Intelligence Squared An Evening With Slavoj Zizek
19 snips
Jan 24, 2014 
Slavoj Žižek, a revolutionary philosopher and author known as the ‘Elvis of cultural theory,’ delves deep into the crises of global capitalism. He maps our societal responses to economic turmoil to the five stages of grief. Ranging from the symbolism in films like 'Avatar' to the lessons of the Arab Spring, Žižek challenges traditional ideologies and emphasizes the critical role of intellectual freedom. With humor and sharp critiques, he navigates the complexities of modern societal constructs and the urgent need for rethinking our approaches to ideology.
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Popular Films Reinforce Reactionary Myths
- Popular films encode and reproduce conservative gender myths through plot resolution and moral lessons.
- Žižek shows The King's Speech and Black Swan push men to accept authority and women to choose family over career.
Meaning Is Shaped By What’s Unsaid
- Ideology works via differentiality: what is unsaid shapes meaning as much as what is said.
- Žižek uses jokes and Sherlock Holmes to show implied absences form ideological identity.
Knowing Without Taking Seriously
- People often know catastrophic facts but refuse to integrate them emotionally or politically.
- Žižek calls this a fetishist split where knowledge exists without symbolic acceptance.
