A Posthuman Vision in the Shadow of Dehumanisation, at the Service of Corporatism: RoboCop

Year 2021, Issue: 9, 199 - 220, 10.06.2021

Cenk Tan

https://doi.org/10.46250/kulturder.878374

Abstract

Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop (1987) is a work of science fiction which has succeeded to become a popular culture icon with its multi-layered sociopolitical structure. RoboCop is a primary example of science fiction that addresses a wide variety of social issues of its period. This study aims to analyse RoboCop under three main headings: dehumanisation, technocapitalist corporatism and posthumanism. In the first section of the article, Alex Murphy’s process of dehumanisation and its significance in the film is enlightened with the theories of Hannah Arendt. Next, Murphy’s transformation to RoboCop and the acceptance of his true identity through an inner struggle is revealed in detail with particular references to the film. In the final section of the article, the importance of technocapitalist corporatism which stands at the centre of RoboCop is exposed along with its relation to the cyborg. Within this context, various philosophers and scholars are referred to in the study. In the conclusion, the criticism of humanity and the alternative proposed to it in the form of a cyborg are unveiled with specific references implied by Verhoeven in the subtext of the film.

Keywords

Posthumanism, Dehumanisation, RoboCop, Cyborg, Technocapitalist Corporatism

Dehümanizasyonun Gölgesinde, Korporatizmin Hizmetinde bir Posthümanizm Vizyonu: RoboCop

Abstract

Paul Verhoeven’ın 1987 yapımı RoboCop filmi, çok katmanlı sosyo-politik yapısıyla popüler kültür ikonu olmayı başarmış bir bilimkurgu yapımıdır. RoboCop, geniş yelpazede sosyal meselelere değinen, dönemin popüler bilimkurgu örneklerinden biridir. Bu çalışma, RoboCop sinema filmini üç temel başlık olan: dehümanizasyon, teknokapitalist korporatizm ve posthümanizm başlıkları altında tartışmaktadır. Makalenin ilk bölümünde Alex Murphy’nin yaşamış olduğu dehümanizasyon süreci ve bunların filmde taşıdığı önem Hannah Arendt’in fikirleriyle aydınlatılmaktadır. Akabinde Alex Murphy’nin, RoboCop’a dönüşümü sonrasında, onun kendi içinde giriştiği mücadele kapsamında tekrar Murphy kimliğini benimsemesi ve yaşamış olduğu üç evreli dönüşüm, filme yapılan göndermelerle ayrıntılı biçimde irdelenmektedir. Makalenin son bölümünde ise RoboCop’un merkezinde yer alan teknokapitalist korporatizm olgusu ile bağlantı kurularak, bu olgunun yapımda sahip olduğu önem ve RoboCop siborgu ile ilişkisi açığa çıkarılmaktadır. Bu kapsamda, çeşitli filozof ve kuramcılardan yararlanılmıştır. Sonuç bölümünde ise RoboCop’un posthümanizm bağlamında ortaya koyduğu insanlık eleştirisi ve ona alternatif olarak sunulan siborg figürü, yapımcı Verhoeven tarafından filmin alt metninde yapılan göndermelerle açığa çıkarılmaktadır.

Keywords

Posthümanizm, Dehümanizasyon, Robocop, Siborg, Teknokapitalist Korporatizm

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