PORTFOLIO TASK 1. PANOPTICISM

An example of Panopticism in contemporary culture using quotes from Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan.


Panopticism in contemporary society, we see various applications that could hold panoptic aspects but what I am going to be focussing on is the relationship of discipline in cafe's and coffee shops. The coffee shop in its panoptic form is a fundamental place where, how Foucault puts it "the existence of a whole set of techniques and institutions for measuring, supervising and correcting the abnormal". Once entering you are corrected and become standardised, "to brand him and alter him".


There is a key power relationship between you as a customer and the coffee shop as a controlled area. Upon entering you undergo segregation where immediately you as a customer has to abide by what is seen as normal, the idea of normal put into place by the coffee shop. The customer in order to recieve service has to become subservient to those in the coffee shop, regualting themselves to what could be seen as a docile body, otherwise would not be served or even allowed in the shop. The coffee shop as a controlled area, stays panoptic and constant with the intention to keep order so that it "assures the automatic functioning of power". 


Since Bentham designed the infamous Panopticon, panopticism has spread into contemporary culture and self regualting and everyday occurance. The coffee shops however are different to a typical panoptic mechanism in that who is in control. As a customer on arrival, you are not only confronted with those who work in the shop but also other customers, an uncomforatble feeling of being watched, "He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information". However this is a relationship that goes in cycles, a customer who is already seated and served has power which over the new customer, but in time the new customer will become as comfortable and seated like previous customers ready to continue the cycle "The first is that of a pure community, the second that of a disciplined society."