UNSOED Conferences, International Conference on Language, Linguistics, and Literature (COLALITE) 2020

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Revisiting the Power Relation in Superhero’s Novel Renegade: Foucaldian Discourse Analysis
Ruly Indra Darmawan

Last modified: 2020-05-17

Abstract


This paper seeks to explore the polemic of power relations through Marrissa Meyer’s Renegades that foregrounds the concepts of superheroes. This novel conceptualizes how people who possesses exceptional powers -superheroes – are separated from ordinary humans and have troubled relationship with other beings, even among superheroes. The conflicts of two dominant superheroes faction in Marissa Meyer’s Renegates constructs the idea about how common people see superheroes. The power relation between common people, also the government, with the superheroes are formulated thoroughly on the novel. Power relations between superheroes and common people which contrasted by the special quirks seems imbalanced where the stronger side results in perceptual oppression of the weaker side.  Foucault argues that the power relation in the society is two-folds, in which producing bad effect such as oppression is not the only result. On the other hand, Foucault insists that power relation, which always co-existent with resistance, also creates positive effects to both sides. The writer intends to apply the concept of power relation by Foucault to extract how power relations among characters in Renegade are constructed. Furthermore, impacts of those power relations either they are good or bad for both superheroes and common people will be elaborated.


Keywords


Literature