Surveillance Society in Dystopian Novels and Contemporary Society
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The Representation of Surveillance Society in Dystopian Novels and Contemporary Society Emilie Kaleta Ida Johanne Skall Sørensen AALBORG UNIVERSITET Abstract This thesis examines the representation of surveillance and totalitarian societies in the dystopian novels 1984 (1949), A Scanner Darkly (1977), and The Circle (2013), from three different decades throughout history. This representation will be investigated through the Power/Knowledge scheme as presented by Michel Foucault as well as Fredric Jameson’s theory of The Political Unconscious. This thesis analyses the hegemonic ideologies imposed by totalitarian regimes as an attempt to create docile, conformed bodies that further allows the regime to sustain and maintain its power over society. Furthermore, the thesis analyses the correlation between the political and historical circumstances that not only played a prominent role at the time of the novels’ publication, but also in contemporary society, which enters into the notion that dystopian novels often function as cautionary warnings. The findings of the analyses are thought-provoking when considering the parallels that exist in relation to contemporary surveillance societies and their application of technological devices through which the government interferes and limits the private life of its citizens. This is especially applicable to the global pandemic of COVID-19, where the notion of surveillance and its usability is greatly discussed. The conclusion to be drawn is that surveillance societies and totalitarian systems are utilised as a way to assert and maintain power over people. June 2020 Aalborg Universitet Emilie Kaleta Ida Johanne Skall Sørensen Supervisor: Bent Sørensen Keystrokes: 327.104 Contents Introduction 1 The Dystopian Genre in Literature 4 Gottlieb’s Seven Dystopian Characteristics 6 Michel Foucault 10 Power and Knowledge 10 Truth 13 Discipline, Punish, & Surveillance 17 Punishment 20 Jeremy Bentham 21 Fredric Jameson 26 Analysis 33 1984 33 Setting 33 Narrative Form 36 1984 as a Socially Symbolic Act 41 Character Analysis 42 Surveillance, Panopticism, and Power 48 Modes of Production 55 A Scanner Darkly 58 Setting 58 Narrative Form 61 A Scanner Darkly as a Socially Symbolic Act 64 Character Analysis 66 Surveillance, Panopticism, and Power 74 Modes of Production 79 The Circle 82 Setting 82 Narrative 84 The Circle as a Socially Symbolic Act 86 Character Analysis 88 Surveillance, Panopticism, and Power 92 Modes of Production 97 Genre & Historicity 99 Discussion 103 Conclusion 109 Works cited 111 ”Big Brother is watching you...” Introduction “Under observation, we act less free which means we effectively are less free.” – Edward Snowden In 2013 it was published that American whistle-blower Edward Snowden had leaked top- secret documents from the National Security Agency - N.S.A - that showed how the American government was spying on its citizens (MacAskill). Some of the things revealed, amongst other things, were that several telephone companies provided the N.S.A with their customers’ phone records, and that the N.S.A held the right to request user data from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Apple. Moreover, it was further revealed that the American government did not spy on their own citizens only, but several world leaders and foreign governments were objects of surveillance as well. The extent of the surveillance performed by the N.S.A may have come as a shock to the world; however, the notion of government surveillance and implementation of control, power, and discipline are not a new trend known to society. Nearly 70 years after the publication of the classic novel 1984 by English author George Orwell, the trends of surveillance, power, and control present in the story are still valid themes in today’s society. Orwell was influenced in his writing by the totalitarian dystopian novel caused by a decade of political chaos. More precisely, Orwell’s novel was rooted in a hatred to the totalitarian and political authority of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as well as the communist revolution in Russia and the fascist government in Spain (“1984: George Orwell’s road to dystopia”). The novel functions as an overwhelming warning of things to come, if society lets things slide in regard to political and ideological warfare, therefore, the novel belongs to the dystopian genre of literature. Ultimately, it is not difficult to imagine Edward Snowden in the same position as the protagonist in 1984 working at the Ministry of Truth where the normality of things, such as the undisguised surveillance of mail and letters, hides the ominous truth of reality. This corresponds with Snowden’s statement regarding the surveillance performed by