SOCIAL GASLIGHTING AND EPISTEMIC MANIPULATION IN PATRIARCHAL SYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY OF THE FILM DON'T WORRY DARLING (2022)

This study explores the phenomenon of social gaslighting and epistemic manipulation within the framework of a patriarchal system, focusing on the film Don't Worry Darling (2022). Using qualitative methods and critical discourse analysis, this study investigates how patriarchal power in the film's narrative functions to discredit women's experiences, perceptions, and truths through organized epistemic strategies. Theories of social gaslighting (Abramson, 2014; Caplan, 2021) and epistemic manipulation (Fricker, 2007) are applied to understand the dynamics of control and truth obfuscation experienced by the female protagonist in the film. The findings of the analysis show that gaslighting not only occurs at the interpersonal level but also functions as a systemic tool that reinforces male dominance and suppresses women's agency. The results of this study expand our understanding of how control over knowledge and subjective reality can function as a form of symbolic violence in gender-unequal social structures. The film Don't Worry Darling (2022) serves as a significant cultural commentary that critiques the mechanisms of patriarchal control through the lens of social gaslighting and epistemic manipulation. This research highlights the importance of epistemic resistance and the restoration of women's agency within feminist criticism of patriarchal hegemony in popular cultural representations.