Analysis of Foucault's Theory - Assignment Example

In what ways does One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest demonstrate Foucault’s theories regarding how power works in current society? Thesis ment Power is demonstrated as a very relative and key concept in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest. Against the back drop of a mental hospital and correction center where individuals are kept in a controlled environment, Power is maneuvered, modified and transferred amongst the individual inmates. The manifestations of power are seen as sycophancy and submissiveness in people. In the controlled environment at Mettray, individuals were made to be submissive as well as bold and powerful at different times. The deputies, in-charges, were not exactly moral polices or authorities of law and guards of interest. They were rather involved in the maneuvering of power in this controlled group and a part of the system that was meant to view the effects of power on the proponents, subjects and objects. The Thesis that is being developed is that power is self evident and a tool that can be best used when one is subjected to the same practices, imposed under the same rules. Power can be best used when one is subjected to it as a pupil. It creates and conditions a person to behave appropriately in the best interest to be powerful and get the best results out of it. Power – Imposed and Practiced At the site in Mettray new entrants were interviewed and interrogated about their crime which led them to the disciplining and conditioning center. Mettray was known for its deputies who were technicians of behavior, architects of characters, engineers of conduct and orthopedists of individuality (Carceral, p. 3). The questions was not reaching a state of aggression, raw brute and fearless character, but a personality that can be regulated to spring into a powerful state when the need arose and come down to a subdued state when ordered to. The aim was ”to create bodies that were both docile and powerful”. In connection with Foucault’s theories regarding the interpretation, application and perception of power, it is a much more social concept. Power has to do with the social structure. As mentioned in the document “Carceral” from pages 2 to 5, the system of punishment changes in regular prisons, detention centers, correction centers, cellular jails changed from orthodox systems of inflicting pain and agony, to imposing a regulated lifestyle that incorporated those basic principles of developing the tenets of power. Much like the theory of practicing before preaching, in the way the pupils in the Mettray center were subject to power which they would later impose on other, the system of correction changed. In the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” the protagonist says, “Jesus ! You guys do nothing but complain about how you can’t stand it in this place here, and then you haven’t got the guts to just walk out! What do you think you are for Christ’s sake, crazy or something? You’re not!” “Foucault is poststructuralist in who focused on the ways in which knowledge and power are mutually constitutive, one in another”. (Seidman, 2000, Chapter 12) Power alone without the base of knowledge was what was running medieval prison system, without any end goal, without any positive outcome, without an organized social movement, without an tangible long term benefit to the society or the inmates who were charged with some offence or the other. s According to Foucault the May 1968 marked an important shift in French left. At that point in time revolutions were not triggered by a class difference in politics. “Revolutions surfaced around caste, sex, professional, gays, women, prisoners etc” (Seidman, 2000, chapter 12). The Revolution was not just around society and economy, the factors on which the Marxism Practice relies. Foucault was against the reductionist and exclusionary theory of Marxism and questioned the nature of such theory and its success. Foucault’s critique on Marxism, Haberman’s theory who attempted to reconstruct Marxism against the backdrop of postwar social developments, and other general theories which tried to create “false and repressive closure ” (Seidman, 2000, Chapter 12), brings to mind Derrida’s critique – “the will to truth is the will to power” (Seidman, 2000, Chapter 12) As depicted in the movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”, the tolerance for various orientations: sexual, biological, hormonal, cultural, social, economical. Foucault himself valued the diversity in a society and went to American universities. “He valued sexual freedom and inventiveness of gay life in America. Similarly in the Carceral the character of man and planting the seeds of power and authority in a balanced manner was emphasized on. To sum it up, power is relative. It is a tool that initiates revolutions through social unrest. It exists in various social strata, but largely unfocused and unorganized. Power and Knowledge combined adds direction and purpose. Human Revolution – Social, professional, economic, sexual As shown in the movie, “one flew over the cuckoo’s nest” the protagonist not only represents a social revolution but a revolt that is underscored by unrest of purpose, culture and profession. This is in accordance with Foucault’s philosophies of knowledge and power. A believer in power in the larger context, various aspect of life like: respect, profession, work, intellect etc comes into the picture while talking about power. Foucault’s conception of sexual orientation and movement Power in the form of a sexual majority is also represented in the movie as well as a major area of study and thinking that Foucault did. He truly appreciated the American gay movement but was rather perturbed by the intention of making it a community or a mutually exclusive sexual identity. He was disturbed by the ”anchoring of culture in a notion of sexual and social identity” (Seidman, 2000, Chapter 12) In the chapter Imagining Modernity: The Idea of Disciplinary Order, Foucault’s image of modernity is explained in greater detail. A source of his conception of revolution, origin and interpretation of power in the context of society and how power would operate and drive a society forwards. Prison Reformation based on Foucault’s perspective on modern society: Foucault’s perspectives were different from that of Marxist or Liberalist views. Foucault’s approach was not a Marxist society but a modern three tiered society consisting of the state, civil society (economic, educational and religious societies) and family. In the chapter Discipline and Punish Foucault conveyed that the prison reform movement was a movement of establishing a new and more efficient system of control. Power dynamics in prison are totally different. A leap ahead in restructuring the society in terms of Foucault’s ideologies an principles. The prison reform from the old an outdated capital punishment, harsh physical torture and solitary confinement to the more rational, outcome bearing and productive practices of labor, physical conditioning and seasoning of specific capabilities. Foucault’s understanding of the human society relied on a basic premise that human society is pluralistic, that a certain pattern, or certain similarity of thought, tendency or characteristic cannot be pinpointed. Rather he believed that the human society was governed by an amalgamation of various behaviors, tendencies and patterns. It followed an amorphous and probabilistic trends rather than a repetitive and deterministic trend. Foucault looked at contemporary societies as being comprised of heterogeneous social equations and social dynamics which cannot be said to have a central principle of organization. He never proposed a modern general theory and principle of society. Neither did he assume a lack of social convergence nor did he abstain from general descriptions of the modern society. (Seidman, 2000, Chapter 12) Conclusion: From the readings and the movie we can conclude that the prison movement was a social reform that encompassed social, economical, sexual and other aspects of the society in an all encompassing way. The dynamics of power with knowledge and the reliance on a heterogeneous system of reformation and progress to bring out the best in the society was the primary intention of Michel Foucault, the Carceral and the movie “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”. They all converge on the reformation of the society through following a heterogeneous approach that is neither Marxist, capitalistic, libertarian or any other single-idea theory. Works Cited 1. “One Flew Over Cuckoos’ Nest”. 1975. Web. 7 Nov 2012. Retrieved From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN1cCviBXmY 2. Michel Foucault. Carceral. 1979. 3. Steven Seidman. “Contested Knowledge: Social Theory Today”. 2000. Web 7 Nov. 2012. Read More