Please be sure to review the questions on FIRE that I passed out to you in class. We will finish watching the film next week, and then I will break you up into groups to consider the questions on the handout.
For next week, read/view the following:
- Brignall III, Tom. (2002) The New Panopticon: The Internet Viewed as a Structure of Social Control. Theory & Science, Vol. 3, Issue 1.
Consider the following questions – choose ONE SET to respond to:
- What example of the panopticon (either a model or structure) can you identify within your own neighborhood? How does it control social behavior and interactions? Discuss, specifically, how your panopticon example utilizes structure, setting, technology, and/or people (employees, guards, and/or other authoritative figures) to survey a large group of people? In what ways does your example fit into the characteristics of the panopticon, according to the article and video? Be sure to reference the reading when discussing your example.
- Why is the Internet potentially the most dangerous and/or powerful panopticon model? What examples can you specifically locate (other than those the reading makes reference to) that exemplify characteristics or elements of the
panopticon? Some possible examples (there are many) include YouTube, MySpace, blog software, email providers, etc. How might the Internet, in general, and your example specifically, have an effect on your daily life? How does your example altar or affect your online behavior? Explain and describe, being sure to make reference to the reading. - Utilizing an example not already used in the readings, explain and describe how the panopticon connects with power. Within your model of a panopticon structure and/or model, who is in power? How do individuals within the panopticon become agents of their own oppression? How do corporations, businesses, institutions, and/or governmental entities justify their use of panopticon structures, models, and/or techniques? Make reference to your example and the reading.
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April 7, 2008 at 4:27 pm
C Molitor
I can identify with the fact that I know many of my neighbors. My roomates and I have only lived in our apt. since this past October. In Nov. we had a couple in their late thirty’s move into the garden unit below us. I have lived in the unit above us this past summer for two months and have developed a great relationship with the neighbor to the left who lives in a single family home with his wife and 3 kids. I let him know then if there were any problems just to let me know. The couple that moved below us have hated us since the day they moved in. We have had little to no interaction except for when they knock on our door to scream at us when we have people over. After they are finished yelling at us they usually call our landlord who lives in BollingBrook or his side kick who we call Schmee who will drive past our apt. or stop by to regulate the under control situation. The other way our landlord tries to figure out if we really are a problem is that he talks to the other neighbors in our hood to see what they have to say. We feel as though we have spyware placed on our residence and that someone is always watching or listening to what we do on a daily basis even though we cannot see them. This has changed our life style for the time being to avoid getting evicted which is a clear motive expressed by our garden unit neighbors to other neighbors we have zero issues with. I also have to say that I was extremely interested in this paper because I know that I have some sort of software on my computer because of the weird commands it gives me from time to time. I have also found a hidden folder which I can no longer locate that had captured everything I had viewed on facebook and even everything I didn’t while on my e-mail account. This was very chilling and creepy to me as well as eye opening.
April 8, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Karli Foss
If one were to define a panopticon as the ability to see everything from a single location with or without being seen, the first example in my neighborhood that comes to mind are the security cameras in my building. The security guards or whatever it is that you call them, are able to keep careful surveillance on the elevators, stairwells, and in the entry area where the security desk is located. These cameras are visible thus we all know that the possibility of being watched is present. At the same time the opportunity for the “little brother,” as Foucault calls it, to watch these channels as well is also present via the television/cable if they have one. These cameras dictate our social behavior and interaction in that it is almost impossible to be able to sneak in the building if you are “unauthorized.” It also controls vandalism, and the breaking of rules (i.e.: smoking, drinking) in these areas.
My understanding of this concept and of the main example given (internet privacy issues,) is that panopticons must consist of multiple viewpoints, whoever may be watching stems out from one single point but the ability for secondary “little brothers” exists. I suppose I feel that panopticons are necessary despite the fact that those who decide to enter buildings with cameras and surf the web is compromised because it is in the best interest of the masses.
April 8, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Victoria T.
