Panopticism is a concept that stems from the work of an eighteenth century philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. He was trying to figure out how to build a prison in which the guards could see the prisoners in such a way that the prisoners could never come to know they were being watched upon. Although his attempt ended up in a complete failure, it gave birth to a debate (which is still ongoing), with regard to the extent of power over people provided by such techniques.
[...] Foucault describes the roll call of the inhabitants who have to appear at the window as a way to check who is dead, alive or sick. In the movie, the spectator knows that the disabled woman is dead as soon as he sees the shutters are closed. Knowing that the disabled woman is dead merely because the shutters are closed makes the spectators feel uncomfortable with their own interpretation of the film, as they become agents of the process of surveillance through the eyes of the main character. [...]
[...] ‘Rear Window' as an example of Panopticism Panopticism is a concept that stems from the work of an eighteenth century philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. He has been trying to figure out how to build prisons in which the guards could see the detainees without being seen in turn. Although his attempt ended up in a complete failure as to its concrete realization, it gave birth to a debate, still ongoing, in terms of the amount of power over people provided by such techniques. [...]
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