Deconstruction Analysis In The Context Of Critical Race Theory: ‘THEM’ Tv Series Film

This study is based on the TV series ‘Them’, written by Little Marvin and directed by Nelson Craig, which was released on the Amazon Prime Video digital platform in 2021 being analyzed using the deconstruction method. The series, which takes back in the 1950s’ United States when the black-white conflict was at its peak, is based on the traumatic events experienced by a black family over the course of 10 days after buying a house in a white neighborhood. Although the apparent message of the series includes the dichotomy of good vs. bad and oppressor vs. oppressed, the subtext brings mind Critical Race Theory in terms of the disregard for law in the face of racist ideology in the United States of that period. While the theory aims to reveal the historical forms of racism that lie behind the laws from a critical perspective, theorists argue that racism is normal in American society. The aim of the study is to analyze the 5 episodes of the first season of the series to reveal the invisible messages in the context of Critical Race Theory. In this study, the deconstruction method was used to try to make sense of the narrative that was established in the series through both linguistic and visual texts. At this juncture, the others and othering expressions in the series were examined thematically. It was explained how these phenomena were reflected in the text and signs of the series in the context of Critical Race Theory. Thus, the study will reveal the unlawful determining power of racist ideology over the ‘other’.