Postclass Foucault

Talking about Foucault in class was very interesting because it enabled us to analyses deeply his text and come to a better understanding of his theory. Foucault’s work is directed towards a critical view of systems and power relations, basically hegemony. In the quote “Inspection functions ceaselessly” (94) he speaks of the plague in France during the 17^th century. But this applies to our current state of constant surveillance and control. I really liked Foucault’s analogy of the plague and of any political government. He compares the two and claims that any political program is a utopia of the plague. Only in a state of plague would the people controlled be disciplined because of the fear of the disease. This is why we live in a world where there is a cult of fear nurtured by the hegemonic systems in place. He continues by claiming “our society is one not of spectacle, but of surveillance” (101). Zizek would argue with the statement but this quote reminds me of Bourdieu. We want to be under surveillance in a way, we enjoy being looked at, our constant need to be on TV, reality shows. There is almost a sense of voyeurism and jouissance of showing of everything. I am thinking of facebook and twitter. We picture these tools as a spectacle, as entertainment but in reality they are only tools of surveillance. Anyone can see our information and our lives. We know people can look at it but we don’t know who. It is this idea of power being visible and unverifiable that Foulcault puts forward. I like to think that he is right to say that our way of living is comparable to the Panopticon.