Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Indebtedness as a Form of Dispositive: Reading Fight Club, Mr. Robot, and Squid Game as Dystopic Genre

Year 2023, Volume: 78 Issue: 1, 29 - 48, 22.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.1172815

Abstract

The concept of dispositif, proposed by Michel Foucault in the mid-1970s but not fully developed, has become one of political philosophy's critical discussion and application topics in recent years. Therefore, the dispositif, of which content and boundaries are not fully drawn, both constitutes the subject of distinct interpretations and bears the potential to develop into a vital analysis tool. This study discusses the concept of dispositif through the perspectives of various thinkers and presents an analytical framework. Subsequently, it proposes indebtedness as a dispositif of the neo-liberal capitalist order. To demonstrate the role and function of the dispositif of indebtedness, the study regards and analyses Fight Club, Mr. Robot, and Squid Game, which all have attracted considerable attention recently, as examples of the dystopian genre. The study argues that all three works subject to analysis provide essential perspectives on the political, cultural, and economic relations created by the neoliberal capitalist order that has developed since the 1990s and provide essential tools for problematization. Despite taking place at different times, these three productions present an anti-capitalist critique and demonstrate how individuals are subjectified through hegemonic culture and norms in the neo-liberal order. In this regard, the study contributes to the literature on political philosophy as well as to Foucauldian studies.

References

  • Agamben, Giorgio (2009), What is an Apparatus, and Other Essays (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
  • Ağkaya, Onur (2016), “Ütopya ve Distopya: Siyasetin Edebiyat Üzerindeki Etkisi”, Manisa Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 14 (4): 23-48. https://doi.org/10.18026/cbayarsos.280053.
  • Bigo, Didier (2008), “Security: A field left fallow”, Michael Dillon ve Andrew W. Neal (Der.), Foucault on Politics, Security and War (New York: Palgrave Macmillan): 93-114.
  • Bigo, Didier, Isin, Engin ve Ruppert, Evelyn (Der.) (2019), Data Politics: Worlds, Subjects, Rights (New York: Routledge).
  • Bussolini, Jeffrey (2010), “What is a Dispositive?” Foucault Studies, 10: 85-107. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.v0i10.3120.
  • Deleuze, Gilles (1992), “What is a Dispositive?”. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/gilles-deleuze-what-is-a-dispositif.
  • Ditrych, Ondrej (2013), “From discourse to dispositif: States and terrorism between Marseille and 9/11”, Security Dialogue, 44 (3): 223-240. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010613484076.
  • Evans, Brad (2010). “Foucault's Legacy: Security, War and Violence in the 21st Century”, Security Dialogue, 41 (4): 413-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010610374313.
  • Foucault, Michel (1978), The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume I (New York: Pantheon Books).
  • Foucault, Michel (1980), “The Confession of the Flesh”, Colin Gordon (Der.), Power/Knowledge Selected /Interviews and Other Writings 1972- 1977, (New York, Pantheon Books, 1980): 194-228.
  • Foucault, Michel (2007), Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at College de France, 1977- 78 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan).
  • Gordin, Michael. D., Tilley, Helen ve Prakash, Gyan (2010), “Utopia and Dystopia beyond Space and Time”, Michael. D. Gordin, Helen Tilley ve Gyan Prakash (Der.), Utopia/Dystopia: Conditions of Historical Possibility (Princeton University Press, New Jersey): 1-19.
  • Han, Byung-Chul (2017), Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power (New York: Verso).
  • Hardt, Michael ve Negri Antonio (2012), Duyuru (İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları).
  • Hoyt, Christopher (2017), “Mr. Robot, Mad Son of Noir”, Richard Greene ve Rachel Robison-Greene (Der.), Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp (Chicago: Open Court): 85-95.
  • Jaeger, Siegfried (2002), “Discourse and knowledge: Theoretical and methodological aspects of a critical discourse and dispositive analysis”, Ruth Wodak ve Michael Meyer (Der.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, (Londra: Sage Publications): 32-62.
  • Keller, Reiner (2018), “Michel Foucault: discourse, power/knowledge and the modern subject”, Ruth Wodak ve Bernhard Forchtner (Der.), The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics (New York: Routledge): 67-81.
  • Kornbluh, Anna (2019), Marxist Film Theory and Fight Club (New York: Bloomsbury Academic).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2012), The Making of the Indebted Man: An Essay on the Neoliberal Condition (Amsterdam: Semiotexte).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2014a), Gouverner par la Dette (Paris: Pulsio).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2014b), Signs and Machines: Capitalism and the Production of Subjectivity (Los Angeles: Semiotexte).
  • Lemke, Thomas (2021), The Government of Things: Foucault and the New Materialisms (New York: New York University Press).
  • Ramey, Mark (2014), Studying Fight Club (Leighton: Auteur).
  • Ralston, Shane J. (2017), “What Kind of Revolutionary is Mr. Robot?” Richard Greene ve Rachel Robison-Greene (Der.), Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp (Chicago: Open Court): 77-84.

Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak

Year 2023, Volume: 78 Issue: 1, 29 - 48, 22.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.1172815

Abstract

Michel Foucault’nun 1970’lerin ortasında önerdiği, ancak, tam olarak geliştirmediği dispositif kavramı, son yıllarda siyaset felsefesinin önemli tartışma ve uygulama konularından birine dönüşmüştür. Dolayısıyla, içeriği ve sınırları tam olarak çizilmemiş olan dispositif hem farklı yorumlamaların konusunu oluşturmakta hem de önemli bir analiz aracı olma potansiyeli taşımaktadır. Bu çalışma, dispositif kavramını farklı düşünürlerin perspektiflerinden ele alarak tartışmakta ve analitik bir çerçeve sunmaktadır. Sonrasında, borçlandırmayı neo-liberal kapitalist düzenin bir dispositifi olarak önermektedir. Çalışma, borçlandırma dispositifinin iktidar ve bilgi ilişkilerindeki rolünü ve işlevini göstermek amacıyla son dönemde oldukça ilgi çeken Dövüş Kulübü (1996/ 1999), Mr. Robot (2015-2019) ve Squid Game (2021) adlı kültürel eserleri birer distopik tür olarak önermekte ve analiz etmektedir. Çalışma, analize tâbi üç eserin de 1990’lardan itibaren gelişen neo-liberal kapitalist düzenin yarattığı siyasal, kültürel ve ekonomik ilişkilere dair önemli perspektifler sunduğunu ve bunların sorunsallaştırılması için önemli araçlar sağladığını savunmaktadır. Farklı zamanlarda geçmelerine rağmen, bu üç yapım, anti-kapitalist birer eleştiri sunarak neo-liberal düzende, hegemonik kültür ve normlar üzerinden bireylerin nasıl özneleştirildiklerini göstermektedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma, siyaset felsefesi literatürüne ve aynı zamanda Foucault’cu çalışmalara bir katkı sunmaktadır.

