In Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison by Michel Foucault, a discussion is opened about the the carceral system not longer being bound to the walls of a prison. It suggests that due to the newfound modern system of punishment we can see our city as a “carceral city” since the prison is so closely linked to the rest of society by a network of power that outlines everyones way of life. This essay will focus on examining the carceral nature of modern life that Foucault describes with specific reference to the film “Synecdoche, New York” directed by Charlie Kaufman. This will highlight how the model of the Panopticon has transfused into a modern society, and individuals are now not under constant observation by other, but from themselves.
In the film “Synecdoche, New York” The protagonist of the film is a theatre directors whose life seems to be falling apart, when his wife takes his daughter and leaves him, Caden seems to lose himself in a massive theater piece that is suppose to convey brutal realism and virtue. Similarly to Foucault, Kaufman explore the carceral nature of modern society as it discusses how the protagonist feels bound by what society dems appropriate, and take
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Giving his life an audience;himself. This serves as a parallel to Foucault's writing as he states “ The soul is the prison of the body”. It also further exemplifies what Majid tried to reinforce;the fact that power is psychological, and observation can changes behavior. Sammy serves as a simulacrum of his consciousness, and exemplifies the idea that one's self conscious self is displaced from one’s everyday selve. Instead we choose to present ourselves as a character bound by what we believe society dems