The Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften: Events

Thursday, 02 May 2024, 11:00
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, Am Wingertsberg 4, 61348 Bad Homburg

Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften of Goethe University
Fellow colloquium

Alenka Ambrož
»Alienation today: Categories of mental health and politics of self-defense in the series »Beef« (2023)

Abstract
The talk will address the interplay between power relations and mental health categorizations within the context of neoliberal governance, using the 2023 Netflix series »Beef«, by Lee Sung Jin, as a case study. The narrative follows Danny, a struggling contractor, and Amy, a small business owner, whose road rage encounter spirals into a protracted feud. While their outbursts are pathologized by their close ones as symptoms of depression (they are advised therapy, mindfulness and breathing exercises), a closer look into their daily lives reveals the socio-economic roots of their emotional turmoil. Forced to navigate the demands of the American market economy, both characters are perpetually compelled to adopt a façade, masking their true feelings to survive. Drawing from Elsa Dorlin's concept of pretense as a self-preservation tactic within a power-disparate society, the talk explores how this coping mechanism, though harmful, becomes inevitable within a »dispositif défensif«, where power distribution corresponds to the distribution of the right to legitimate self-defense.

Furthermore, the discussion will highlight the parallels between pretense and emotional labor in contemporary work culture, where employees are expected to exude enthusiasm and adaptability. By juxtaposing these societal expectations with the prevailing medical model of mental health, as well as referencing Dorlin's framework and the insights of authors like Illouz, Boltanski and Chiapello, the talk will attempt to provide a critical reassessment of the political and socio-economic dimensions of mental health discourse as depicted in Lee Sung Jin's series.

The speaker
Alenka Ambrož has completed her PhD in philosophy at the École Normale Superieure in Paris (ENS) in 2021, with a thesis entitled »The Concept of Relation in Philosophy of Translation«. As a postdoctoral researcher, she conducted research at various institutes, including the Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe, the University of Nova Gorica and, in 2022/23, at the French department of Columbia University in New York. She is currently a fellow of the research focus »Democratic Vistas. Reflections on the Atlantic World« at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, which is led by Gunther Hellmann and Johannes Voelz.

Participation
Closed event. Contact: Beate Sutterlüty; email: b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de).