Transformation of the Surveillance Society from Panopticon to Omnipticon: The Case of Black Mirror’s Episode ‘Nosedive’

Meryem Serdar

Article Details

Transformation of the Surveillance Society from Panopticon to Omnipticon: The Case of Black Mirror’s Episode ‘Nosedive’

Authors:

Meryem Serdar

Publisher:

İdeal Kent Yayınları

Journal:

OPUS Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.20 Issue 53, pp.396-409

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

5/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001290616

pISSN:

2791-9862

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Surveillance, which is seen as one of the modern disciplinary methods, is first depicted in the metaphor of the panopticon prison. Using this metaphor and referring to Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault discussed the disciplinary role of modern power through the act of surveillance. The authority of the surveillance mechanism that develops against the will of the monitored is criticized during these times. With the development of communication tools, surveillance has evolved from the panopticon, in which a few people forcibly monitor the majority, to the synopticon, in which the many monitor the few, with the consent of the monitored. At the present time it reaches to the omnipticon, in which everyone eagerly watches each other. The new media environments have heightened the irresistible charm of surveillance. The concept of privacy has been transformed for this purpose; the distinction between private and public space has vanished and it has almost become a necessity for lives to be made public with their most private moments. This study aims to read the transformation of surveillance technology in parallel with social change. The episode Nosedive of the Black Mirror series, which deals with the possible side effects of extreme technology in our lives, has been chosen as a case study in this work and examined by qualitative content analysis method in terms of how omnipticon-style surveillance works in new media environments and the type of society it will reveal.As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that surveillance in todays society transforms individuals into a subject of performance and success, causing lives to be nothing more than a showcase, focusing on the quantity that determines the value of individuals, and that in this system where there is no room for negativity, individuals actually experience rock bottom while trying to appear happy by consuming.

 Surveillance, which is seen as one of the modern disciplinary methods, is first depicted in the metaphor of the panopticon prison. Using this metaphor and referring to Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault discussed the disciplinary role of modern power through the act of surveillance. The authority of the surveillance mechanism that develops against the will of the monitored is criticized during these times. With the development of communication tools, surveillance has evolved from the panopticon, in which a few people forcibly monitor the majority, to the synopticon, in which the many monitor the few, with the consent of the monitored. At the present time it reaches to the omnipticon, in which everyone eagerly watches each other. The new media environments have heightened the irresistible charm of surveillance. The concept of privacy has been transformed for this purpose; the distinction between private and public space has vanished and it has almost become a necessity for lives to be made public with their most private moments. This study aims to read the transformation of surveillance technology in parallel with social change. The episode Nosedive of the Black Mirror series, which deals with the possible side effects of extreme technology in our lives, has been chosen as a case study in this work and examined by qualitative content analysis method in terms of how omnipticon-style surveillance works in new media environments and the type of society it will reveal.As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that surveillance in todays society transforms individuals into a subject of performance and success, causing lives to be nothing more than a showcase, focusing on the quantity that determines the value of individuals, and that in this system where there is no room for negativity, individuals actually experience rock bottom while trying to appear happy by consuming.

 Surveillance, which is seen as one of the modern disciplinary methods, is first depicted in the metaphor of the panopticon prison. Using this metaphor and referring to Jeremy Bentham, Michel Foucault discussed the disciplinary role of modern power through the act of surveillance. The authority of the surveillance mechanism that develops against the will of the monitored is criticized during these times. With the development of communication tools, surveillance has evolved from the panopticon, in which a few people forcibly monitor the majority, to the synopticon, in which the many monitor the few, with the consent of the monitored. At the present time it reaches to the omnipticon, in which everyone eagerly watches each other. The new media environments have heightened the irresistible charm of surveillance. The concept of privacy has been transformed for this purpose; the distinction between private and public space has vanished and it has almost become a necessity for lives to be made public with their most private moments. This study aims to read the transformation of surveillance technology in parallel with social change. The episode Nosedive of the Black Mirror series, which deals with the possible side effects of extreme technology in our lives, has been chosen as a case study in this work and examined by qualitative content analysis method in terms of how omnipticon-style surveillance works in new media environments and the type of society it will reveal.As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that surveillance in todays society transforms individuals into a subject of performance and success, causing lives to be nothing more than a showcase, focusing on the quantity that determines the value of individuals, and that in this system where there is no room for negativity, individuals actually experience rock bottom while trying to appear happy by consuming.

 Modern çagın disipline etme yöntemlerinden biri olarak görülen gözetim ilk olarak panoptikon hapishanesi metaforunda cisimlesmistir. Foucault, Benthamdan referansla kullandığı bu metaforla birlikte gözetleme eylemi üzerinden modern iktidarın disipline edici rolünü tartısmıştır. Bu dönemlerde elestirilen elbette gözetilenin arzusu dısında gelisen, gözetleyen mekanizmanın otoritesi idi. İletişim araçlarının gelişmesiyle birlikte gözetim şekil değiştirerek; az kişinin çoğunluğu cebren izlediği panoptikondan çok kişinin az kişiyi -izlenenlerin rızasıyla- gözetlediği sinoptikona ve nihayet günümüzde herkesin birbirini iştiyakle izlediği omniptikona evrilmiştir. Yeni medya ortamları gözetlenmenin dayanılmaz çekiciligini kamçılamıs, bu ugurda mahremiyet kavramı dönüsüme ugramıs, özel alan-kamusal alan ayrımı ortadan kalkmış, en özel anlarıyla hayatların kamuya açılması adeta bir gereklilik halini almıstır. Bu çalışma, gözetim teknolojisinin geçirdiği dönüşümü toplumsal değişimle paralel olarak okumayı amaçlamaktadır. Aşırı teknolojinin yaşamlarımızdaki olası yan etkilerini işleyen Black Mirror dizisinin Nosedive bölümü yeni medya ortamlarında omniptikon tarzı gözetlemenin nasıl işlediğini ve ortaya çıkaracağı toplum tipini ele alması bakımından bu çalışmada örnek olay olarak seçilerek nitel içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Yapılan analiz sonucunda; günümüz toplumundaki gözetimin bireyleri adeta bir performans ve başarı öznesine dönüştürdüğü, hayatların artık bir vitrinden ibaret olmasına yol açtığı, bireylerin değerini belirleyen şeyin nicelik olmasına odaklandığı, olumsuzluğa yer olmayan bu sistemde bireylerin tüketerek mutlu görünmeye çalışırken dibe vuruş yaşadıkları bulguları elde edilmiştir.

Article Details

Transformation of the Surveillance Society from Panopticon to Omnipticon: The Case of Black Mirror’s Episode ‘Nosedive’

Authors:

Meryem Serdar

Publisher:

İdeal Kent Yayınları

Journal:

OPUS Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.20 Issue 53, pp.396-409

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

5/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001290616

pISSN:

2791-9862

Surveillance Society

Panopticon

Synopticon

Omnipticon

Black Mirror

NosediveGözetim Toplumu

Panoptikon

Sinoptikon

Omniptikon

Black Mirror

Nosedive

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Meryem Serdar

Publisher: İdeal Kent Yayınları

Journal: OPUS Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.20 Issue 53, pp.396-409

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 5/2023

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001290616

pISSN: 2791-9862

Issues

Authors:

Meryem Serdar

Publisher:

İdeal Kent Yayınları

Journal:

OPUS Toplum Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.20 Issue 53, pp.396-409

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

5/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001290616

pISSN:

2791-9862