blog task 1 - PANOPTICISM



An example of a panoptic institute in contemporary culture would be the interrogation room. The subject is "seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information", the relationship changes as the subject being observed shifts to becoming just an object, a docile body, and loses their own subjectivity. Police officials are hidden behind the mirror "and this invisibility is a guarantee of order", as the subject being interrogated can not see anyone behind the two way mirror they feel unnerved and feel obliged to conform. The subject "becomes the principle of his own subjection", even if nobody was behind the mirror, the presence of the mirror itself has a great effect on the subject. This makes the mirror a "machine" not an "architectural apparatus" and proves that "power should be visible and unverifiable". When a subject is placed in an interrogation room, even if not guilty, just being in that room can make you feel so on edge that you appear to be guilty. The way that a panoptic institute can be described as a "labratory; it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments", this is totally what an interrogation room is. Police are bringing these people into this room to get information out of them and seeing how they react.

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