Panoptic Boundaries: Borders as Mechanisms of Control in the Film The Maze Runner

This research critically examines the interplay between borders, surveillance, and power in dystopian cinema through a case study of The Maze Runner (Ball [2014]. The Maze Runner [Film]. 20th Century Fox). Drawing on David Newman’s theoretical framework and contemporary border studies, this study argues that the maze in the film functions as a multidimensional institution of surveillance, regulating behavior, enforcing social order, and provoking resistance. This analysis reveals how visible and invisible borders are enforced by the omnipresent surveilers. The WCKD mirrors real-world disciplinary power structures, echoing Foucault’s concept of the “panopticon” and Agamben’s notion of the “state of exception.” The narrative arc from compliance to resistance among the Gladers, which highlights the processes by which surveillance is internalized and contested. Ultimately, this research demonstrates how dystopian narratives like The Maze Runner serve as critical tools for understanding and critiquing the normalization of surveillance, the fluidity of borders, and the enduring tension between control and resistance in contemporary society, while also inviting further discourse on the role of media in shaping public perceptions of power and surveillance.