The Internet is the most powerful panopticon model because of the high percentage of the U.S. population who use the internet on a daily basis. The Internet is used for almost anything; communication, research business, networking, entertainment, etc, and people have the power to look over anyone using the internet. We as users go about using the internet for whatever we need, without knowing who or when is observing what we do and what we look at. Personally, I use Google mail, and there is no doubt that my e-mails may be looked at in the future if they haven’t been already. When signing up, I gave all of my personal information, so anyone looking at my e-mails and information have the ability to access everything about me; not only my name, but address, credit card information, phone number, etc. The reading referred to a panopticon prison being a prison in which constantly kept their prisoners under surveillance without then knowing when or where, them knowing that they were under surveillance. The mental state of being seen without being able to see the watcher, the prisoners would attempt to modify their own behavior in order to avoid punishment for an infraction. The reading also said that in a panopticon prison, there is no where to hide. This is much like the Internet, and even with the Google mail provider I use-knowing other people may be looking at everything I send and am being sent and is very disturbing and gives me no feeling of online privacy whatsoever. Even though there may be terrorists, drug dealers, and other criminals that may be caught by internet spying, I do not believe it is right for the majority of the people using the internet to take away that freedom and privacy that we thought we had-there is no where to hide.
April 8, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Catherine M.
When you asked the question about my neighborhood, I immediately though of the one I grew up in, where my mom still lives. The people who live it (aside from my family of course) are just plain psycho in my opinion. People will drive around and write down who is violating what homeowner’s association rule. Then you’ll get a letter in the mail telling you to fix the problem or you’ll be fined. My neighbor specifically seemed to get picked on a lot. They got letters all the time about the work trailer they had sitting on their driveway, about not having a fence around their pool, etc. My mom got bothered one time because our grass was too long. Woops? The richer families in the neighborhood of course never got these letters; I guess you could compare them to the prison guards in the article.
Living in this neighborhood was a lot like the jail described in the article. You can’t see who’s watching you, but you know someone is, and you don’t know who’s going to turn you in next, but someone will. We lived on edge, always worried about what our house looked like to other people. It was ridiculous. And now, sort of like Karli mentioned, I’ve moved to another environment that’s just the same, a dorm building.
Many may think that panipticon’s are good in essence, but that’s about it. Beyond that they are annoying and somewhat creepy.
April 8, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Corey G.
Relating to the panopticon model/structure My friend lives in a gated community with lots of cameras and a huge iron gate with a guard who sees who goes in and out of the neighborhood. I’m not sure but I think that the cameras probably lead back to the Iron guard station so that the guard can watch over the streets to make sure nothing bad happens to the residents. I can see this as being a “Big Brother” is always watching over “Little Brother”. I recently was watching some cop reality TV show and they were showing Footage of madrigals or some big festival a bird’s eye view from a Police helicopter watching over the crowds of people. The camera from the helicopter could zoom so far in on the people that you could probably identify facial features. I find that kind of creepy. I think that I would act different if I knew that people were watching me. I would always be on edge and suspicious that I was being watched. It makes me wonder how else we can be watched/stalked?
April 8, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Lyndsie Klott
I have an uncle that lives in a gated community that contains I think about 10 houses. There is a guard at the gate 24 hours, and in order for a guest to enter the community, the residents must give the gate guard future warning. Since the community is rather small the guards are on a first name basis with most of the residents within the area, so it does not feel as much as though you are being watched by a stranger at all times, but more so that someone you trust is patrolling who is aloud in and out. The article states that Bentham argued, “that those inside the panopticon should always think they are under inspection at any time.” I agree and disagree with that statement. I disagree with it because in my uncles community I never felt as though I was being watched even though i knew that there was not only a guard at the gate at all times, but even cameras patrolling the area. It was more comforting knowing who the guard was individually and trusting them, which makes it easier to cope with the idea of them survelliencing the house and the area. I agree with that statement because I had an experience in a store once where I had forgotten that i was constantly being watched on camera by hidden security, and i was reminded of it when a friend of mine accidentally walked out of the store with a pair of sunglasses on her head. They brought us back into the store and showed us the footage of her walking out with it accidentally, but i realised that they had followed us throughout the whole store since the moment we had walked in. Ever since that experience i feel as though someone is watching every move i make as soon as i step into a store, and its uncomfortable espeically because I do not know who that person is. I would feel the same way if I always thought about someone watching what I do on the interenet and what goes on with my hard drive, more s0 because it could be anybody anywhere.
