Analysis 5: Foucault and the Snitch

Retrospective on snitching:




Riley's refusal to snitch during interrogation:

An episode from The Boondocks entitled “Thank You For Not Snitching” is heavily rooted in the ideals of panopticism as it highlights snitching in relation to the black community as an unwritten taboo.  The episode begins with a mystery in the neighborhood pertaining to the identity of the thief that successfully burglarized three houses with the same week.  Robert Freeman vehemently refuses to talk to the police whereas his mostly white neighbors, who are all in the neighborhood watch as well, are eager to cooperate with the cops.  Panopticism is presented in two different ways: one where the blacks feel the unseen pressure of the stigma against snitching and another where the members of the neighborhood watch want to make the criminal(s) feel their presence as they actively keep an eye out for their whereabouts –there motto being “neighbors watching neighbors.”  A common trait between the characteristically black stigma against snitching and the existence of the neighborhood watch is that both their functions rely upon internalized pressures.  Just as the Freeman’s are not aware of black people potentially witnessing their snitching, the burglars are unaware of whether or not someone in the neighborhood is actually watching and calling the police on them.  Deterrents against unwanted actions, in this case snitching and home invasion, are primarily unseen forces that rely upon the Foucaultian notion that imperceptibility of authority becomes self-discipline.

 Riley discovers that his friends Ed and Rummy were the burglars as they run from a neighborhood watch member with a shotgun, resulting in the duo speeding off in Robert Freeman’s most precious possession, his car Dorothy, in the getaway unbeknownst to him or Huey.  Riley vehemently refuses to cooperate with his family or the police pertaining to finding possible suspects regarding the theft of his grandfather’s car.  In response to his livid grandfather grilling him for details, Riley reflects his panoptic self-discipline through responses such as “what would my niggas think of me if I snitched.”  Riley experiences anxiety about losing the respect and street-credibility from a presence, other black people, that may or may not be there to see him snitch.