Rear Window as an example of Panopticism - publié le 10/05/2007

Abstract

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.