CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN BEAUTIFUL SHINING PEOPLE BY MICHAEL GROTHAUS

Abstract

This study aimed to reveal the representation of neoliberal ideology in Michael Grothaus’s Beautiful Shining People using Norman Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework. This study employed a descriptive qualitative method with a three-dimensional analytical framework consisting of textual analysis, discourse practice, and social practice. The findings revealed that the novel constructed neoliberal values through linguistic patterns, character transformation, social relationships, and the techno-capitalist setting of the narrative. The dominance of material and mental processes represented characters as self-optimizing, productive, and achievement-oriented subjects. The protagonist’s transformation reflected the internalization of entrepreneurial selfhood, technological competence, and personal responsibility, while social relationships were portrayed as competitive networks based on utility and collaboration. Furthermore, the futuristic Tokyo setting and the author’s engagement with contemporary digital culture reinforced market-oriented forms of identity and behavior. The study also found that the novel simultaneously critiqued neoliberal society through its portrayal of loneliness, emotional alienation, commodified social relations, and the limitations of technological progress in fulfilling human needs.