We’re lucky enough to have with us today John Cruz, who wrote and directed PanoptiCo. Cruz studied film at MiraCosta Community College. His first short, Orfeo, screened at the Culver City Film Festival in 2017. Cruz also runs his own media company, Cruzader Pictures. In PanoptiCo, Cruz explores the concept of the panopticon, as described by Jeremy Bentham, and its nefarious applications today. Thank for sitting down with us.
Darida Rose, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): How and when did you first hear about the concept of the panopticon?
John Cruz (JC): I first heard about the panopticon in a video art course I took in college. It was part of the lesson we were studying. Looking back, I’m not sure what that has to do with video art!
(UM):In the film, you suggest that the panopticon is already watching us in schools, jails and hospitals. Can you give us other examples of how the panopticon principle is at work in our society?
(JC): The panopticon is at work anywhere in society. Employees are monitored by their bosses or managers. You may see a security guard patrolling a public square or park. Even digitally, website use cookies to track who visits the site. Amazon, for example, tracks your shopping history so they can suggest products for you.
(UM): Why did you chose to make this an animation? Can you tell us a bit about the process of making this film?
(JC): As mentioned before, I learned about the panopticon in class. For our assignment, we could make a short film explaining the concept of the panopticon. I knew from the start that I wanted to make it an animation, even though I had no animating experience. To make the film, I drew every frame on tracing paper, took pictures of them, uploaded them to my laptop where I edited them. I had also included music and the narration was actually performed by a text-to-speech program. Remaking it for submitting to festivals, I left out the music, got my friend and long time collaborator, Brandon, to record the narration, and used my new Apple Pencil to digitally trace the frames.
(UM): What inspired you to make this film as a sort of advertisement for a fictional corporation? Do you think we have more to fear from corporate surveillance or state surveillance?
(UM): During the Covid-19 pandemic, China seems to have been able to use its massive surveillance apparatus to track the infected in a way that no western state would be able to. Do you fear that the pandemic will open the door to more panopticon-like intrusions?
(UM): One of the reasons Bentham thought the panopticon would be a good idea was that it would be much cheaper than traditional prisons – one guard could watch everyone. Do you think that what you see as the rise of the panopticon is primarily driven by economics, or some other reason?
(UM): Foucault, following Nietzsche, seems to have thought that people seek power for its own sake. Do you think that drive for power could be what’s fuelling the panopticon today?
(UM): In the film, the narrator claims that the panopticon is essential to living in paradise. Could you explain this further?
(UM): Do you have any advice for those who are concerned about widespread surveillance?
(JC): I think advise is hard to give in this situation. The surveillance goes beyond physical cameras and monitors. Sometimes, it’s the fear of the possibility of surveillance. Is there a camera really there? If so, is it even on? That fear is what makes it psychologically thrilling, because you don’t know. That’s why, for me, giving any advice is difficult because we just don’t know. We can’t just close the curtains and turn off our phones; that would make us prisoners. It’s a challenging concept that really makes you think, or rethink, who is in control.
By: Darida Rose
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.