April 8, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Janet Pondrom
According to The New Panopticon: The Internet Viewed as a Structure of Social Control, there are several ways in which the internet proves to be both a powerful and dangerous form of surveillance. The increasing amount of internet security and structured means of social control have the ability to monitor individual activity, as do panopticon prisons. Though much of these observations were once based upon good intent, (tracking terrorists, monitoring military activity, online banking, etc.) there is also a fraction which abuses the ability to monitor internet activity.
Facebook, for example, is one way in which users are able to gain access to personal information, like many social networking sites today. Not only are you able to monitor the activity of others, but you’re able to view each and every comment sent from one person to another. The extent of observation going on in today’s networking communities has somewhat shifted from an issue of security to an issue of intrusive examination of others. For many social networking users, including myself, the conscious knowledge of being monitored and often criticized at all times dictates the way we present ourselves and communicate with others. Another downfall concerning social “communities” such as Facebook or Myspace, would be the ability to deceive, commit fraud by assuming another‘s identity, libel, etc. Though the majority of users won’t admit the obvious activity and true nature of these sites (catty gossip, criticism, dangerous/harmful intentions, etc.) it does not change the fact that people are signing on to their Facebook account just to see which one of their friends are getting pregnant or what Joe said to Suzy. The point is, today we are bombarded with an array of people who will forever use and abuse social networking/blogging sites. It is ultimately up to us to determine whether or not such things will interfere with the way we go about our daily lives.
April 8, 2008 at 10:19 pm
corbin baran
While looking back at the neighborhood I grew up in, I realize that my neighbor who lived across the street from my family was my family’s “panopticon system. My neighbor never leaves her house and has nothing better to do then to watch over us with out knowing. Randomly, we’ll receive a call with her telling us there’s a car that doesn’t appear to be ours park in front of our house. Even though nine times out of ten, we were just having a couple family friends over. Regardless, she is always watching over our house, and sometimes it appears to be a invasion of our privacy. I, at times, discover it to be uncomfortable to have someone watching over me and my family randomly.
When we view panopticon for internet purposes, sure we see that we are being protected and secured, but at the same time aren’t we losing privacy by the minute? At times, I feel as if I can never relax because im constantly being watched by another. However, the panopticon prison system is a great source for advancement in our surveillance today. We need to keep criminal systems in control at all times, and we need to reduce some freedom from the prisons throughout the U.S.– this is a great first step. In other words, I find this only great for private/criminal purposes only, not for public purposes and invading privacy.
April 8, 2008 at 10:26 pm
James G.
The ingenuous (whether you agree with it or not) idea of a panopticon has been around for a couple hundred years long before the luxury of modern computers and electronic technology. Yet despite this it still had the desired effect on the populous. With the Cold War came the modern idea of a panopticon as “Big Brother” and with it strategical advancements in espionage. Where I live back home, it is too rural to place camera’s on street intersections and apartment buildings are nonexistent. Our surrounding modern police force however is equipped with the most modern panopticon of all; the “Mobile Command Post”. This vehicle utilizes state of the art electronics to intercept, relay, and ease drop in on any situations deemed important. By doing so, a 3-5 man crew can watch and control situations ranging from hostage crisis’s to a drug deal on a street corner. The Mobile Command Post is the all seeing eye of the Police, and thus a classic example of what the article would refer to as a Panopticon.
April 8, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Erik Vogt
The panopticon structure that most things in our lives have taken i find spooky and Orwellian. Facebook, Myspace and all the social network stuff, while it allows people to see a lot of information about you, only shows what you voluntarily put up, most of it unimportant. But what I don’t like is when your credit card company sells the list of all your purchases to some other company that then sends target marketed crap to you based on what you buy. I don’t like when I park my car at Dunkin’ Doughnuts to get something from a store down the block then find a boot on it because someone watched me leave the Dunkin’ Doughnuts property from a camera on a rooftop across the street. Cameras and security everywhere to keep you safe, to keep business safe, and to make sure that nobody sits when they’re on the clock. People ask to be watched 24/7 so they can feel safe from those mean spooky bad guys trying to kill everybody all the time. Nobody thinks to check who’s watching the cameras or find out what they’re looking for. That’s the problem with our panopticon, you don’t get to pick who runs it, you don’t get to pick who’s watched. But, hey feel safer, you’re always being watched, it’s for your own security! Why wouldn’t you want to be constantly judged by unknown forces determining if you’re acting suspicious? Do you have something to hide?
