"I Have a Kind of Power I Never Knew I Possessed": Surveillance, Agency, and the Possibility of Resistance in YA Dystopian Fiction
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2017.3.1.1-23Abstract
Drawing on Foucault’s examination of the gaze as a disciplinary mechanism, and de Certeau’s discussion of how people use tactics to resist oppressive power systems, this article advocates reading the gaze in young adult dystopian fiction. To illustrate the complex readings that doing so makes possible, the author examines three young adult dystopias—M. T. Anderson’s Feed, Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy, and Corey Doctorow’s Little Brother—to demonstrate how they depict adolescents as having varying degrees of agency to resist the gaze. To conclude, the author discusses the implications for teachers and students of reading the gaze in young adult literature.References
Anderson, M. T. (2002). Feed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
Bell, V. (1996). The promise of liberalism and the performance of freedom. In A. Barry, T. Osborne, & N. Rose (Eds.), Foucault and political reason: Liberalism, neo-liberalism, and rationalities of government (81-97). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Bush, B. (2015, January 6). Stewart school reopens to raves. The Columbus Dispatch, pp. A1, A7.
Campbell, J. W. (2010). The order and the other: Power and subjectivity in young adult literature. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Collins, S. (2009). Catching fire. New York, NY: Scholastic.
de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Dewey, J. (1921). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York, NY: MacMillan. (Original work published 1916)
Doctorow, C. (2008). Little brother. New York, NY: Tor.
Fendler, L. (2010). Michel Foucault. London: Continuum.
Flanagan, V. (2014). Technology and identity in young adult fiction: The posthuman subject. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137362063'>https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137362063</a>
Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality, vol. 1: An introduction. (Robert Hurley, Trans.). New York: Pantheon.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York, NY: Vintage Books. (Original work published 1977)
Gamber-Thompson, L., & Zimmerman, A. M. (2016). DREAMing citizenship: Undocumented youth, coming out, and pathways to participation. In H. Jenkins, S. Shresthova, L., Gamber-Thompson, N. Kligler-Vilenchik, & A. M. Zimmerman, By any media necessary: The new youth activism (pp. 186-218). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Harris, J. (2011). School surveillance: how big brother spies on pupils. The Guardian. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jun/09/schools-surveillance-spying-on-pupils'>http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jun/09/schools-surveillance-spying-on-pupils</a>
Hintz, C., & Ostry, E. (2003). Introduction. In C. Hintz & E. Ostry (Eds.), Utopian and dystopian writing for children and young adults (pp. 1-20). New York, NY: Routledge.
Lyon, D. (1994). The electronic eye: The rise of surveillance society. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Lyon, D. (2006). The search for surveillance theories. In D. Lyon (Ed.), Theorizing surveillance: The panopticon and beyond (pp. 3-20). Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.
Orwell, G. (1949/1987). 1984. New York, NY: Signet Classic.
Mallan, K. (2014). Everything you do: Young adult fiction and surveillance in an age of security. International Research in Children's Literature, 7(1), pp. 1-17. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3366/ircl.2014.0110'>https://doi.org/10.3366/ircl.2014.0110</a>
Mann, S., Nolan, J., & Wellman, B. (2003). Sousveillance: Inventing and using wearable computing devices or data collection in surveillance environments. Surveillance & Society, 1(3), 331-355.
Monahan, T., & Torres, R. D. (2010). Introduction. In T. Monahan and R. D. Torres (Eds.), Schools under surveillance (pp. 1-18). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Phipps, C. (2015). 'Homeland is racist': artists sneak subversive graffiti on to TV show. The Guardian. Retrieved from <a href='https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/15/homeland-is-racist-artists-subversive-graffiti-tv-show'>https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/15/homeland-is-racist-artists-subversive-graffiti-tv-show</a>
Sambell, K. (2004). Carnivalizing the future: A new approach to theorizing childhood and adulthood in science fiction for young readers. The Lion and the Unicorn, 28(2), 247-267. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2004.0026'>https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2004.0026</a>
Taylor, E. (2013). Surveillance schools: Security, discipline, and control in contemporary education. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137308863'>https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137308863</a>
Thomas, P. L. (2013). Radical scholar as public intellectual in a marketplace of ideas. In E. A. Daniels & B. Porfilio (Eds.), Dangerous counterstories in the corporate academy: Narrating for understanding, solidarity, resistance, and community in the age of neoliberalism (pp. 145-168). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Thomas, R. (2012). The dystopian in ya dystopias. Feminist Fiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from <a href='http://feministfiction.com/2012/09/05/the-dystopian-in-ya-dystopia/'>http://feministfiction.com/2012/09/05/the-dystopian-in-ya-dystopia/</a>
Thomas, R. (2014). Wish fulfilment in ya dystopia. Feminist fiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from <a href='http://feministfiction.com/2014/04/11/wish-fulfilment-in-ya-dystopia/'>http://feministfiction.com/2014/04/11/wish-fulfilment-in-ya-dystopia/</a>
Trites, R. S. (2000). Disturbing the universe: Power and repression in adolescent literature. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
Weiss, J. (2010. Scan this: Examining student resistance to school surveillance. In T. Monahan & R. Torres (Eds.), Schools under surveillance: Cultures of control in public education (pp. 313-229). New Brunswick, NY: Rutgers University Press.
Yar, M. (2003). Panoptic power and the pathologisation of vision: Critical reflections on the Foucauldian thesis. Surveillance & Society, 1(3), 254-271.
