Hogwarts Most Watched School in the World

Krysti Meyer English 3080 November 10, 2013 Hogwarts, Most Watched School in the World Hogwarts is a school and, therefore, should also be considered an Ideological State Apparatus. Louis Althusser discusses in his essay, "The State Ideological Apparatuses", how an Ideological State Apparatus, or ISA, is an institution in which one group possesses direct control, or hegemony, over another (1341). The dominant group utilizes its power to imbue the values and ideas of the state into those over whom it prevails. It does this by rewarding behavior that conforms to the state's ideals and punishing behavior that appears to be deviant or asocial (1342). In the example of Hogwarts, the professors maintain a strict hegemony over the students. Considering the fact that Hogwarts is a school full of children armed with magical wands capable of injuring, controlling, or even killing others, the value of such a system is incontrovertible. In such a large school as Hogwarts, where the students vastly outnumber the professors, observing all deviant behavior would appear an impracticable task, but in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry tells Ron that the headmaster, Dumbledore, "knows more or less everything that goes on [at Hogwarts]" (302). We learn in the chapter about the Mirror of Erised that Dumbledore can become invisible at will. That would not, however, give him the ability to observe the behavior of the students at all times. So how would it then be possible for him to be aware of all the goings on which he is evidently conscious of? The only logical conclusion is that he would need to rely either on others or on magical devices to assist him. I would like to propose that what he actually employs is a sort of combination of the two, his own magical version of the United Kingdom's CCTV, the school portraits. In an ISA, observation is key to identifying deviant behaviors within the population. At Hogwarts, the professors as well as the portraits are constantly monitoring the students’ activities. While the students may not consider the constant presence of the portraits intrusive, they are unquestionably aware of them. They are a fixture in nearly every corridor of the castle. Because of them, it would be possible for the activities of any given student to be observed at any given moment. This high probability of observation would compel the students to govern their behavior accordingly. Hogwarts thus operates similarly to the Panopticon designed by Jeremy Bentham and discussed by New Historicist, Michel Foucault, in his essay "Discipline and Punish". The Panopticon is a tiered, circular prison in which a single guard at the center can watch any of the prisoners at any given time. Foucault presents this type of prison as "a model and summation of disciplinary power" (1496). It is a remarkably effective design because it inspires the prisoners to regulate their own conduct due to their fear of being constantly watched. Like Hogwarts, the city of London, the most watched city in the world, has transformed itself into a panoptic society with the installation of CCTV. The United Kingdom began installing CCTV cameras throughout the country in the mid 1980s with the intention of reducing crime rates. Cameras were placed in areas with the highest crime rates such as town center areas and parking garages (Brown 6). Throughout the 80s and 90s, CCTV was a hotly debated topic in the UK. In 1995, the same year that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published, Ben Brown, member of the Home Office Police Research Group, conducted a series of case studies to determine the efficacy of the CCTV system at impeding criminal behavior. In his report, Brown tells us that the "cameras are most commonly used to tackle conspicuous anti-social and criminal behavior” (6). These goals are startlingly reminiscent of those of the ISAs, to stamp out behavior that appears to be deviant or asocial (Althusser 1342). Since Hogwarts is an ISA, we can assume that its administrators would also have similar goals in mind. By examining the ways in which CCTV functions parallel to the ways in which the Hogwarts portraits function, the similarities between the two become apparent. In his case study, Brown describes how CCTV is utilized. "The operators use the cameras to 'patrol' the city center, in much the same way as would an operational officer: they search for suspicious incidents, monitor potentially difficult situations as they happen, and keep an eye on the local characters" (27). The perpetually observant portraits of Hogwarts are also capable of performing such functions. Harry describes the behavior of the portraits as he and the other Gryffindor students make their way to the common room on his first night in the castle, "the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed" (Sorcerer’s 128). The portraits make it obvious to the students from that first interaction that they are, in fact, watching them. An important benefit of the cameras in the UK is that "there is also some evidence from the Birmingham case study that CCTV has helped to improve feelings of safety in the city centre streets after dark" (Brown 8). The students of Gryffindor house certainly owe some of their own feelings of safety to a portrait. The painting of the Fat Lady literally guards the Gryffindor common room. No one can enter without her allowing them to do so (Sorcerer’s 130). In some instances, witches and wizards even trust their own portraits to watch after their families and homes after they've passed. The Order of Phoenix has their headquarters at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, the prior home of the Black family. Mrs. Black