Normalleştirilen ve İzlenen Yaşamlar: Juli Zeh’in Corpus Delicti’si ve John Marrs’ın The Marriage Act’inde Normlar ve Gözetimin Tehlikeleri
Abstract
Bu çalışma, Juli Zeh’in Corpus Delicti (2009) ve John Marrs’ın The Marriage Act (2023) romanlarında normalleşme ve gözetim hususlarını tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır. Romanlar bireysel hak ve özgürlüklerin, sosyal refah ve güvenlik vaadiyle meşrulaştırılan yayılmacı normlar ve gözetimle kısıtlandığı toplumları tasvir etmektelerdir. Corpus Delicti’de Zeh, vatandaşların katı sağlık normlarına uymasının ve kendi bedenlerini ve eylemlerini sürekli izlemesinin zorunlu olduğu, YÖNTEM tarafından yönetilen fütüristik bir devleti okuyucuya sunmaktadır. Gelişmiş teknolojilerin, refah ile baskı arasındaki çizgiyi bulanıklaştıran bu kontrolü zorunlu kıldığını ifade etmek mümkündür.
Marrs’ın The Marriage Act’i ise, Evliliğin Kutsallığı Kanunu ile hükümetin vatandaşlara Akıllı Evlilikler konusunda baskı yaparak evli olmayı dayattığı ve onları yapay zekâ teknolojileri ile izlediği bir toplumu tasvir etmektedir. Normlara bağlı kalanlar ödüllendirilirken, uymayanlar ötekileştirilmeyle karşı karşıya kalır. Her iki roman da gözetimin nasıl sadece normları dayatmakla kalmayıp aynı zamanda onların içselleştirilmesine de yol açtığını ve bunun kontrol etmesi kolay, uysal ve itaatkâr bireyler ile sonuçlandığını göstermektedir. Normların ve bireyler üzerindeki kontrolün içselleştirilmesi öz-gözetime ve bireyselliğin bastırılmasına neden olmaktadır çünkü bireyler, hem yönetici gruplar tarafından sürekli izlendiğinin farkında olmakta hem de kendilerini kontrol etme eğilimi geliştirmektedir. Zeh ve Marrs, mahremiyet ve özerkliğin aşınmasını eleştirmekte, düzen ve güvenlik kisvesi altında normlara ve bireysel haklar üzerindeki kontrole dayanan toplumların tehlikelerine dikkat çekmektelerdir.
References
- Baudrillard, Jean (2008): Tüketim Toplumu: Söylenceleri, Yapıları (3. bs.) (Çev.: Hazal Deliceçaylı / Ferda. Keskin). İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
- Bauman, Zygmunt / Lyon, David (2013): Akışkan Gözetim. (Çev.: Elçin Yılmaz). İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
- Bicchieri, Christina (2006): The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Broom, Leonard / Selznick, Philip (1963): Sociology. New York: Harper & Row.
- Elster, Jon (1989): The Cement of Society: A Study of Social Order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Eshleman, J. Ross / Bulcroft, Richard A. (2010): The Family (12. bs.). Boston: Pearson.
- Foucault, Michel (1995): Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
- Foucault, Michel (2003): The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. Oxon: Routledge.
- Foucault, Michel (2006): Psychiatric Power: Lectures at the Collège de France 1973-1974. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gernert, Johannes (2009): Interview mit Juli Zeh: Plädoyer gegen die Fitness-Diktatur. Stern. https://www.stern.de/kultur/buecher/interview-mit-juli-zeh-plaedoyer-gegen-die-fitness-diktatur-3432820.html (En son erişim: 16.05.2024).
- Hechter, Michael / Opp, Karl-Dieter (Ed.) (2001): Social Norms. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Helms, Heather M. (2013): Marital Relationships in the Twenty-First Century. Handbook of Marriage and the Family (Gary W. Peterson / Kevin R. Bush, Ed.). New York: Springer, 233-254.