Case Study Proposal:
I propose that my case study be an investigation of the affects the internet has had in creating its own subculture of language, slang, and memes that become a kind of, “inside joke” that only exists inside of the computer. More specifically, I’ll look into the Lolcat phenomenon. Looking at their origins, their very specific language and subject matter, and trying to understand their rise to a sort of underground fame.
Can I haz Case Study?
April 8, 2008 at 11:07 pm
Julia Vilk
I live in the suburbs, in a house so its a lot different then living in the dorms or an apartment because there’s not a camera watching you the second you leave your apartment, but when you do enter my neighborhood there’s a sign that says “Neighborhood watch area” I’m not exactly sure how that works, I think it means that police watch the area? Also, a lot of my neighbors have put cameras in front of their houses. Also my friend who lives in a one-bedroom apartment installed a camera in his other room, which is connected to a TV, that is in his room and he can see everything that goes on in the other room. He did this because he was robbed once and its the first time I ever saw a camera inside of an apartment and the first time I was there I didn’t see the camera and didn’t know that my friends and I were being watched by other people that were in the bedroom, and I was really creeped out when I found out. But I do understand why people are so paranoid these days because of everything that happens in the world and they want to have control of their property, so it does make sense to me why people have cameras everywhere.
As for the Internet being watched all the time thing, I don’t know if I’m the only one who feels like this, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Well, at least the part that the government can read emails and sees what you do. I actually feel safer knowing that they are looking at what is happening among people and can see if people are having dangerous conversations or are planning something bad. It doesn’t really bother me knowing that my emails can be read because I know I’m not saying anything bad or anything that would make them think I’m up to something. As for other people if they look at porn or whatever, and somebody sees that you were on that site, I don’t they would care because you’re just one of millions that do that, its not like they would sit there and look up your picture and judge you. If you’re not doing anything illegal or dangerous or anything that you shouldn’t be doing online then I don’t think you should be worried if some computer or someone skims over your emails to check for keywords or possible threats. I don’t think it’s such a big deal and it’s not like the government sits and watches only you and every move you make and judges you for it.
As for companies doing that is a different thing, its not good but I don’t think it’s that harmful. I personally don’t mind if they check what product I was looking up on the Internet to better their company. This is just me personally, I think that if you know you’re not doing anything illegal or wrong online then you shouldn’t be worried.
April 9, 2008 at 12:56 am
Stephanie V.
The Internet is a potentially dangerous and very powerful panopticon model, because of its universality and versatility. The Internet could possibly be available anywhere in the world, and as a result, those at the “top” of the panopticon model would potentially be able to observe anyone, anywhere. The versatility of the Internet means that the panopticon model can be manifested in many different ways. Even if some potential “subjects”(those subject to observation) of the panopticon do not choose to participate in one aspect of the Internet (say, social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace), there are many other ways in which those “subjects” can find themselves being observed via the Internet (YouTube, dating services, email, etc.) One example of the panopticon model on the internet is Wikipedia. The information posted on the website is continually monitored by people who voluntarily check the entries for anything offensive, overtly biased, or glaringly false. In this way, “subjects” end up monitoring other “subjects”. The effect of Wikipedia on daily life is that people begin to take what Wikipedia says as the complete truth. They think that just because the website is monitored by fellow users, all of the information must be true. Wikipedia, of course, is not always accurate, and like other news and information sources, it should be used with the knowledge that it probably contains biases. Because Wikipedia is a collection of information about such a diverse array of topics, it is often the first place I look when I want to find out something. Because of Wikipedia’s format in which anyone can put up information, I always cross-reference what I learn on Wikipedia with other more “reliable” sources. If the Internet were privatized as is mentioned in the reading, however , there may not be other “reliable” sources. Granted, Wikipedia would probably not be the privatize sector’s information source of choice. Whatever information source the private corporations would choose, however, would most likely end up being the only information source available. To this end, Internet-users would only ever have access to information filtered by the private corporations. In addition, those corporations would have the ability to track what users search on the Internet, and use that information for their own profit.