Zezima, K. (2013). More parents opting kids out of standardized tests. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.northjersey.com/news/more-parents-opting-kids-out-of-standardized-tests-1.589429'>http://www.northjersey.com/news/more-parents-opting-kids-out-of-standardized-tests-1.589429</a>
Bell, V. (1996). The promise of liberalism and the performance of freedom. In A. Barry, T. Osborne, & N. Rose (Eds.), Foucault and political reason: Liberalism, neo-liberalism, and rationalities of government (81-97). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Bush, B. (2015, January 6). Stewart school reopens to raves. The Columbus Dispatch, pp. A1, A7.
Campbell, J. W. (2010). The order and the other: Power and subjectivity in young adult literature. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Illinois State University, Normal, IL.
Collins, S. (2008). The hunger games. New York, NY: Scholastic.
Collins, S. (2009). Catching fire. New York, NY: Scholastic.
de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Dewey, J. (1921). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York, NY: MacMillan. (Original work published 1916)
Doctorow, C. (2008). Little brother. New York, NY: Tor.
Fendler, L. (2010). Michel Foucault. London: Continuum.
Flanagan, V. (2014). Technology and identity in young adult fiction: The posthuman subject. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137362063'>https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137362063</a>
Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality, vol. 1: An introduction. (Robert Hurley, Trans.). New York: Pantheon.
Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York, NY: Vintage Books. (Original work published 1977)
Gamber-Thompson, L., & Zimmerman, A. M. (2016). DREAMing citizenship: Undocumented youth, coming out, and pathways to participation. In H. Jenkins, S. Shresthova, L., Gamber-Thompson, N. Kligler-Vilenchik, & A. M. Zimmerman, By any media necessary: The new youth activism (pp. 186-218). New York, NY: New York University Press.
Harris, J. (2011). School surveillance: how big brother spies on pupils. The Guardian. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jun/09/schools-surveillance-spying-on-pupils'>http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jun/09/schools-surveillance-spying-on-pupils</a>
Hintz, C., & Ostry, E. (2003). Introduction. In C. Hintz & E. Ostry (Eds.), Utopian and dystopian writing for children and young adults (pp. 1-20). New York, NY: Routledge.
Lyon, D. (1994). The electronic eye: The rise of surveillance society. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Lyon, D. (2006). The search for surveillance theories. In D. Lyon (Ed.), Theorizing surveillance: The panopticon and beyond (pp. 3-20). Portland, OR: Willan Publishing.
Orwell, G. (1949/1987). 1984. New York, NY: Signet Classic.
Mallan, K. (2014). Everything you do: Young adult fiction and surveillance in an age of security. International Research in Children's Literature, 7(1), pp. 1-17. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3366/ircl.2014.0110'>https://doi.org/10.3366/ircl.2014.0110</a>
Mann, S., Nolan, J., & Wellman, B. (2003). Sousveillance: Inventing and using wearable computing devices or data collection in surveillance environments. Surveillance & Society, 1(3), 331-355.
Monahan, T., & Torres, R. D. (2010). Introduction. In T. Monahan and R. D. Torres (Eds.), Schools under surveillance (pp. 1-18). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Phipps, C. (2015). 'Homeland is racist': artists sneak subversive graffiti on to TV show. The Guardian. Retrieved from <a href='https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/15/homeland-is-racist-artists-subversive-graffiti-tv-show'>https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/15/homeland-is-racist-artists-subversive-graffiti-tv-show</a>
Sambell, K. (2004). Carnivalizing the future: A new approach to theorizing childhood and adulthood in science fiction for young readers. The Lion and the Unicorn, 28(2), 247-267. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2004.0026'>https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2004.0026</a>
Taylor, E. (2013). Surveillance schools: Security, discipline, and control in contemporary education. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137308863'>https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137308863</a>
Thomas, P. L. (2013). Radical scholar as public intellectual in a marketplace of ideas. In E. A. Daniels & B. Porfilio (Eds.), Dangerous counterstories in the corporate academy: Narrating for understanding, solidarity, resistance, and community in the age of neoliberalism (pp. 145-168). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Thomas, R. (2012). The dystopian in ya dystopias. Feminist Fiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from <a href='http://feministfiction.com/2012/09/05/the-dystopian-in-ya-dystopia/'>http://feministfiction.com/2012/09/05/the-dystopian-in-ya-dystopia/</a>
Thomas, R. (2014). Wish fulfilment in ya dystopia. Feminist fiction [Blog post]. Retrieved from <a href='http://feministfiction.com/2014/04/11/wish-fulfilment-in-ya-dystopia/'>http://feministfiction.com/2014/04/11/wish-fulfilment-in-ya-dystopia/</a>
Trites, R. S. (2000). Disturbing the universe: Power and repression in adolescent literature. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press.
Weiss, J. (2010. Scan this: Examining student resistance to school surveillance. In T. Monahan & R. Torres (Eds.), Schools under surveillance: Cultures of control in public education (pp. 313-229). New Brunswick, NY: Rutgers University Press.
Yar, M. (2003). Panoptic power and the pathologisation of vision: Critical reflections on the Foucauldian thesis. Surveillance & Society, 1(3), 254-271.
Zezima, K. (2013). More parents opting kids out of standardized tests. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.northjersey.com/news/more-parents-opting-kids-out-of-standardized-tests-1.589429'>http://www.northjersey.com/news/more-parents-opting-kids-out-of-standardized-tests-1.589429</a>