- Huston, Ted L. / Melz, Heidi (2004): The Case for Promoting Marriage: The Devil Is in the Details. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(4), 943-958.
- Koellner, Sarah (2016): Data, Love, and Bodies: The Value of Privacy in Juli Zeh’s Corpus Delicti. Seminar, 52(4), 407-425.
- Lyon, David (2001): Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Lyon, David / Haggerty, Kevin D. / Ball, Kirstie (2012): Introducing Surveillance Studies. Routledge Handbook of Surveillance Studies (Kirstie Ball, Ed.). New York: Routledge, 1-11.
- Maierhofer, Waltraud (2022): Dystopias of Family Planning in the Novel Corpus Delicti (2009) by Juli Zeh and Das weiße Schloss (2018) by Christian Dittloff. Prospero, 27, 243-262.
- Marrs, John (2023): The Marriage Act. London: Macmillan.
- McCalmont, Virginia / Maierhofer, Waltraud (2012): Juli Zeh’s “Corpus Delicti” (2009): Health Care, Terrorists, and the Return of the Political Message. Monatshefte, 104(3), 375-392.
- Murphy, Mike / Glaser, Karen / Grundy, Emily (1997): Marital Status and Long-Term Illness in Great Britain. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59(1), 156-164.
- Pylypa, Jen (1998): Power and Bodily Practice: Applying the Work of Foucault to an Anthropology of the Body. In Arizona Anthropologist, 13, 21-36.
- Taylor, Diana (2009): Normativity and Normalization. Foucault Studies, 7, 45-63.
- Trojanow, Ilija / Zeh, Juli / Alvizu, Josh / Petersdorff, Marc (2015): Attack on Freedom: The Surveillance State, Security Obsession, and the Dismantling of Civil Rights. German Studies Review, 38(2), 271-284.
- Turner, Bryan S. (2008): The Body & Society: Explorations in Social Theory. London: Sage Publications.
- Waite, Linda. J. / Gallagher, Maggie (2000): The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier and Better off Financially. New York: Doubleday.
- Walsh, Froma (2012): Normal Family Processes: Growing Diversity and Complexity (4. bs.). New York: Guilford Press.
- Zeh, Juli (2022): Temize Havale. (Çev.: Sevinç Altınçekiç). İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
Normalized and Monitored Lives: The Dangers of Norms and Surveillance in Juli Zeh’s “Corpus Delicti” and John Marrs’s “The Marriage Act”
Abstract
This study aims to discuss the issues of normalization and surveillance in Juli Zeh’s Corpus Delicti (2009) and John Marrs’s The Marriage Act (2023). They portray societies where individual rights and freedoms are limited by invasive norms and surveillance justified by the promise of social welfare and security. In Corpus Delicti, Zeh presents the reader a futuristic state governed by the METHOD, where citizens are required to adhere to strict health norms and constantly monitor their own bodies and actions. It can be stated that advanced technologies enforce this control, which blurs the line between welfare and oppression. The Marriage Act by Marrs depicts a society where the government imposes being married on citizens pressuring them into Smart Marriages with the Sanctity of Marriage Act and monitors them with AI technologies. Those who adhere to norms are awarded while those who refuse face otherization. Both novels illustrate how surveillance not only enforces norms but also leads to their internalization, resulting in docile and submissive individuals easy to control. The internalization of norms and control over individuals causes self-surveillance and suppression of individuality because they are aware that they are constantly monitored by the ruling groups and are likely to control themselves. Zeh and Marrs criticize the erosion of privacy and autonomy and highlight the dangers of societies that depend on norms and control over individual rights under the guise of order and security.
References
- Baudrillard, Jean (2008): Tüketim Toplumu: Söylenceleri, Yapıları (3. bs.) (Çev.: Hazal Deliceçaylı / Ferda. Keskin). İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
- Bauman, Zygmunt / Lyon, David (2013): Akışkan Gözetim. (Çev.: Elçin Yılmaz). İstanbul: Ayrıntı Yayınları.
