Post 6:

Foucault is a nutjob, plain and simple. In his essay he tries to equate totalitarian regulation with ultimate clarity, which frankly I find disturbing. Panopticism is not totalitarianism. Let me say that one more time. Panopticism is not totalitarianism. It may provide a clear cross-section of governing mechanics, but if one who guages clarity by efficiency has unlimited potential to do evil if ever given power. The system may grant omniscence to one person, but that hardly justifies labeling the condition of the community at large as Panopticism. At least that's what I think. I'll play by the rules though. Here's two examples:

I hate to use the Patriot Act in two back-to-back blog posts, but I don't see any way around it. President Bush enacting the Patriot Act after the 9/11 is a direct parellel to the panopticism of old. Both are forms of martial law assumed in times of great crisis that infringe on the average citizen's civil liberties, involve a long chain of command, and involve tight regulation of mobility. 

Bush's failed attempt to implant RFID chips in everyones' passports qualifies as panopticism. The RFID chips would contain all of the holder's personal data, and would be trackable from space. RFID chips would wirelessly transmit personal data to basically whatever the government attuned to them. The government would be able to log where you were at all times, what you've done, what you've bought, ect. Scary. Luckily Congress squashed that one.

  

Post 5:

1. Salmone and Salmone effectively present Disney World as a "sanitized" reality in their essay, "Images of Main Street: Disney World and the American Adventure." They describe how the architects and planners who desgined Main Street took special care to carve each Main Street into the platonic version of the chronological period that the particular street is supposed to correspond to. For instance, "the American Colonial section . . . provides neat and clean shops, always fully stocked and in air-conditioned comfort." (170) Even the street cleaners put on a show while they work, dancing and prancing, distracting the attendees from the harsh realities and nature of the job they are doing. Thus, the Main Streets are meant to serve as a representation of the principles and idealogies of specific time periods sifted through a lense of innocence.

2. One example of reality being sanitized is Fox "news coverage." Fox does not filter reality in the same sense that Disney does, but edits its news coverage to promote a reality beneficial to its parent media conglomeration News Corporation.