Sosyal Ağlarda Benlik Sunumuna Dair Bir Distopya: Black Mirror Dizisi Örneği
Günümüz dünyasında teknolojide yaşanan gelişmeler ve internet teknolojisinin getirdiği yenilikler, bireylerin benliklerini sosyal ağlarda sunmalarına olanak tanımaktadır. Benlik sunumu, bireylerin kendilerini diğerlerine karşı istediği şekilde gösterme çabası olarak tanımlanabilir. Bu noktada sosyal ağlar aracılığıyla benlik sunumu başka bir boyuta taşınmış, birçok çalışmaya konu olmuş ve önemli bir mesele haline gelmiştir. Benlik sunumu söz konusu olduğunda Amerikan sosyolojisinin önemli isimlerinden Erving Goffman’ın Günlük Yaşamda Benliğin Sunumu (Presentation of Self in Everyday Life) adlı eserinde ele aldığı unsurlar, bu konuda yapılan çalışmalar için araştırmacılara rehberlik etmektedir. Sosyal ağlarda özellikle fotoğraf paylaşımında gelinen nokta, benlik sunumlarında görsel ögelerin artan önemini gözler önüne sermektedir. Bu çalışmada da Goffman’ın benlik sunumunda belirlediği ilkelere göre bireylerin kendilerini ifade edebilme, diğerlerini etkileme ve yönlendirme çabaları değerlendirilmiştir. Bu çalışmaya konu olan Black Mirror (Kara Ayna) adlı TV serisi, teknolojinin gelecekte insan hayatında nasıl bir role sahip olacağına yönelik tahminlerde bulunurken; yaratacağı olumsuzlukları da ele alan bir distopyadır. Black Mirror dizisinin üçüncü sezon ilk bölümü Nosedive’de kurgulanan distopik toplumda, insanların günlük yaşamının her anında sergiledikleri performansı ve toplumsal statüyü belirleyen şey diğerlerinden aldıkları puanlardır. Bireylerin her davranışı diğerleri tarafından puanlanmaktadır. Bu tür bir toplum, benlik sunumunu her şeyin önüne koyan ve her davranışını ‘beğenilme’ arzusuyla yapan bireyler yaratmaktadır. Bu çalışmada Erving Goffman’ın benlik sunumlarını incelemek amacıyla geliştirdiği dramaturjik yaklaşım, Black Mirror dizisinin Nosedive bölümünün incelenmesinde yol gösterici olmuştur. Nosedive’ın ana karakteri olan Lacie’nin bölüm boyunca kendisini ‘performansına’ nasıl hazırladığı ve ‘rolünü’ iyi oynamak için neler yaptığı yani benliğini nasıl sunacağı noktasındaki çabaları ‘seyircilere’ gösteren kısımlar göstergebilimsel analizden yararlanılarak çözümlenmiştir. Dizide anlatılan distopik toplumun aslında bugün içinde yaşadığımız toplum yapısından çok da farklı olmadığı ve giderek daha da yapmacık bir toplum haline dönüştüğü ifade edilebilir.
Dystopias, Self-Presentation, and Social Networks: An Analysis of the Black Mirror Series
Recent technological innovations, especially internet-related innovations, have changed the ways in which people present themselves on social media and social networks. Typically, presenting oneself involves the careful and deliberate display of certain aspects of the self. Given the changes engendered by technological innovations, a number of studies have focused on the ways in which people present themselves through social networks. In this context, Erving Goffman’s Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, a seminal work in American sociology, remains as salient as ever. People’s tendency to share photos on social media and networks points to the growing centrality of visual objects in their attempts to present their selves online. This study aims to examine the ways in which people express themselves online, their motivations to do so, and the influence of their actions. To this end, this study actively draws from Goffman’s seminal work. This study also focuses extensively on Black Mirror, a television series that predicts the ways in which technology will change human lives in the future. A dystopic series, Black Mirror mainly deals with the negative effects of technology. For instance, the series shows how people accrue or lose points for their actions and the ways in which this points-based system affects their social status. Notably, the system has an all-pervading influence of people’s everyday lives: that is, it determines what they can and cannot do. Nosedive, the first episode of the show’s third season, focuses especially on this aspect of the points-based social system. Self-presentation becomes the norm as people rate each other based on their actions. Moreover, people also tend to governed by an overwhelming need to be liked. This study uses Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to examine the ways in which the people depicted in Nosedive present their selves to others. In particular, this study involves a detailed semiotic analysis of the ways in which Lacie—the episode’s main character—tailors her public conduct in order to present the best version of herself. In fact, it can be argued that our present lives bear marks of the dystopian society depicted in this series.
The concept of self-presentation subsumes the human desire to be liked; by extension it also pertains to the human tendency to accord importance to first impressions. While self-esteem, self-admiration, and self-righteousness are commonly associated with narcissism, self-presentation mainly refers to our tendency and need to influence others’ opinion of ourselves. Kağıtçıbaşı and Cemalcılar (2014, p. 256) argue that the strategies we commonly employ to present ourselves are mainly effective and beneficial. Social media is an appropriate means, which gives individuals changes to express themselves and to shape others’ impressions. Self-presentation also involves the masking of negative traits—in fact, humans are also known to ignore their negative traits altogether.
Online communication is not bound by time and place constraints, and social networks also address people’s need for entertainment and information. Moreover, people have also learnt how to use social networks in a beneficial manner. That is, users are very adept at sharing positive information about themselves, enhancing their reputation or social standing, winning others’ approval, and drawing attention to themselves.
The amount of time people spend accessing social media has increased steadily since the advent of social media applications during the early-2000s. Today, people use these applications not only to access information and stay in touch with others but also for self-presentation. Interestingly, Nosedive focuses on technological addiction and the prospects of self-presentation in a dystopic world. The science fiction genre is mainly known, among other things, for its tendency to present a dystopic view of the world, and since the 2000s, the number of dystopian films and television shows has increased (Altınkaya, 2016, p. 96). Dystopian films and shows are typically characterized by their pessimism about the future. They mainly deal with issues such as the interplay between humans and technology and the end of life on Earth, or the demise of the universe. This study aims to identify the similarities between the community depicted in Nosedive and contemporary societies, especially in relation to self-presentation in the digital world. The study also focuses on questions such as privacy and peeping culture, which are especially salient given the widespread sharing of photos on social media. To this end, the study presents a detailed semiotic analysis of select scenes from the series. In addition, these scenes are also described and evaluated using Goffman’s dramaturgical approach. The following parameters were used to select scenes from the series: dramatic realization, idealization, maintenance of expressive control, misrepresentation, mystification, representation of reality and falsehoods, and teams.
Today, more than ever, people tend to tailor their lives and choices in order to make themselves more presentable on social networks. To this end, people even tend to share photos of their meals on social networks, and these photos are typically shot at certain angles and modified using filters. Arguably, we do so to be liked and approved. Unfortunately, however, these qualities tend to make us especially vulnerable to internet and social media addiction.
In this context, Nosedive serves as a timely warning about our overdependence on the digital world. Today’s society, which is characterized by decreased face-to-face communication and increased online communication, is not very different from the dystopic society depicted in Nosedive.
