Power is seen as a fundamental part of society. This term paper aims to find out, how power and power relations are depicted in a fictional society. In order to shed light into this matter, John French and Bertram Raven’s (1959) theory of five (six) `Bases of Social Power’ was applied to Neil Burger’s (2011) movie "Limitless". A number of scenes showing power relationships between characters or shifts in power through a brain enhancing substance were analyzed. All forms of power regarding the theory could be detected in various relations throughout the movie.
Abstract
Power is seen as a fundamental part of society. This term paper aims to find out, how power and power relations are depicted in a fictional society. In order to shed light into this matter, John French and Bertram Raven's (1959) theory of five (six) 'Bases of Social Power' was applied to Neil Burger's (2011) movie Limitless. A number of scenes showing power relationships between characters or shifts in power through a brain enhancing substance were analyzed. All forms of power regarding the theory could be detected in various relations throughout the movie. Furthermore, it was found out that forms of power do not appear on their own and that, despite the fact that both parties hold at least one form of power, one side trumps the other. Lastly, it also depends on the situation who holds power over who. All in all, the movie analysis shows that fiction and reality do not differ too much from each other and that power used in a positive way most likely results in a positive outcome whereas the other way around it ultimately will have negative consequences.
Keywords: power, politics, individuality, institution, greed, fictional society
Forms of power in Neil Burger's movie Limitless
Whether it is Brazil's president Bolsonaro deforesting our planet's air condition or a CEO deciding to dismiss half of his employees, power seems to be a fundamental part of our global society. This paper aims to answer the questions: ‘How is power defined?', ‘What forms of power exist?' In order to shed light into this topic, Foucault's ‘Subject and Power' (1982) as well as French and Raven's ‘The bases of social power' (1959) will be analyzed. Furthermore, this term paper seeks to put theory into practice and compares French and Raven's forms of power with those shown in Neil Burger's thriller Limitless, in order to answer the question: ‘How is power depicted in a fictional setting?'
Theoretical Background
Definition
The term ‘power' refers to ‘the ability to control people and events' or ‘the amount of political control a person or a group has in a country' according to Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.). Similarly, McMillan Dictionary (McMillan, n.d.) explains the term as ‘the ability to influence or control what people do or think' as well as ‘the ability to achieve something or to make something happen'. Consequently, ‘power' seems to be inseparable from the terms ‘control' and ‘influence' and has therefore a negative connotation. However, the definitions above can be interpreted either way. For example, ‘the ability to control people and events' connected to a radical politician implies that power is not necessarily connected to consent (Foucault, 1982) and power results in a dictatorship. The same definition in the context of motherhood implies that the loving mother tries to guide her child through life unharmed, controlling which events are a positive influence and so on. Similarly, ‘the ability to influence or control what people do or think' can indicate brainwashing activities of a cult leader or simply the role of a teacher, trying to motivate his/her students to focus on the subject. Those examples already show that power is not only a prerequisite of a functioning society but also not always equally distributed. The teacher, for example is in most cases more powerful than the student. Hereby, the inequality in power is a result of different levels of expertise. The teacher studied his/her subject whereas the student is in a position to learn. However, power does not necessarily entail expertise in the same field. The radical politician mentioned earlier, might not be qualified as a leader (due to lack of empathy and self-consciousness) but managed to occupy the position through his/her expertise in manipulation. Regarding recent events on police brutality it is also clearly visible that the same individual can use his/her position in both ways. Lastly, the dictionary definitions suggest that there need to be at least two parties or individuals to form a power relation.
Concept of power
Foucault - Subject and Power
In Foucault's work ‘Subject and Power' (1982) three types of so called ‘political struggles' can be found. He differs between ‘struggles against modes of control' which can be, for example, of religious or social origin; ‘struggles against forms of exploitation', referring to the poor people essentially working for the rich people without being rewarded in a fair way; and lastly the ‘struggles against different types of subordination', which comes close to the definition of power in the McMillan Dictionary. The struggle against ‘the ability to influence or control what people do or think' marks the predominant one today. The ‘state' as opposed to the church as a modern powerful institution of today is seen as the origin of this so called ‘Pastoral Power'. Foucault (1982) sees power as a social relationship of individuality and totality at the same time, turning individuals into subjects. However, the term ‘subject' is not to be confused as a synonym for ‘person', as it is more of a possibility to be referred to as a certain kind of person. According to Foucault (1982) as well as McCoy (1988) power is not held by an individual but only works in the context of society.
