How can the sovereign who determines our rights and obligations as members of society also ‘unmake’ us? Why are some people declared undesirable? Why are their lives devalued and pushed out of political structures?
Practices that forcibly take the personality and human dignity away from certain people aim to exclude the ‘undesirables’ from the body politic. However, exclusion also contains inclusion, as it aims to discipline and change individualities to incorporate them into the political body. Therefore, they are also discipline mechanisms.
How does the sovereign create an ‘unlawful’ space through its legal system and its institutions? If the main principle of the social contract is that sovereignty derives its legitimacy and power from the people, how can this relationship deteriorate and turn into a power mechanism that functions to oppress certain people? And how do the oppressed and their allies raise their voices in order to reclaim their rights? Can they participate in the structures that work against them and propose ‘real’ alternatives? Or will ‘real democracy’ remain a pipe dream?
This Ph.D. research is twofold. The first part of the research examines how a theoretical subject, a political issue, can be analyzed and creatively conveyed through visual form and cinema. If words can be organized to reflect certain ideas and express philosophical thought, how can philosophical and political subject conveyed through cinema? How can animation as a medium be instrumental in creating political cinema? The research aims to push the boundaries of political activist storytelling by searching for a visual form to represent the narrative. An animated documentary will examine state-induced violence against political activists through a specific case study. Özge Akarsu will use an innovative combination of theoretical perspectives and mixed socio-legal methods – including interviews and case law analysis – throughout the process.
The second part of the research explores the place of animation in contemporary art. It is questioned how its limit can be expanded to put a spotlight on the clash between individuals and those in power. Özge Akarsu will explore how handcrafted frame-by-frame animation can be paired with other art forms. She will also discover how to create a mutually nourishing work system that combines artistic, intuitive, and intellectual ideas. Finally, the quest for an experimental, political, and cinematic language that synthesizes animation with other mediums will allow her to explore animation’s place in contemporary art and theory.