References

  • Agamben, Giorgio (2009), What is an Apparatus, and Other Essays (Stanford: Stanford University Press).
  • Ağkaya, Onur (2016), “Ütopya ve Distopya: Siyasetin Edebiyat Üzerindeki Etkisi”, Manisa Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 14 (4): 23-48. https://doi.org/10.18026/cbayarsos.280053.
  • Bigo, Didier (2008), “Security: A field left fallow”, Michael Dillon ve Andrew W. Neal (Der.), Foucault on Politics, Security and War (New York: Palgrave Macmillan): 93-114.
  • Bigo, Didier, Isin, Engin ve Ruppert, Evelyn (Der.) (2019), Data Politics: Worlds, Subjects, Rights (New York: Routledge).
  • Bussolini, Jeffrey (2010), “What is a Dispositive?” Foucault Studies, 10: 85-107. https://doi.org/10.22439/fs.v0i10.3120.
  • Deleuze, Gilles (1992), “What is a Dispositive?”. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/gilles-deleuze-what-is-a-dispositif.
  • Ditrych, Ondrej (2013), “From discourse to dispositif: States and terrorism between Marseille and 9/11”, Security Dialogue, 44 (3): 223-240. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010613484076.
  • Evans, Brad (2010). “Foucault's Legacy: Security, War and Violence in the 21st Century”, Security Dialogue, 41 (4): 413-433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010610374313.
  • Foucault, Michel (1978), The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, Volume I (New York: Pantheon Books).
  • Foucault, Michel (1980), “The Confession of the Flesh”, Colin Gordon (Der.), Power/Knowledge Selected /Interviews and Other Writings 1972- 1977, (New York, Pantheon Books, 1980): 194-228.
  • Foucault, Michel (2007), Security, Territory, Population: Lectures at College de France, 1977- 78 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan).
  • Gordin, Michael. D., Tilley, Helen ve Prakash, Gyan (2010), “Utopia and Dystopia beyond Space and Time”, Michael. D. Gordin, Helen Tilley ve Gyan Prakash (Der.), Utopia/Dystopia: Conditions of Historical Possibility (Princeton University Press, New Jersey): 1-19.
  • Han, Byung-Chul (2017), Psychopolitics: Neoliberalism and New Technologies of Power (New York: Verso).
  • Hardt, Michael ve Negri Antonio (2012), Duyuru (İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları).
  • Hoyt, Christopher (2017), “Mr. Robot, Mad Son of Noir”, Richard Greene ve Rachel Robison-Greene (Der.), Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp (Chicago: Open Court): 85-95.
  • Jaeger, Siegfried (2002), “Discourse and knowledge: Theoretical and methodological aspects of a critical discourse and dispositive analysis”, Ruth Wodak ve Michael Meyer (Der.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, (Londra: Sage Publications): 32-62.
  • Keller, Reiner (2018), “Michel Foucault: discourse, power/knowledge and the modern subject”, Ruth Wodak ve Bernhard Forchtner (Der.), The Routledge Handbook of Language and Politics (New York: Routledge): 67-81.
  • Kornbluh, Anna (2019), Marxist Film Theory and Fight Club (New York: Bloomsbury Academic).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2012), The Making of the Indebted Man: An Essay on the Neoliberal Condition (Amsterdam: Semiotexte).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2014a), Gouverner par la Dette (Paris: Pulsio).
  • Lazzarato, Maurizio (2014b), Signs and Machines: Capitalism and the Production of Subjectivity (Los Angeles: Semiotexte).
  • Lemke, Thomas (2021), The Government of Things: Foucault and the New Materialisms (New York: New York University Press).
  • Ramey, Mark (2014), Studying Fight Club (Leighton: Auteur).
  • Ralston, Shane J. (2017), “What Kind of Revolutionary is Mr. Robot?” Richard Greene ve Rachel Robison-Greene (Der.), Mr. Robot and Philosophy: Beyond Good and Evil Corp (Chicago: Open Court): 77-84.
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Political Science
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Onur Ağkaya 0000-0003-3044-5978

Publication Date March 22, 2023
Submission Date September 8, 2022
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 78 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Ağkaya, O. (2023). Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 78(1), 29-48. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.1172815
AMA Ağkaya O. Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak. SBF Dergisi. March 2023;78(1):29-48. doi:10.33630/ausbf.1172815
Chicago Ağkaya, Onur. “Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot Ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak”. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi 78, no. 1 (March 2023): 29-48. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.1172815.
EndNote Ağkaya O (March 1, 2023) Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi 78 1 29–48.
IEEE O. Ağkaya, “Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak”, SBF Dergisi, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 29–48, 2023, doi: 10.33630/ausbf.1172815.
ISNAD Ağkaya, Onur. “Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot Ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak”. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi 78/1 (March 2023), 29-48. https://doi.org/10.33630/ausbf.1172815.
JAMA Ağkaya O. Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak. SBF Dergisi. 2023;78:29–48.
MLA Ağkaya, Onur. “Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot Ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak”. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, vol. 78, no. 1, 2023, pp. 29-48, doi:10.33630/ausbf.1172815.
Vancouver Ağkaya O. Bir Dispositif Formu Olarak Borçlandırma: Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot ve Squid Game’i Distopya Olarak Okumak. SBF Dergisi. 2023;78(1):29-48.