A seminal concept given to us by Foucault in “Truth and Juridical Forms” with respect to power is that of the Panopticon:

“Panopticism is one of the characteristic traits of our society. It's a type of power that is applied to individuals in the form of continuous individual supervision, in the form of control, punishment and compensation, and in the form of correction, that is, the molding and transformation of individuals in terms of certain norms. This threefold aspect of panopticism – supervision, control, correction – seems to be a fundamental and characteristic dimension of the power relations that exist in our society.”

The supervision and control systems work through certain apparatuses called “dispositifs” and knowledge structures that ensure the working of power in culture through institutions: