Power, Surveillance, and Control: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis of Case No. 9

Abstract

This paper examines how power is constructed and exercised through discourse in the Pakistani television drama Case No. 9 (Geo TV). Drawing on Michel Foucault’s concepts of discourse, power, surveillance, discipline, and power/knowledge, the study applies Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA) to selected dialogue from the drama. It explores how language regulates behavior, constructs identities, and reinforces institutional and social authority. The analysis focuses on exchanges in police stations, courtrooms, and domestic settings to show how discourse shapes both institutional practice and everyday social interaction. The findings indicate that institutional discourse constructs identities such as guilty/innocent, credible/non-credible, and moral/immoral, while family discourse reinforces silence, conformity, and social control. The study shows that power operates not only through formal institutions but also through everyday language and cultural norms, and it adds a Foucauldian reading to discourse-oriented studies of Pakistani television drama.