Zizek!

Slavoj Zizek (the big Other)

Importance for cult studies

Importance for church

Press for Zizek

“An academic Rock Star” –In These Times “The Elvis of Cultural Theory” –The Chronicle

of Higher Education “Zizek is a one person culture mulcher . . . A

fast-forward philosopher of culture for the post-Cold War period.” –Village Voice Literary Suplement

Zizek and Theology

Zizek’s Theological Interest

Theological Interest in Zizek

Influence and Outside Perpective

Bio: “I am a Monster” Used to have a crush

on Meg Ryan (married someone else)

Born 1947 in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Professor at Institute for Sociology, Ljubljana and EGS

“Revolutionary temperament”

G.W.F.Hegel (1770-1831)

•German Idealist Philosopher•Zizek often employs his dialectic

Communist Party

•Z is ambivalent concerning Marx•Appreciation for Stalin and Lenin•Reaction to de facto acceptance of late capitalism

Jacques Lacan (1901-1981)

•French Psychoanalyst•Z’s biggest influence•Les non-dupent errent

Symbolic Order and Ideology

Zizek’s Lacanian Interventions“Is not the shock of the short-circuiting, therefore, one ofthe best metaphors for a critical reading? Is not one of the most effective critical procedures to cross wires that do not usually touch . . .? The underlying premise of the series is that Lacanian psychoanalysis is a privileged instrument of such an approach . . . This, then, is not a new series of books on psychoanalysis, but a series of . . . short Lacanian interventions in art, philosophy, theology, and ideology . . .” [Short Circuit series forward]

Commodification of Art

Culturalization of the Market

Death of Avant-Garde

Chocolate Laxatives

Politics

Davos, Switzerland Porto Alegre, Brazil

“Liberal Communists”

Bill Gates George Soros

Christianity’s Subversive Core

Why Christianity?

Atheist Upbringing Reaction against

“Obscurantist” new-Age and Postmodern spiritualities

These spiritualities help maintain status quo (capitalism)

Outsourcing of Belief

Externalization of Belief

big Other (kids, pastor, society, God, etc)

Split within subject Xianity as a subversive

counter to this phenomenon

Christianity’s Subversive Materialist Core “My claim here is not merely that I am a

materialist through and through, and that the subversive kernel of Xianity is accessible also to a materialist approach; my thesis is much stronger: this kernel is accessible only to a materialist approach—and vice versa: to become a true dialectical materialist, one should go through the Xian experience.”

(The Puppet and The Dwarf, 6)

Zizek and The Cross

The Trinity at the Cross:Lacan, Hegel, Marx

My God , my God, why have you forsaken me?(Mt 27.46; Mk 15.34)

View #1: Before Christ

GAP

View #2: Mistaken View of Cross

View #3: Why Have You Forsaken Me? (Hegelian Dialectic)

View #4: God Abdicates Responsibility (Lacanian Twist)

The big Other Does Not Exist

View #5: Radical Responsability/Holy Spirit (Marxist Vision)

Reflection

Response: short circuit 1

Response: short circuit 2

Bibliography 1 Kotsko, Adam. Zizek and Theology. London: T&T Clark, 2008.

Pound, Marcus. Zizek: a (very) critical introduction. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

Zizek! Directed by Astra Taylor. Produced by Hidden Driver Productions. Zeitgeist Films, 2005.

The European Graduate School. "Slavoj Zizek Biography." The European Graduate School. http://www.egs.edu/faculty/zizek.html (accessed March 9, 2009).

Zizek, Slavoj, interview by Christopher Lydon. Open Source. http://www.radioopensource.org/slavoj-zizek-what-is-the-question/. Radio Open Source. Sept 23, 2008.

Zizek, Slavoj and Jack Miles. "An Exploration of Violence." LA, Oct 24, 2008.

Zizek, Slavoj, ed. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lacan but Were Afraid to Ask HItchcock. 8th. London/New York: Verso, 2002.

—. How to Read Lacan. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.

—. Jacques Lacan in Hollywood and Out: Enjoy Your Symptom. 2nd. New York/London: Routledge, 2001.

—. "Materialism and Theology." European Graduate School. 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9S3vvPe9IM&eurl=http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=zizek+materialism+theology&emb=0&aq=f (accessed March 8, 2009).

Bibliography 2 —. "Maybe We Just Need a Different Chicken: Politeness and Civility in the Function of

Contemporary Ideology." Powell's Books. pdxjustice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtByLzG5PsE (accessed March 8, 2009).

—. On Belief. New York/London: Routledge, 2001.

—. "Rules, Race, and Mel Gibson." European Graduate School. Jan 8, 2006. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BIUkUUtvFI (accessed March 8, 2009).

—. "Slavoj Zizek." Authors@Google. Sept 12, 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x0eyNkNpL0 (accessed March 8, 2009).

—. The Fragile Absolute: Or Why is the Christian Legacy Worth Fighting For? 2nd. New York/London: Verso, 2008.

—. The Parallax View. Cambridge/London: The MIT Press, 2006.

Zizek, Slavoj. The Pervert's Guide to Cinema. Directed by Sophie Fiennes. Produced by Amoeba Film. 2009 (USA).

—. The Puppet and the Dwarf: the Perverse Core of Christianity. Cambridge/London: The MIT Press, 2003.

—. Violence. New York: Picador, 2008.

—. "Why Only an Atheist Can Believe." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqls4Lva5sg (accessed March 8, 2009).