In Michel Foucault’s essay ‘Panopticism’ he states that
‘visibility is a trap’. In a society where we are becoming increasingly
spotlighted it seems as though Foucault was telling the truth. In shopping
centres, banks, universities, we are so used to having CCTV cameras installed
for our ‘protection’ but as Foucault points out, for a ‘pure community…a
disciplined society’.
In relation to our panoptic society, there are many things I
could elaborate on which are about controlling our culture. One that I will
pick for this task is the two-way mirror. This mirror is often seen as an
invaluable surveillance tool with businesses stating that with their help they
are saving ‘thousands a year from theft and shop lifting’. A fair point,
two-way mirrors are not often thought of when faced with a black ball with a
camera pointing whichever way within it. The two-way mirror is used for
surveillance in shops, offices, banks etc., for home security and for police
interrogation rooms. In the latter space, the two-way mirror is definitely a
key feature in the suspect’s knowledge that they are being watched and
panopticism relies on surveillance. The two-way mirror is also like Bentham’s
Panopticon in which lighting is used so ‘one can observe (the inmate) standing
out precisely against the light’. Police
departments use two-way mirrors because the suspect knows precisely what the
mirror’s function is, and is conscious of being watched, even though they do
not know who, if anyone, is actually there. In shopping centres I am always
aware that the long rectangles of mirror probably are two-way with cameras
hidden behind. As a shopper, you are immediately caught up in what Foucault
calls, ‘a power situation of which (you) are the bearer.’ Even if you have no
intention of shoplifting, you feel as though you are modifying your behaviour
so that CCTV cameras and the cameras, which may or may not be behind certain well-positioned
mirrors, will not pick upon you as a subject of scrutiny. The two-way mirror is a perfect example of how
the power to objectify people is lost in panopticism and how you become the
focus of the objectifying gaze.
