DİJİTALLEŞME VE TİYATRO: FİZİKSEL ÖLÜMDEN DİJİTAL VARLIĞA -USER NOT FOUND ÜZERİNE BİR İNCELEME

Öz

Çağdaş toplumunda bireyler, sosyal medya ve dijital platformlar aracılığıyla fiziksel kimliklerinin yanı sıra sanal kimlikler de oluşturmaktadır. Ancak dijital ortamlarda bu sanal kimliklerin ölümden sonra da varlığını sürdürmesi, ölüm, yas ve anma süreçlerine yeni bir boyut kazandırmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, ölümü ve yas süreçlerini çok yönlü bir perspektifle inceleyen tanatoloji, posthümanist kuramların ve dijital teknolojilerin etkisi altında yeni tartışma alanlarına açılmıştır. Böylece ‘dijital ölümsüzlük,’ ‘ölüm sonrası dijital varoluş,’ ‘dijital ahiret/ardıllık’ ve ‘bedenleşmiş sanallık’ gibi kavramlar, çağdaş ölüm çalışmalarının temel araştırma konuları arasında yer almaya başlamıştır. Bu çalışma için seçilen Chris Goode tarafından yazılan ve Dante or Die Theatre tarafından sahnelenen User Not Found (2018-2020) adlı oyun partnerinin ölüm haberiyle aniden yüzleşmek zorunda kalan Terry’yi konu alır ve onun hem yas süreciyle hem de merhumun dijital hesaplarının yönetimi ile ilgili verdiği içsel mücadeleyi derinlemesine inceler. Dijital alemde bu ‘hayalet kimlik’in varlığını sürdürmesi, karakterin yas sürecini daha yoğun şekilde yaşamasına neden olur. Oyun, izleyicisini sadece teması aracılığıyla değil, aynı zamanda performans teknikleri, özellikle de gösteri sırasında cep telefonları ve kulaklıkların kullanımı yoluyla dijital dünyaya çekmektedir. Tiyatroyu dijital teknolojilerle birleştiren bu oyun, izleyicilere hem fiziksel hem de sanal bir deneyim sunmasıyla da ayrıca dikkat çeker. Böylece oyun, tiyatral temsil aracılığıyla dijital çağdaki yaşamı sanatsal bir bakış açısıyla ele alarak, bu dönemde yaşanan dönüşümleri etkileyici bir şekilde yansıtmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Dijital ahiret/ardıllık
• Tanatoloji
• Posthümanizm
• Podcast tiyatro
• User Not Found.

DIGITALISATION AND THEATRE: FROM PHYSICAL DEATH TO DIGITAL PRESENCE- USER NOT FOUND

Öz

In contemporary society, individuals establish virtual identities alongside their physical identities through social media and digital platforms. However, the fact that these virtual identities persist after death introduces a new dimension to the processes of death, mourning and remembrance. In this context, thanatology, as an interdisciplinary field concerned with death and mourning, has been reshaped by the influence of posthumanist thought and digital technologies, opening up new avenues of scholarly inquiry. As a result, concepts such as ‘digital immortality,’ ‘posthumous digital existence,’ ‘digital afterlife’ and ‘embodied virtuality’ have become increasingly prominent within contemporary studies of death, grief, and remembrance. The play User Not Found (2018, 2020), written by Chris Goode and staged by Dante or Die Theatre, which is the focus of this study, centres on Terry, who is suddenly confronted with the news of his partner’s demise and delves into his internal battle with both the grieving process and the management of the deceased’s digital accounts. The persistence of this ‘ghost identity’ in the digital realm intensifies the character’s experience of grief. The play draws the audience into the digital world through its themes and performance techniques, particularly with the effective use of mobile phones and headphones. The play, which integrates theatre with digital technologies, also draws attention for offering audiences both a physical and a virtual experience. Thus, by means of theatrical representation, the play proffers an artistic depiction of life in the digital age, furnishing an impactful representation of the transformations experienced in this era.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Digital afterlife
• Thanatology
• Posthumanism
• Podcast theatre
• User Not Found.

Kaynakça

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