Today the American people are obsessed with reality television. Television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and The Bachelorette are just two examples of the fifteen reality or unscripted programs included in the top 20 most popular television programs in 2010 (Carter). What Americans fail to understand is that they too are the stars of their own reality television show. Even if their actions are not broadcast to the rest of the country, American citizens are still monitored by the government through wiretaps, GPS trackers, and cameras. These are just a few examples of how the American government is starting to introduce Michel Foucault's idea of ​​utopia, called the Panopticon, into modern American society. Although the government is trying to be as discreet as possible, films like Enemy of the State try to highlight how society and the government are obsessed with surveillance. Although the government's motivations differ greatly from those of its citizens, the line between right and wrong has become so blurred over the past decade that society does not pay much attention to the surveillance conducted on them unless it directly affects how they act. . about their lives. Enemy of the State follows Robert Dean, a labor lawyer, who is given a video of the murder of a Hammersley congressman. When Hammersley was murdered, he was trying to pass a bill that would allow law enforcement to greatly expand its surveillance capabilities. The National Security Agency, hoping to find the video, sets up wiretaps and cameras at Dean's house. Unfortunately the National Security Agency couldn't find the video so they convict Dean of murder, he is then fired from his job and all his bank accounts...... middle of paper......the State thoroughly expose the panoptic system described by Foucault and convince the viewer to ask himself a question; How much control does the government really need to protect its citizens? Works Cited Carter, Bill. “Tired of reality TV, but still tuned in.”thenytimes.com. The New York Times, September 13, 2010. Web. March 25, 2012. Foucault, Michel. "Panottism". Investigation into the situation. 370-397. Print.Lockup. MSNBC, 2008. Television.Mitchell, Gail, prod. Confinement. National Geographic, Television. "NSA Warrantless Surveillance Controversy." Wikipedia. Np, March 27, 2012. Web. March 28, 2012. Scott, Tony, dir. Enemy of the State. Perf. Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight and Lisa Bonet. Universal Pictures, 1998. Film.Weir, Peter, dir. The Truman Show. Perf. Jim Carey, Ed Harris, Noah Emmerich and Laura Linney. Paramount Pictures, 1998. DVD.