The Sociological Implications of Power: A Case Study on David Mamet’s Edmond

Subject Areas : Iranian Sociological Review

Fatemeh Ghiasvand ¹ , Fatemeh Azizmohammadi ² , Mojgan Yarahmadi ³

1 - Ph.D. Student of English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2 - Associate Professor of English Literature, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
3 - Assistant Professor of English Language Teaching, Arak branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

Received: 2023-10-21 Accepted : 2023-10-21 Published : 2023-09-01

Keywords: Disciplinary Power, discourse, Docile body, Identity, Sociological Implications,

Abstract :

This research is an attempt to shed light on the issues related to the mechanism of power and its sociological implications in David Mamet’s Edmond based on Michel Foucault’s point of view. Power is present everywhere, and it is something that operates in the form of a network. In this regard, the modern form power described as disciplinary power differs from the negative ruling power that focuses on deduction and torture. In Edmond, individuals try to exercise their power by advancing their knowledge as a new discourse to diminish other previous discourses. The society in which Edmond enters to reach happiness is a place where he is trapped into the disciplinary power of panopticism. The disciplinary power controls individuals and constructs their identities. Their identities are constructed by the socio-cultural environment; therefore, they become docile bodies and subject to power relations by means of normalization and constant surveillance. The result shows that any deviation from the norms, punishment is exercised on the individuals’ souls and subsequently shapes their bodies as well.