The notion of Discipline and Punish is a history of the modern penal system. Foucault seeks to analyze punishment in its social context and to examine how changing power relations affected punishment. Punishment was ceremonial and directed at the prisoner's body. It was a ritual in which the audience was important. Public execution re-established the authority and power of the King. (Sparknotes,2022)
These photos tell a story of how Singaporean kids mold into a certain someone in society, to be well disciplined. This can be seen in one of the photos where the tree (Kids) is tied to a straight wood, being forced to grow straight (discipline).
Back in the day, kids who disobeyed the rules got caning from their teachers. Discipline using a wooden ruler, hitting them on either the palm of their hand or arm, further into history there were cases where they cane anywhere on their body too. In their time, it shows discipline and punishment, as the teachers are allowed to do that just to teach the kids that they are wrong, in a way of helping their parents to discipline them too. To add on about the caning, we also might not know if the ‘crime’ the kids commit is represented against the ‘king’, which in this case the teachers. However, it's not only the discipline and punishment shown, it has shown some torture too. Where they are caning them in public (school) in front of their friends, some in the mass halls, which will make them feel shame. It shows prison too, as they are asked to wear the same uniform in schools, with all the surveillance watching them.
Panopticon. https://www.e-ir.info/2011/03/02/to-what-extent-is-the-panopticon-a-suitable-analogy-for-power/
The word Panopticon is a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could at all times be observed. (Wikipedia,2022)
Panopticon. https://news.bitcoin.com/total-surveillance-coin-will-be-a-dystopia-if-controlled-by-facebook-or-government/
The ideal panoptic society shown in the photos I have picked symbolises surveillance almost everywhere in Singapore. To observe and to make sure that everyone is safe. Mainly to catch crimes and prevent crime from happening, with several cameras around it provides a tight watch in the country.
With these pros, it will also come with a few cons for having tight surveillance in the country. With this tight surveillance, it will invade people’s privacy and make some feel unsafe in the country. Although most of the cameras are for the government's use when needed in a case as a piece of evidence, they could be hacked and used for others' needs. Overall, this tight surveillance should only protect and keep them safe, with a tight system.
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