I think it's supposed to be read as 'PANOPTICON
', as in an institutional design that allows a single security guard to keep an eye on all of the prisoners inside the institution without them knowing that they're being watched or not.
This turns out to be impossible, but the key is that, since they will never truly know if they are being watched or not, the inmates will assume that they are always being watched.
Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus
Shouldn't this be titled "Big Brother Is Watching You"?
Hide / Show Replies
No mention of The Prisoner? It was all about this trope-Number Six is constantly watched by Number Two including in his own residence.
Good freakin' griefer
I believe the title should be "Big Leader Is Watching You" since its makes more sense than Big Brother.
Your receipt. You can keep the freakin' change. Hide / Show Replies
The commonly-known term is "Big Brother".
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
What's the difference between this and Sinister Surveillance?
Hide / Show Replies
Hmm, always worrying when such similar tropes don't say how they differ from each other (Sinister Surveillance doesn't even seem to have a crosswick from this trope). The Laconic describes this trope as "Sinister Surveillance by a dystopia", but it's hard to imagine how that trope could ever be used in a non-dystopian fashion.
You know what? I don't like the way this trope is written. I think our fictional overlord is playing with our rights of privacy and-
Shot
Edited by Ryonne Oh, we can go on Do you understand? I t ' s a l l i n y o u r h e a d
Either I'm ignorant or POPTICON doesn't spell anything.
Hide / Show Replies