French & Raven - The bases of social power
French and Raven (1959) differ between positional power sources and personal power sources and list six different types:
Legitimate Power: This form of power is connected to a title or position and disappears when either one is lost. Although it is a very useful form of power, it is very fragile and often limited to a time period. Social hierarchies, an organizational structure or cultural norm form the base for legitimate power. People that hold it are, for example, a president, a prime minister or a CEO.
Reward Power: As the term already suggests, people that have reward power are on the position to give out rewards, for which others are willing to do work. Such rewards can be promotions, raise of salary, good grades or simply compliments. This form of power is also not entirely secure as it relies on the reward being valued. If the reward is not valued or desired anymore, reward power is lost. People that can hold it can be anybody that is able to offer a desirable reward for another person e.g. person A offering a pizza as a meal for a repaired door lock by person B. Reward power is also called positive reinforcement in behaviorist theories.
Coercive Power: This form of power is the opposite of reward power. It is the threat of punishment which in behaviorist theories is called negative reinforcement. Such threats usually include to fire or demote somebody or to deny somebody privileges in case the requirements are not met.
Informational Power: This form of power was not originally published in French & Raven's Forms of Social Power work but was introduced later on. The power hereby lies not in the information itself but in the exclusive access, on which others that do not have it, rely on. Thus, being in the position to decide whether to share important information and also with whom to share it with, puts the person in a powerful position. Such information could be confidential financial reports, witness of a crime or, to use a very present topic, the formula for a vaccine against Covid-19. However, once the information is shared or no longer wanted, informational power is lost.
Expert Power: Whereas the so far mentioned forms of power solely rely on the position, expert power is connected to the person itself. Everybody that has a certain skill or is an expert on a subject matter holds expert power. This includes the knowledge to understand a situation, the suggestion of solutions, the ability to judge on a factual/solid ground of information. For example, if person A is an expert on respiratory viruses, his/her opinion/ideas/assessments matter in the case of a global pandemic.
Referent Power: This last form of power is also personal and is connected to likeability and respect for another. A person that holds referent power is usually very popular and therefore has the ability to influence others, because they want to be like them. An example could be a celebrity.
Movie scene analysis
Plot
In Neil Burger's 2011 thriller Limitless, the protagonist Eddie Morra, a writer that at that time struggles to get his life together, is introduced to the drug NZT-48, which enables him to use 100% of his brain capacities. With the aid of the drug he is able to turn his life around, climb up the social ladder and invest at Wallstreet which ultimately draws the attention of several investment bankers towards him as he makes a fortune. In order to invest further, Morra borrows money from a Russian gangster named Gennady and starts giving advice to Carl Van Loon, one of the bankers. Just as the viewers start to play with the idea of how the drug would benefit them in their own life, the negative side effects slowly surface. Morra experiences severe side effects of NZT and faces the consequences of doing business with the criminal Russian, who now also wants the drug. As the movie's climax unfolds, the protagonist realizes that almost all successful people at Wallstreet use the drug, although withdrawal symptoms have been proven to be lethal at this point. With no supply left and his health deteriorating Morra ultimately manages to turn his life around in a series of events, not for the faint hearted. In the end he is shown running campaign as a candidate for the US Senate, being clean from the drug but having maintained the positive effects.
Relation to research question
Limitless was chosen particularly because it involves a number of topics including politics, finances, investment, criminal activity and lastly, drug abuse, which display power relations in our society very well. As the theories suggest that society is structured by power relationships the movie provides ground for an analysis. Furthermore, it gives the opportunity to discuss the positive and negative effects of power and power relations, especially in the contexts of democracy, corruption and politics as well as individuality and society in general.
Methodology
In order to find out how power is displayed in the movie, several scenes that show power relations are described and then compared with French and Raven's bases of social power. As power is mostly dependent on two parties and their relation to each other, the relationship aspect
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- Quote paper
- Axel Kolbeinsson (Author), 2020, Forms of power in Neil Burger’s movie "Limitless", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1191936
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