Foucault in his article entitled Panopticism the structure and idea of a Panopticon was installed as a deterrent to the prisoners. There was no real way in which the prisoners were able to distinguish if there was a guard on duty, or a baby as addressed in class discussion. This fear of not knowing if they were being watched or not made this Bentham's mark on society for the reason that it was said that the bars could be removed and the prisoners would still remain due to the ever present danger and ever seeing eyes of the guards. Because of this we never act as we normally wo

Bentham's ideas still hold true today in this way. In society we have power, or we don't (which was the case in the Panopticon. Also related to this is the notion of the one that sees or the one that is seen. The idea that if we are being watched makes us behave in a certain way is just as similar as it was in the time of the Panopticon as it is today. For example, we are today constantly being watched (at the bank, gas pump, grocery store etc). This idea of always being watched is so similar to the prisoners that we do not act as we should in fear of the constant surveillance.

So are we as society that likes to be seen as it appears on television, or from the surveillance and constant wathcing a society that likes to remain hidden? I believe that we are a combination of both. We like to be seen, but only when it benefits us (just like when we see celebrities all grunged out, not in their normal red carpet attire. Just like the prisoners would move out of the cell if was not for the fear of being watched.