April 9, 2008 at 12:58 am
Evan Davis
A good example of panopticon in my neighborhood would be those stupid cameras that watch the streets at main intersections. They are watching at all times so no matter when you do mkae a mistake by going through a yellow light. they’ll catch you. I’ve experienced them first hand twice. They’ve caught me making a right on red when I wasn’t supposed to. The cameras also caught me going through a yellow light, which was bull cause it was raining and I couldn’t stop. The cameras actually do work though because I am a lot more cautious now when i approach a yellow light. I always used to roll right through them, but now I think twice. In the Red Eye the other day they said that the number of side collisions has decreased greatly, but the number of rear end crashes has increased some. But they say that the rear end crashes are not as bad as side crashes. In the reading Bentham brings up social control, this camera obviously takes a big toll in social control. These cameras make people rethink their decisions on taking the yellow.
I know we only had to respond to one set of questions, but as for the internet, I think panopticon is a huge. Child predators are caught left and right thanks to the ability of tracking people down through the internet. These predators are rightfully set up and are brought into justice thanks to the panopticon of the internet.
April 9, 2008 at 1:30 am
Justin D.
I don’t believe the internet to be the most dangerous or powerful form of panopticon.
There are dangerous aspects, spyware, phishing and key logging programs. I’m assuming we all know what spyware is after the reading. Phishing occurs through a link to a fake website we believe to be real. Phishers are looking for usernames, passwords and credit card information. Key logging programs record what is typed on a given computer, and must be installed locally. They are looking for the same information.
The internet has the potential to be very dangerous, depending on how much information we put out there. Imagine a person who runs a myspace, facebook, blog and a webcam et cetra; they putting themselves out to be watched. They volunteer to live in the glass house oppose the friend who comes over for dinner once a week. They have an email account, checks the amount of their bank accounts and trades stock online. They have highly sensitive material out there but are watching to see if anyone is watching them.
I don’t fear anyone is watching me online, but I do take precautions. If I’m purchasing something, I check to make sure it’s a secured website. I got my computer back last week and installed on it was Norton Internet Security 2008, it comes with phishing protection.
April 9, 2008 at 2:33 am
Jackie Soto
I believe that the internet is possibly the most dangerous and powerful panopticon model because the modern technology of the internet has been the biggest influence and contribution to the invasion of our privacy without us actually knowing. We have all participated and encouraged the production of spy ware and other resources of spying with online programs and websites with suggestions and advice towards that. The percentage of Americans that use the internet on a daily basis is enormous. Websites like MySpace and Youtube are a perfect example of how we as internet user’s deliberately post our personal information allowing others to know about us without us actually knowing who these people are watching our videos on Youtube, and reading about us on MySpace and looking at our personal pictures. We have created the internet to be used for literally EVERYTHING, and that is why it affects our daily lives so much. Because we rely on the internet for everything that it has become a powerful panopticon model. I personally use the internet for a lot of my personal things, like online billing, shopping, e-mail, and much more. I always submit my personal information when I sign up for my e-mail, when I purchase things with my credit card. I also pay for my bills online. There is no doubt in my mind that my personal information has been looked at by a third party that i don’t know about. Because it is so easy to get hacked now a days with the online programs that we use and that we created. It actually really bothers me and makes me think about what our world is coming to. That we don’t really have any sort of privacy at all.
April 9, 2008 at 7:44 am
Nick McKiernan
I have personally been to that type of prison cell in joliet, IL, they called it the bird cage. It was a very very tool some years ago to monitor all of the inmates from one central location. I thought it was a great Idea when i was there until I saw some flaws, like if the inmates got out, all they had to do to stay out of danger was to go under the central hub tower to not get shot at. Anyways I thought that was a good reference of the panopticon model that I wanted to share. If you have time, i would suggest to take a tour of the joliet prison and see the “bird cage” in person.
