‘Shortsight’ Problem of the Modern Individual: Analysis of the Film ‘The Lobster’ on the Context of Foucault’s Subject and Power Concepts Cover Image

Modern Bireyin ‘Miyop’ Sorunu: Foucault’nun Özne ve İktidar Kavramları Bağlamında ‘The Lobster’ Filminin Analizi
‘Shortsight’ Problem of the Modern Individual: Analysis of the Film ‘The Lobster’ on the Context of Foucault’s Subject and Power Concepts

Author(s): Can Diker
Subject(s): Social Philosophy, Contemporary Philosophy, Film / Cinema / Cinematography
Published by: Serdar Öztürk
Keywords: Foucault; Power; Sexuality; Dystopia; The Lobster (film);

Summary/Abstract: The Lobster, the film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos in 2015, sets up a dystopic society that is expected to take place in the near future in a surreal style and focuses on the individual’s sense of repression against power in the current system. The diegesis of the film consists of three different locations: “The City” where modern society individuals generally live, “The Forest” where the fugitives, who do not adopt to the modern society and “The Hotel”, which serves as a training camp and also a prison to readapt the individuals to the modern society and its rules. In The Lobster’s dystopic diegesis, the creation and shaping of power is realized through spaces and discourses, and an oppressive society structure is made by doing surveillance on the individuals. In each of these places there are different power relations, and the phenomenon of surveillance is the common point of all. Individuals are subject to the rules of relevant places according to the place which they are located. Accordingly, individuals are rewarded and punished for their actions. In this context, the film has a very close relationship with Foucault’s perspectives on power and subject. Based on the ideas that Foucault’s power is everywhere and can be shaped through spaces, how the three places in film produce their own power practice will be analyzed through the film.

  • Issue Year: 4/2019
  • Issue No: Sp. Iss
  • Page Range: 91-105
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Turkish