Within the original version of the Facebook page 'Monster Hunter Hell', this lack of Authority enforcing rules was substituted by the members acting as checks on each other, forming a strange Panopticon, wherein the metaphorical prisoners were simultaneously the guards. Administration of the page was managed almost entirely by the members acting as the cyber-flâneurs in groups concerning similar subject material. Often members would show comments from other groups to each other and critically analyse them, effectively 'Window shopping' (Prouty, 2009) the different Monster Hunter Groups, and flaunting their finds to each other, much in the same fashion that Richard Prouty described the 'dandies' of nineteenth century arcades as 'spectacles in their own right' (Prouty, 2009).
With the rebuilding of the group in recent weeks, the group's self-generated Panopticon' has adjusted to allow for more direct influence from the group's administrators, affecting how the 'cyber-flâneurs' of the group choose to behave and consume popular culture within this restructured group Panopticon.
A Panopticon prison. Image sourced from: http://beardedgentlemenmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Panopticon-2.jpg References
Prouty, R. (2009). A Turtle on a Leash. One-Way Street. Retrieved 24 August 2015, from http://www.onewaystreet.typepad.com/one_way_street/2009/10/a-turtle-on-a-leash.htmlRaynbird.com,. (2015). Passage of the Flaneur.2. Retrieved 24 August 2015, from http://www.raynbird.com/essays/Passage_Flaneur.html
It is an interesting thought as to what would happen to a group with a lack of leadership or guidelines to follow. It would seem logical such a form of anarchy would not be likely to occur. The reason for this is simple; it is difficult for large groups to form with no sense of unity. On the other hand, I wonder if it is possible for group guidelines to break down when a strong sense of leadership disappears.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of essentially a flipped panopticon is an intriguing one. With the group being managed solely by its members it seems like the group would be one issue away from anarchy and chaos at all times. Was this problem sorted out by the members acting as ‘cyber flenuers’?
The group had a level of unity where nobody could remember who the admins were, as everybody acted simply as members, and created a strong sense of unity, as nobody was above another members. As for the idea of each member acting as 'cyber fleneurs', it was both an attitude of 'fleneur-ship' and 'dandyism', with everyone observing, and everyone becoming a spectacle in their own right.
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