for the audience viewing, but do it on a subconscious level, acting in a way that they want to be perceived by other people. The knowledge that they are being monitored by cameras, and that there is an audience act as an ‘automatic functioning of power’. They feel that they are always on show and exposed to the outside world, creating a 'state of constant and permanent visibility', which will inevitably change their behaviour patterns and feel the effects of the Panopticon.