Society of Surveillance and Government of the Eye in Dystopian Films: An Analysis of The Lobster and Equilibrium

Abstract

Surveillance has been a control mechanism and a power device used by those in power throughout the history. Surveillance, thrived and diversified paralel to the progress of capitalism, today is a power apparatus which spread over every aspect of life and presence of which is inured by them asses. The so called panopticon, form of one way constant surveillance and manipulation has turned into what can be described as a Super-panopticon with the development of information technologies. The objective of this study is to reveal the functioning of today’s super-panopticon and to describe how this control apparatus is exercised by those in AJIT-e: Online Academic Journal of Information Technology 2017-Special Issue/Özel Sayı –Cilt/Vol: 8‐Sayı/Num: 30 DOI: 10.5824/1309‐1581.2017.5.002.x http://www.ajit‐e.org/?menu=pages&p=details_of_article&id=284 22 power. As a part of this objective, dystopian films The Lobster and Equilibrium. The films have been analyzed in the context of the social order and surveillance network of the worlds they picture. As for the analysis results, it is seen that the surveillance and audits which are found negative in the film results resemble actual life. In both films, it occurs that potencies use surveillance systems effectively on individuals to consolidate their status quos. The reason of setting surveillance theme in the dystopic movies is not a coincidence, it is about the worries regarding the results of surveillance. In the research which has been done by using content analysis management method, surveillance and control issues which has been placed in the movies appears to show strong similarities with real life. In both movies, it has been determined that governments are effectively using surveillance methods on individuals for strengthening their status quos. Either in the movies that have been observed or in actual life, individuals have become more and more passive and taken to be inside of surveillance systems voluntarily.