magically sealed a portrait of herself onto one of the walls, so that it is impossible to remove, in hopes of keeping out those she deemed unworthy of entering her home, those with less than a purely magical lineage (Phoenix 78). “A high degree of camera coverage is required to be most effective in tackling crime. The use of pan/tilt/zoom cameras may help to achieve such coverage” (Brown 8). The Hogwarts portraits could easily fulfill these requirements for being considered effective. The subjects of the portraits are not stationary. They can move at will either linearly from portrait to portrait, or the can move directly to another portrait of themselves. We see in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the portrait of the Fat Lady flee through the other castle portraits after her canvas is slashed by Sirius Black (141). Yet another function of the CCTV cameras is that they "help to control crime by serving as part of a communication and information gathering network” (Brown 18). Let's consider for a moment the portraits in Dumbledore's office as his own communication and gathering network. The walls of his circular office are adorned with the portraits of the former headmasters and mistresses of the school. In the earlier books of the Harry Potter saga, the portraits appear to always be sleeping when Harry visits Dumbledore's office (Chamber 205). However, as the series progresses, and as the situation in the Wizarding World becomes increasingly more dire, we see them begin to take on a more active, advisory type of role. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the portraits advise and even argue with Dumbledore about his response to Voldemort’s attack (Phoenix 496). Also in Order of the Phoenix, we actually get to see Dumbledore use the portraits in his office as an intelligence gathering system. Harry Potter witnesses, through his unique connection with Lord Voldemort, an attack on Arthur Weasley inside the Ministry of Magic. Dumbledore sends the portrait of former Professor Everard to his other portrait within the ministry at once, both to confirm Harry's story and to call for aid. Dumbledore then sends the portrait of former Professor Dilys to her portrait at St. Mungo's Hospital to confirm that Arthur is being treated and to get an update of his condition (Phoenix 471). Dumbledore is using his network of eyes both to communicate with the Wizarding World and gather information. Brown discusses in his case study the importance of a timely response from police units in order to ensure the effectiveness of CCTV (19). Foucault also discusses in his essay the effectiveness of the way in which "heads or deputy heads lived in close proximity, observing inmates day and night" in order to ensure discipline was carried out swiftly when necessary (1492). Though not a part of the novels, it is interesting to note that in the film versions of Harry Potter, in which Rowling was heavily involved, there is a portrait of a young Professor McGonagall in the Gryffindor common room. If Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor house, wanted to keep close watch over the Gryffindor students’ activities, it would be only too easy to have a portrait pass back and forth between the common room and her own rooms, reporting the student's behavior. This would ensure her own swift response to deviance. Dumbledore is, perhaps, a bit too trusting in his students’ sense of right and wrong, and he also recognizes their need to learn to protect themselves in the Wizarding World; therefore he grants them a great deal of freedom that others in his station may not. It would only be in the direst situations that he would be likely to designate a portrait the task of monitoring a particular student, but there are certain behaviors that Dumbledore would consider deviant and dangerous, and it is no stretch of the imagination that he would request the portraits report such behavior to him. The type of behavior I’m referring to would be, of course, anything involving the use of the dark arts as well as anything that would risk the revelation of their world to the muggles. It is not the ways in which we do see Dumbledore utilize the house portraits that impacts the students’ behavior, because the vast majority of the Hogwarts student body is not aware of them. It is simply the idea that Dumbledore, as well as the other professors, could use the portraits in such a way that does so, just as it is the potential of being constantly observed on CCTV that deters criminal behavior in the residents of the United Kingdom. Brown tells us "when cameras are first installed within an area, they have a strong deterrent effect on a wide range of crimes even in the months before they become fully operational (17). It all goes back to the idea of the Panopticon being the model for disciplinary power (Foucault 1496). The power of observation in controlling behavior is perhaps the most effective method available in either the magical or muggle world. Prisoners, students of magic, citizens of London, everyone avoids behaviors that could be considered deviant when they suspect they are being watched. Works Cited Althusser, Louis. "From Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (2010): 1335-1361. Brown, Ben. “CCTV in Town Centers: Three Case Studies. Pop Center. 1995. 3 November 2013 <http://www.popcenter.org/responses/video_surveillance/pdfs/ brown_1995_full.pdf>. Foucault, Michel. "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (2010): 1490-1502. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic Inc, 1998. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999 Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2003. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999.