ashlayla, 4/16

Thursday’s class helped me a lot in understanding Foucault’s essay. The concept of “the gaze” and the “our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance” quote became clearer to me. Not only did discussing the essay in class help me understand the concepts in Foucault’s essay, but they also helped me think of examples that are present in our culture. In today’s society, we are constantly under the watchful eye of law enforcement. There are cameras everywhere: malls, ATM machines, parking garages, toll booths, etc. Now, cameras are showing up in other places. For the past couple months the news has been talking about several cities in Central Florida that are thinking about installing red light cameras. Some areas, Winter Park included, have already agreed to install these types of cameras at some of the busier and more dangerous intersections. These cameras are designed to assist law enforcement in catching red light runners. Another example of “surveillance” that is aiding law enforcement is the cameras in a toll booth. If you pass through the toll without paying, the camera takes a picture of your license plate and then you get a ticket in the mail. Thinking of examples that are present in our society today, helped me understand what Foucault was saying in his essay. Installing cameras like those in the toll booths and at red lights make the government and law enforcement feel like they have a sense of power over the rest of us. However, it is the nature of our culture to be watched or to be the watchers. Shows like Big Brother and The Real World give us the opportunity to be the watchers. People are picked to live in a house together and they have their lives taped and shown on national television. The cameras that are installed to watch our every movement at malls and banks and at red lights turn us into the “watched.” The gaze “is alert everywhere” (94) and we are constantly being watched, sometimes without even realizing it.