the N.S.A of telephone calls, data, e-mails, and texts respectively: “The NSA specifically targets the communications of everyone. It ingests them by default.” (Sorkin). This plays perfectly with the fact that George Orwell has lent his name to a universal shorthand, the term ‘Orwellian’ which is utilised to describe a “political system in which a government tries to have complete control over people’s behaviour and thoughts” (“Orwellian”). George Orwell 1 KALETA & SKALL then has become the epitome of anything repressive and totalitarian by default. This project originates from an interest in government surveillance and disciplinary power and how they affect societies. Therefore, this master thesis wishes to account for the representation of government surveillance within three selected dystopian works by applying the notion of power and knowledge established by French philosopher Michel Foucault. Moreover, Foucault’s interpretation of English philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon will contribute to an understanding of surveillance and disciplinary measures, and how they combined execute power. Finally, in order to analyse the political, social, and historical aspects of the selected novels: 1984 by George Orwell (1949), A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick (1977), and The Circle by Dave Eggers (2013), Fredric Jameson’s theory on the Political Unconscious will be featured in order to reveal their underlying ideologies (Barry 160). French philosopher Michel Foucault is best known for his work with the notion of power and its relationship with knowledge. Part of Foucault’s occupation with power is to highlight the power struggles that have come to form the basis for human sciences and furthermore, how these have come to influence the modern subject. Foucault argues that discourse of knowledge throughout history is manifested as embodiments of power relations (Edgar et al. 265), and thus will be a large contribution for the upcoming project. Surveillance is arguably a politically and morally loaded activity which influences every aspect of the everyday lives of people. Jeremy Bentham devised in the 18th century a unique penitentiary model known as the Panopticon that aimed to achieve a one-way communication with the hopes of preventing or limiting violence and opposition to power (Bentham 1, 35). Additionally, in order to account for the underlying foundations of the forces of power and discipline present within the literary works, it is relevant to plunge into the political, social, and historical events that spark the creation of a dystopian novel. This will be done through American Marxist-critic Fredric Jameson’s theory on The Political Unconscious presented in The Political Unconscious: Narrative as a Socially Symbolic Act (1981). As a political extension to his theory, Jameson asserts the priority of interpreting literary texts in light of their historical context, which will assist in the investigation of the contemporary social context from which the dystopian novel predicts the future. The theories presented will thus enable us to answer the following thesis: How is Michel Foucault’s theory on panoptic surveillance, within the Power/Knowledge scheme, manifested/ apparent/asserted within the dystopian literary works from three different periods in time, and moreover how is the development of government surveillance evident in today’s society. For the analysis, the narratives chosen for this project are 1984 (1949) by George Orwell, A Scanner Darkly (1977) by Philip K. Dick, and The Circle (2013) by Dave Eggers. The time span between the three novels will contribute to map out not only dystopian genre instances 2 KALETA & SKALL (or deviances) but will also enable us to establish which contextual issues lurk beneath the surface in the individual literary work. The choice of George Orwell’s novel is motivated by the fact that it is today considered a classic example of dystopian (and political) fiction, centring on the consequences of totalitarianism, government surveillance and repressive forces within society. Therefore, this literary work is deemed a fine example of dystopian fiction and will further function as a point of departure within the investigation of the development of not only dystopian fiction, but also the development within the representation of government surveillance. Nearly thirty years later, Philip K. Dick published his semi-autobiographical dystopia A Scanner Darkly, with its centre of attention on a drug-misuse epidemic within a highly intrusive police surveillance. The choice fell on Dick’s dystopia due to its ideal temporal location, as analysing two novels nearly sixty years apart leaves a great temporal gap that we wished to minimise. Therefore, the choice of A Scanner Darkly is founded on the desire to gain insight and to delve