Many Say the internet is a very dangerous place to be because of crooks and theives who can steal your identity, your bank account information, or even to the extreme stalk you. Privacy has been priority number one in the minds of millions of internet users. They just want to know that their information is completly safe when they are sending e-mails, chatting, using AIM or some different messenger, or just purchasing or selling things via the internet. In the reading they mentions that ,”if the Internet were to be run and policed by private industries, then the Internet would become a safer, more efficiently run mechanism.” This personally I don’t know how I feel about. Do we really need an online police telling us what we can and can’t do. I got enought of that from my parents 10 years ago. That is not to say its not a bad idea, Im just wondering how the “monitoring” of our activities will change from what the government already does now like with the carnivore program. So to me A third party it seems to not really make a difference who is monitoring me, I know Im not doing anything bad when I make purchases or view videos on the web through youtube, or google. This is funny though, because if the internet wasn’t there, I would loose many aspect of my life that relied on the internet to get things done, such as sending and retrieving information quickly, purchasing or selling items, or checking my bank information online when im not in my hometown to physically go to my bank. The internet is a huge and still growing panopticon model that will continue to evolve around the way we utalize the internet in the future.
April 9, 2008 at 10:06 am
Kristin F.
Just by reading the “New Panopticon” insert we can see why the internet is potentially the most dangerous panopticon model. From networking on facebook to downloading music the internet becomes more threatening as a panopticon model all the time. When I think of the internet as being a panopticon model the first thing that came to mind were web cams. Now I know that these are usually hooked up to your computer, they have to be manually installed and turned on. However, by going to the Apple store and taking a look at all the new models you can see that they all have cameras at the top of computer screen. It’s not just Mac computers, many other computer companies are doing the same thing to all new models. That makes me question the motive behind doing this. Perhaps the computer companies are just trying to make communicating by camera the new big thing (and in many homes or placed it probably already is) but I would not very safe knowing that there is a possibility for either the computer company of just hackers out there that can potentially view my sitting on my computer at all times of the day. If I had a newer computer with a built in web cam I would probably have my screen closed on my laptop a lot more than I do now. I’ve come to the conclusion as the reading says that the internet is a “cultural necessity,” but I believe it’s also true that computer companies/hackers will take full advantage of these new built-in web cams that will probably be installed on every new model in the next few years.
April 9, 2008 at 10:23 am
Mike Kosciesza
The internet is a incredible place to be. For instance if you’re bored, you can just long onto a game site, if you feel like chatting it up with folks across the world you can hit up a chat site or program, if you’re hungry you can order a pizza online and have it delivered to your front door on the speed of a mouse click, if you feel rebellious toy can find blue prints to building a pipe bomb. We as Americans have become so dependent on the world wide web that we can’t even spend one day not logged on. And now with the rise of blog websites, video hosting sites, and social networking websites you should ask yourself “It’s 10pm on a Saturday night, do you know where your kids are?” You may think they’re safe in their room doing homework or reading a book, but in most cases they’re in their bedroom taking semi-naked pictures of themselves and uploading them on myspace or facebook, or chatting it up with a 18 year old hot boy who lives in California but in reality its a 57 year old man getting his hopes up.
The article says, “With the growth of Internet usage, serious concerns about Internet security and privacy have arisen” i totally agree on that statement. I used to be a member of myspace, back when it was more mature and friendly, now its become a haven for little young boys and girls to try to get as many “friends” as possible. And the way they will do this is by taking inapropriate pictures of themselves, or making stuff up on their page only to have someone click the “add to friends” button. When you’re online, you’re not the person you are in real life. To me it seems like some people have a second life in the internet world.
Online hacking is also a HUGE problem. So many people had their identity stolen, money stolen, computer files broken into to, viruses, etc. And there isn’t much you can really do about it. There are anti-spam and virus protection programs but a lot of times they detect those after you get one and not during. and even if you do have one there isn’t anything you can do about it except for re-installing everything on your computer. but then again your final paper in class is due today and you have to retype the whole thing because someone fucked around with your computer.
What the internet may become in years to come, we’ll have to find out. But for now its a insecure place to be, so every time you’re on you never know who maybe be watching. No matter the regulations on it people will always find a way around things that have been restricted to them.
