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

Onur Ağkaya

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.

Keywords

Dispositive, dystopia, Fight Club, Mr. Robot, Squid Game

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

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.

Keywords

: Dispositif, Distopya, Dövüş Kulübü, Mr. Robot, Squid Game

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