The Representation of Surveillance Society in Dystopian Novels and Contemporary Society
Authors
Sørensen, Ida Johanne Skall ; Jensen, Emilie Kaleta
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Pages
136
Abstract
This thesis examines how surveillance and totalitarian control are represented in three dystopian novels—1984 (1949), A Scanner Darkly (1977), and The Circle (2013)—and what these portrayals suggest about contemporary society. Guided by Michel Foucault’s Power/Knowledge concept and his reading of Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon, alongside Fredric Jameson’s Political Unconscious, the study analyzes how hegemonic ideologies produce compliant bodies and subjects, and how political and historical contexts shape each text. It asks how panoptic surveillance is articulated across decades and how developments in state and technological monitoring resonate today, including debates sparked by the Snowden revelations and the management of COVID-19. Through close readings within these frameworks, the thesis maps genre features and social concerns and underscores dystopia’s function as a cautionary warning. While detailed analyses appear later, the findings point to persistent parallels between fictional regimes and real-world practices that encroach on privacy; the overarching conclusion is that surveillance societies and totalizing systems are used to assert and maintain power over populations.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan overvågning og totalitær kontrol fremstilles i tre dystopiske romaner—1984 (1949), A Scanner Darkly (1977) og The Circle (2013)—og hvad disse fremstillinger siger om nutidens samfund. Med Michel Foucaults Power/Knowledge-begreb og hans læsning af Jeremy Benthams Panoptikon samt Fredric Jamesons Political Unconscious som ramme analyseres, hvordan hegemoniske ideologier former lydige kroppe og subjekter, og hvordan politiske og historiske kontekster præger hver tekst. Projektet spørger, hvordan panoptisk overvågning udtrykkes på tværs af årtier, og hvordan udviklingen i statslig og teknologisk overvågning genlyder i dag, herunder debatter udløst af Snowdens afsløringer og håndteringen af COVID-19. Gennem nærlæsninger inden for disse teorier kortlægges genrekendetegn og samfundsmæssige problemstillinger i værkerne samt dystopiens rolle som advarsel. Mens de fulde analyser præsenteres senere i specialet, peger resultaterne på vedvarende paralleller mellem fiktive regimer og nutidige praksisser, der indskrænker privatliv; den overordnede konklusion er, at overvågningssamfund og totalitære systemer bruges til at hævde og opretholde magt over befolkninger.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]