- Bicchieri, Christina (2006): The Grammar of Society: The Nature and Dynamics of Social Norms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Broom, Leonard / Selznick, Philip (1963): Sociology. New York: Harper & Row.
- Elster, Jon (1989): The Cement of Society: A Study of Social Order. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Eshleman, J. Ross / Bulcroft, Richard A. (2010): The Family (12. bs.). Boston: Pearson.
- Foucault, Michel (1995): Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
- Foucault, Michel (2003): The Birth of the Clinic: An Archaeology of Medical Perception. Oxon: Routledge.
- Foucault, Michel (2006): Psychiatric Power: Lectures at the Collège de France 1973-1974. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Gernert, Johannes (2009): Interview mit Juli Zeh: Plädoyer gegen die Fitness-Diktatur. Stern. https://www.stern.de/kultur/buecher/interview-mit-juli-zeh-plaedoyer-gegen-die-fitness-diktatur-3432820.html (En son erişim: 16.05.2024).
- Hechter, Michael / Opp, Karl-Dieter (Ed.) (2001): Social Norms. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Helms, Heather M. (2013): Marital Relationships in the Twenty-First Century. Handbook of Marriage and the Family (Gary W. Peterson / Kevin R. Bush, Ed.). New York: Springer, 233-254.
- Huston, Ted L. / Melz, Heidi (2004): The Case for Promoting Marriage: The Devil Is in the Details. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(4), 943-958.
- Koellner, Sarah (2016): Data, Love, and Bodies: The Value of Privacy in Juli Zeh’s Corpus Delicti. Seminar, 52(4), 407-425.
- Lyon, David (2001): Surveillance Society: Monitoring Everyday Life. Buckingham: Open University Press.
- Lyon, David / Haggerty, Kevin D. / Ball, Kirstie (2012): Introducing Surveillance Studies. Routledge Handbook of Surveillance Studies (Kirstie Ball, Ed.). New York: Routledge, 1-11.
- Maierhofer, Waltraud (2022): Dystopias of Family Planning in the Novel Corpus Delicti (2009) by Juli Zeh and Das weiße Schloss (2018) by Christian Dittloff. Prospero, 27, 243-262.
- Marrs, John (2023): The Marriage Act. London: Macmillan.
- McCalmont, Virginia / Maierhofer, Waltraud (2012): Juli Zeh’s “Corpus Delicti” (2009): Health Care, Terrorists, and the Return of the Political Message. Monatshefte, 104(3), 375-392.
- Murphy, Mike / Glaser, Karen / Grundy, Emily (1997): Marital Status and Long-Term Illness in Great Britain. Journal of Marriage and Family, 59(1), 156-164.
- Pylypa, Jen (1998): Power and Bodily Practice: Applying the Work of Foucault to an Anthropology of the Body. In Arizona Anthropologist, 13, 21-36.
- Taylor, Diana (2009): Normativity and Normalization. Foucault Studies, 7, 45-63.
- Trojanow, Ilija / Zeh, Juli / Alvizu, Josh / Petersdorff, Marc (2015): Attack on Freedom: The Surveillance State, Security Obsession, and the Dismantling of Civil Rights. German Studies Review, 38(2), 271-284.
- Turner, Bryan S. (2008): The Body & Society: Explorations in Social Theory. London: Sage Publications.
- Waite, Linda. J. / Gallagher, Maggie (2000): The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier and Better off Financially. New York: Doubleday.
- Walsh, Froma (2012): Normal Family Processes: Growing Diversity and Complexity (4. bs.). New York: Guilford Press.
- Zeh, Juli (2022): Temize Havale. (Çev.: Sevinç Altınçekiç). İstanbul: Metis Yayınları.
Details
| Primary Language | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Literary Studies (Other) |
| Journal Section | Articles |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | June 17, 2025 |
| Submission Date | February 13, 2025 |
| Acceptance Date | June 17, 2025 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 13 Issue: 1 |
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