Re: 1984 and Foucault



>>Aaron wrote:

<<Dear Fellow Foucault People,
I'm hastily writing an essay on a foucaultian perspective on power
structures in Orwell's 1984. I'm basically basing the work on the
panopticon, and the way in which people are watched and controlled in the=

Oceanic society. The problem is that
I think the power structures in 1984 are too open and apparent to discuss=

on a Foucaultian perspective. Does anyone have any suggestions, or know
about any texts that would be relevent to Orwell?

Thanks,

Aaron<<<


I'd say there was a lot of scope for a Foucaultian discussion of 1984. =

I've always been interested in the differential practices employed with
regard to the workers and the proles: the proles are just confined to the=
ir
ghettos and are basically marginalised and patrolled. Noone really cares
what they think so as long as they stick to their alloted areas they're o=
k.
If not, then they could be dealt with severely and terminally. This seems=

to me to be an example of sovereign power in which power sets out limits,=

the crossing of which constitute transgerssion.

With regard to the workers like Winston, the state is far more interested=

in shaping their subjectivity and aligning it with its own political
projects. This resonates with Foucault's concept of governmentality excep=
t
that he was concerned with how this process occurred in modern democracie=
s
but I think that the overall concept still holds good for analytic purpos=
es
here. The means of shaping subjectivity involves 2 devices which pertain=

to Foucault: the panoptical disciplinary arrangement of the ubiquitous TV=
=

and the control of the means of representation by the project of newspeak=

in which only certain representations become possible.

Overall, them I'd say there was a good deal of material for you to addres=
s
Foucaultian issues of power (and resistance). Good luck.


Mark

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