April 9, 2008 at 11:14 am
Meghan M
I had a really hard time comprehending this reading. I had to read it a few times and I’m still not sure it clicked. So here’s what I think is a system I’ve experienced similar to the panopticon model. As many high schools do, we had an honor code system concerning cheating. The idea was that everyone was obligated to watch for and report dishonesty of any kind, whether it be cheating or plagerisem, etc. However, 2 factors caused this system to be slightly askew. The students at my all girls, catholic prep school were both fiercely loyal and terribly vicious. Those who were fiercely loyal would never dream of reporting their friends, but those who were terribly vicious couldn’t wait to catch their foes. On top of that, you had the super christian kids who had this sort of sense of nobility and would report anyone anyway. So what this created was a system where if you took a risk and tried to look off your neighbor’s paper, you didn’t know if any of the girls around you were the type to turn you in. This reminds me of the panopticon model because you knew you might be being watched but you weren’t sure when and by whom, so wasn’t it just easier to behave and do your own work?
April 9, 2008 at 11:46 am
Andrew Mott
Again I am sorry for the lateness but still wish to participate.
The penopticon is everywhere, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. Mayor Daley’s “super cop” cameras are said to have a possible range of two to three blocks in any direction, and in my neighborhood there is one at nearly every major intersection east of the Red Line from Wilson heading north past Argile and beyond. The cameras rotate so at any moment we are being watched and/or observed, (1984 anyone?)
The Internet is unsurprisingly no exeption. From email to social networking sites like MySpace, to sites that might imply “terrorist” points of view simply because they disagree with or question current policy, the powers that be say “beware!” and so we do. The serious problem(s) with this come when we might ask ourselves -what is it exactly that we are afraid of? Is it porn? Is it foul language? Is it identity theft? Is it violent imagry? What the fuck is it?
I propose that not only are we afraid of an infinite multitude of things, but that in today’s world we are content to be told what those things are, by people that classify themselves as experts not to be questioned. And if they are then they point the finger at the questioner. In this are there are parents being told how to raise their kids. There are religeous and theological perspectives being tagged as the “American” way in a nation claiming to be free of any judgement in such matters of faith. There is a pill that can be taken for almost anything, and I could go on indefinitely.
My point is that although there are many things that are justifiably scary suc has identity theft, we seem to have an obserd tendancy to blow things out of proportion. Frankly, if someone wants to enjoy a little porn, the ideals of this country should let them do so. If parents are nervous of what there children might be exposed to then what happened to taking it upon THEMSELVES to do something about it. IF WE ARE BEING TOLD WHAT TO BE AFRAID OF THEN WE ARE ESSENTIALLY BEING TOLD WHAT TO BELIEVE IN ALTOGETHER! And that is what is truly scary. Talk about identity theft.
It is true that problems exist, and that there is still no cure for cancer. Just remember that it is those in power that make the laws, the policy and the decitions on who to watch and why. So who watches them?
April 9, 2008 at 11:52 am
Angelika L.
An example of the panopticon in my neighborhood is the gaudy use of video surveillance cameras outside of housing projects and several stores. Along side the cameras are huge obnoxious bright flashing lights also on certain housing buildings and on grocery stores such as jewel. One is made to feel imprisoned and watched as opposed to safe. As referenced in the article, Bentham’s book on the panopticon states that there are lights shining on every angle of the prison, while the watcher is concealed in a dark area. That’s how I feel when walking down the street or to the store. There is an eerie feeling about these bright lights that flash like fluorescent light bulbs all night. I’ve asked people if all of this unnecessary “watching” offends them, and they don’t really pay it much attention, people are so accustomed to being subservient government property that they’re totally oblivious. I’ve also been stopped by police officers in my neighborhood several times while walking to the store at night and being interrogated about my age, it makes me angry that they’re not out fighting real crime, they’re wasting a good five minutes of both of our time questioning me because they can. I see police undercover constantly harassing “suspicious” people on the streets. When you know you’re constantly being watched your behavior changes and eventually these systems make you feel like maybe you’re doing something wrong even when you know you’re not. There is a sense that one is always under surveillance in my neighborhood; whether it’s because of the police constantly circulating and staring or the many video cameras and flashing lights. This form of security makes you feel like a criminal, or some bad science experiment under close surveillance; it’s an awful feeling. As the reading states, you feel a different form of tyranny this way, there isn’t a real need for physical bondage because now you know you’re being watched and you’re this society’s puppet. There is no real sense of privacy whether you’re on the Internet or on the street; I think it’s going too far.