Notes/Handouts 2

Notes/Handouts

Lecture notes 2

More notes from a second lecture. Once again i chose to note down essential info from the lecture. Although i was interested in ideology and marxism - I still find myself thinking back to Bentham and Foucaults theories on the panopticon and panopticism.

Above i made a few notes on how the theory of panopticism is enforced in open plan bars. The list includes points like: cameras, lighting, long bars, bouncers to observe behavior.

Panopticism : Big Brother!

An obvious example of panopticism is the worldwide recognised reality TV show - Big Brother.

What is Big brother?

A house which is wired too the roof with cameras. Cameras in the bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchen, living area, outdoors, sheds etc. The idea of the show is too have a number of contestants (random members of the public) live in the house under the watchful eye of the public, and week by week get voted off the show.

This is a prefect example of panopticism. Due to the fact that the contestants are aware of the watchful public and the obvious sights of the cameras in the corner of each room. Originally, with being aware of the cameras, the housemates felt as though they had to respect each other fully and act to a respectable manner. Where as in the latest series, housemates felt they should act up, give the viewing public the impression of mad personalities and stupid behavior - all being put on with the knowledge of what the public 'want' too see.

The latest logo for Big Brother series 11