PANOPTICISM AND SURVEILLANCE IN THE TRUMAN SHOW: A FOUCAULDIAN ANALYSIS OF POWER, DISCIPLINE, AND RESISTANCE

Abstract

Films not only serve as entertainment media, but also as a means to represent power relations that operate in society. One film that explicitly depicts the practice of surveillance and social control is Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998). This film tells the story of Truman Burbank, a man who has lived since birth in an artificial world without knowing that his entire life is recorded and broadcast as a television program. This study aims to analyze the representation of panopticism, surveillance, and disciplinary power in the film The Truman Show using Michel Foucault's theory. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method with a film analysis approach. The research data are in the form of scenes, dialogue, and narrative elements that demonstrate the practice of surveillance and social control mechanisms. The results show that Seahaven functions as a panoptic space that allows for continuous surveillance of Truman. Power in the film does not operate through physical violence, but through environmental regulation, information manipulation, and the formation of fear that encourages Truman to discipline himself. In addition, this film shows that resistance arises when individuals begin to understand the reality constructed by power. Thus, The Truman Show represents the relevance of the concept of panopticism in understanding surveillance practices in modern society.