Here is a presentation from Slavoj Zizek. In it he outlines his thoughts about contemporary ideology and civility. The presentation was given 8th September 2008.
*update. Zizek also backs obama (here) and I Cite sums up why:
Zizek’s position on Obama is rooted in the realization that appearances matter. It matters whether our society is one in which the officially acknowledged ideology claims that torture is sometimes useful, that some couples destroy the fabric of society, that its perfectly fine if the top 1% of the population are vastly wealthier than all the rest. With Obama, then, the domain of the officially acknowledged and acceptable changes. And this change brings with it a whole set of different potentials, different possibilities. The truth of the claim, then, rests not simply in whether Obama, Biden, and their handlers believe it. It’s more than that, the minimal or virtual difference that shifts the entire political frame, that creates opportunities that otherwise would have been foreclosed. So, no, Zizek is not cynical.(read post here)
Thank you for posting this fascinating and enthralling video of Zizek’s lecture.
Your new blog design is slick.
Thanks Ortho,
Yeah, I enjoyed the video as well. I think Zizek’s next book should be a collection of his jokes.
A very interesting lecture as usual with Slavoj Zizek. I think that he would be more effetive in his critical thinking if he used less examples and more hard philosophy, if he was not so much obsessed, as it seems, to please a large audience, to communicate a simple message, to speak about sex or so called “dirty” jokes, that scandalise nobody anymore. I understand his strategy of keeping atention, but it may be useless if he continues doing so. We need to build, as he does in most of his books, a really dirturbing, subversive discourse, and that discourse can not only be articulated in public in a somewhat “light” way. I think sometimes Zizek is caught in his own strategy. This said, I admire very much the author. He is one of the most stimulating contemporary thinkers.
Hi Vitor,
I agree that the literary Zizek does have a lot to offer and is one of the most stimulating contemporary thinkers.
It could probably be the case that what got him successful, in the public eye, could also be one of the main problems (i.e. his style of presentation). I also think the “jokes” and “simple examples” help him to take up a lot of time.
I was at this presentation, which is at a wonderland of wonderlands – Powell’s Books. The funny part is, before he got to talking, they said it would only be 20-minutes. I thought the question-and-answer portion was really the best part of the evening—that and getting him to sign a library book. “The Lady” really did not like Zizek, and put him in a tough-spot, but I think he responded well.