Starfish 04/17

The panopticon is a very interesting concept to me, because I agree with Foucault when he says that we are all slaves to the panopticon. We do things and act certain ways because we believe that someone is watching us. There is this higher power that controls our every move. For some reason the first thing I thought about was the idea of religion. In all different types of religion, there is a higher being/beings or God/Gods who are always watching you. There are rules of how to live your life and punishments for those who do not do what they are supposed to. Religion works as its own panopticon. People who are religious cannot see this higher power, but they believe it to be there and powerful. They believe they are constantly under surveillance. I also wonder if we can be our own panopticons. I thought about my personal conscience. I would never steal or do something wrong because of the law, which is a panopticon, and because of how it would make me feel. It would not settle well with my conscience. Therefore, am I watching and surveying myself? Am I my own panopticon?

Another thing in class that I found interesting was Foucault’s quote, “Our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance.” (101) At first, I could not comprehend the appeal of being watched. I didn’t agree that we are a society of surveillance. Then, the minute when Dr. Casey put up facebook on the screen, it clicked. Why are we, myself being included, obsessed with facebook? I put pictures up on my profile, I update my status, and I change my profile picture frequently. The only answer I can come up with is I want to share these things with other people. I want to let them know what I am doing and I want them to see my pictures of my weekend. Thinking about it some more, I cannot understand WHY! This actually is a bit frightening but I figure I am not the only one who does not understand why they love facebook so much.