History Main / PanopticonOfSurveillance

* The titular prison in ''Film/Fortress1992'' is constructed in this way underground, with prison labour used to dig new levels. The central column isn't manned, as the security is automated - instead, it's fitted with rails to convey turrets up and down the complex. [[spoiler:The escapees use this in their prison break to hitch a ride all the way up into the command centre.]] The rooms are totally exposed to the central shaft, allowing the turrets to shoot into any given area and patrolling scanners to stop the prisoners from dreaming.

* In the Mexican series ''Series/{{Capadocia}}'', [[PrivateProfitPrison Capadocia]] is a women's prison run by [[EvilInc ECSO]], a corporation that uses the inmate work program as a front for drug trafficking. The opening credits feature a shot of Capadocia's blueprints that shows it is built in this design.
* In ''Series/{{Doom Patrol|2019}}'', this is the deep, dark secret literally buried under the otherwise-wholesome Danny the Street; that in exchange for Niles using his resources to prevent the Bureau of Normalcy from finding Danny and their citizens, Danny agreed to use their limited omniscience to serve as an all-seeing prison for Niles' daughter Dorothy, making sure that she never, ever left her tiny room beneath Danny's surface. Dorothy was down there for over ''ninety years'', and none of the "Dannyzens" ever knew she was there.
* Briefly discussed and namedropped in ''Series/LawAndOrder''. [[StrawmanPolitical A liberal college professor]] writes "panopticon" in big letters on a chalkboard, and says that it's what America has become.

* "Panopticon" is used as a password in '' VideoGame/DeusEx'' to characterise the person that set it - [[spoiler:Helios' plan is to use electronic surveillance to turn the whole world into a Panopticon, and the people are so sick of the CrapsackWorld they're in that they go along with it.]]
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', The Velvet Room resembles a panopticon, with the cells in a circular formation and Joker being confined to one with Caroline and Justine acting as the wardens. [[spoiler:Later, It turns out Yaldabaoth actually replaced Igor and took over the Velvet Room. The false god fuses the Velvet Room with Mementos, transforming it into a massive panopticon, trapping humanity in an endless tower of countless cells with the Holy Grail acting as the watchtower.]]

* The Flesh Panopticon in ''VideoGame/{{ULTRAKILL}}'' is a biotechnological version of this, taking the form of a cube of flesh with eyes and a mouth rotating in place atop a pillar of stitched meat in the middle of an arena. Curiously despite the arena's walls being lined with cells, they're all empty and the Panopticon contains the only prisoner ([[spoiler: Sisyphus Prime]]) inside itself. Lore indicates that these cells were intended for the Sisyphean Insurrectionists before it was realized that [[spoiler: Sisyphus' prime soul was already manifesting]] and thus the prison was hastily completed and sealed before anyone else could be placed inside.

* The last remaining human settlements in ''VideoGame/FreedomWars'' are called Panopticons, and though they rely on technological surveillance and RidiculouslyHumanRobot corrections officers for actual observation, the characters discuss the origins of the term and how appropriate it is at one point.

* As mentioned above, philosopher and architect Jeremy Bentham is the TropeMaker and TropeNamer, having described the concept in his writings. He didn't limit himself to prisons: hospitals, schools, and asylums, among others, were also planned for. [[PrisonersWork He wanted to extract as much labor from convicts as possible.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', The Velvet Room resembles a panopticon, with the cells in a circular formation and Joker being confined to one with Caroline and Justine acting as the wardens. Later, It turns out Yaldabaoth actually replaced Igor and took over the Velvet Room. The false god fuses the Velvet Room with Mementos, transforming it into a massive panopticon, trapping humanity in an endless tower of countless cells with the Holy Grail acting as the watchtower.

* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', the prison cells in the Kiln are arrayed in a hemisphere around a central guard tower, which becomes the focus of the protagonists' escape attempt. That said, the surveillance clearly isn't perfect as there are maintenance hallways behind the cells that some of the prisoners seem to have access to.

A panopticon, originally designed by English architect [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham Jeremy Bentham]], is a prison or containment facility constructed as a ring of cells surrounding a central guard tower. This design allows one or two guards to keep watch over many cells at once, usually built so that prisoners can see the tower, but cannot see into any of the adjacent cells. For bonus points, the guard tower may be designed so that those inside can look out, but those outside cannot look in.

* Eisenwald Prison in ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'' features at least one cell block with a panopticon design, which is meant to embody the unsettling totalitarian aspect of [[ThoseWackyNazis the game's fascist society.]]

* In ''WebVideo/PowerRangersHyperforce'', the rangers visit a panopticon prison on a BabyPlanet where the [[Series/PowerRangersSPD A-Squad are held.]] Alpha-55 compares it to a donut.

* Briefly discussed and namedropped in ''Series/LawAndOrder''. [[StrawmanPolitical A liberal college professor]] writes the "panopticon" in big letters on a chalkboard, and says that it's what America has become.

* Briefly discussed and namedropped in ''Series/LawAndOrder''. [[StrawmanPolitical A liberal college professor]] wrote the word "Panopticon" in big letters on the chalkboard and said that it's what America has become.

* Briefly discussed and namedropped on ''Series/LawAndOrder'': [[StrawmanPolitical A liberal college professor]] wrote the word "Panopticon" in big letters on the chalkboard and said that it's what America has become.

[[folder:Film]]
* In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' the prison cells in the Kiln are arrayed in a hemisphere around a central guard tower, which becomes the focus of the protagonists' escape attempt. That said, the surveillance clearly isn't perfect as there are maintenance hallways behind the cells that some of the prisoners seem to have access to.

* In ''Series/DoomPatrol2019'', this is the deep, dark secret literally buried under the otherwise-wholesome Danny the Street; that in exchange for Niles using his resources to prevent the Bureau of Normalcy from finding Danny and their citizens, Danny agreed to use their limited omniscience to serve as an all-seeing prison for Niles' daughter Dorothy, making sure that she never, ever left her tiny room beneath Danny's surface. Dorothy was down there for over ''ninety years'', and none of the "Dannyzens" ever knew she was there.

* In the Mexican series ''Series/{{Capadocia}}'', [[PrivateProfitPrison Capadocia]] is a women's prison run by a [[EvilInc ECSO]], a corporation that uses the inmate work program as a front for drug trafficking. The opening credits feature a shot of Capadocia's blueprints that shows it is built in this design.

The goal of a panopticon design is to make [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance]] as efficient, easy and total as possible. The prisoners know that they might be watched at any given time, but are never totally sure if they are being watched at that moment; the result is that they learn to behave as though they are always being watched, introducing a psychological conditioning aspect to their time in prison. Because of this, a panopticon is a very common symbol of [[BigBrotherIsWatching the Surveillance State]], and it is likely to show up as an indicator that SinisterSurveillance is afoot.

* As mentioned above, philosopher and architect Jeremy Bentham is the TropeMaker and TropeNamer, having described the concept in his writings. He didn't limit himself to prisons: hospitals, schools and asylums, among others, were also planned for. [[PrisonersWork He wanted to extract as much labor from convicts as possible.]]

** In the United Kingdom, Bentham lived to see Millbank Prison being built in 1821 but criticized the approach taken by the Crown. The site was too marshy to be healthy and too costly to operate and it was turned into a holding prison for those SentencedToDownUnder, a local and military prison, before being bulldozed on 1890. The Pentonville prison, built in 1832, was to become the model for British prisons, but didn't include the constant watching.

** In UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands, Breda, Arnhem and Haarlem penitentiary are cited as historic panopticon prisons. However, wardens couldn't fully see the cells.