Nina Cui Ms. Speilman ENG2DE-01 21 April 2023 How a Global Crises is Used as Pretext for Control in “1984” and “Panopticism” We are all familiar with the SARS Virus Outbreak, better known as the COVID-19 pandemic, and how it entered our lives, forever changing our lifestyles, and creating a profound and unprecedented impact on our society. From lockdowns and social isolation to the quick development of vaccinations and social implementations, the pandemic displayed our ability to adapt, innovate, and collaborate in the face of a global crisis. Nonetheless, without diving deeper into the pandemic's ramifications and consequences, we may fail to discern the escalation of government control over its citizens. On one hand, “1984” by George …show more content…
The idea that an outside factor was employed to maintain internal control is also prevalent throughout the text, as “the plague is met by order; its function is to sort out every possible confusion” (page 4). It illustrates that in the face of a crisis, the government can use it as a justification to exercise greater control over individuals by enforcing harsher restrictions and extending monitoring beyond what is considered human norm. This can be further proved as Michel writes, “There was also a political dream of the plague…the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life through the mediation of the complete hierarchy that assured the capillary functioning of power” (page 4). It is implied that the authority figures used the plague as a leading force to control individuals' behavior and practices with the aim to develop them into obedient and productive members of society. Michel examines the power structures and disciplinary mechanisms in society as a means of control as opposed to a traditional protagonist, “in which power is exercised without division, according to a continuous hierarchical figure” (page 4). These movements of power and potency are secured by the implemented surveillance system, which “is based on a system of permanent registration: reports from the syndics to the intendants, from the intendants to the magistrates or mayor.” (page 3). It is clearly elucidated that civilians are constantly monitored, and every activity and piece of information about them is captured and distributed. It results in an environment in which individuals are conscious that they are being monitored and internalize a sense of control, eventually leading to self-discipline and