Zizek on Democracy Now!

Philosopher Slavoj Zizeck on Democracy Now

Last night on TV I turned over to this documentary on Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek last at the end of the above Part 3. Where Žižek is explaining the vast and complex play field he has assembled from lego, soldiers, happy meals, dolls, cars and so on with his son; showing the lesbian queens who rule over the land...I thought...hhmmm this looks interesting. This is a fascinating voyeuristic picture of Žižek. I borrowed The Sublime Object of Ideology (1989) and read a little of it a few years ago, but was doing course work and had to return it before getting very far.

According to everybody's friend. The Wikipedia:

One of the problems in outlining Žižek's work and ideas is that for the layperson he seems to change his theoretical position (for instance, on the question of whether Lacan is a structuralist or poststructuralist) between books and sometimes even within the pages of one book. Because of this, some of his critics have accused him of inconsistency and lacking intellectual rigor. However, Ian Parker claims that there is no "Žižekian" system of philosophy because Žižek, with all his inconsistencies, is trying to make us think much harder about what we are willing to believe and accept from a single writer (Parker, 2004). Indeed, Žižek himself defends Jacques Lacan for constantly updating his theories, arguing that it is not the task of the philosopher to act as the Big Other who tells us about the world but rather to challenge our own ideological presuppositions. The philosopher, for Žižek, is more someone who criticizes than someone who tries to answer questions.

I myself don't think this is such a problem. I think I will borrow the The Sublime Object of Ideology again.

Slavoj Zizek - The Pervert's Guide to Cinema

THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA takes the viewer on an exhilarating ride through some of the greatest movies ever made. Serving as presenter and guide is the charismatic Slavoj Zizek, the Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst. With his engaging and passionate approach to thinking, Zizek delves into the hidden language of cinema, uncovering what movies can tell us about ourselves.

THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA offers an introduction into some of Zizek's most exciting ideas on fantasy, reality, sexuality, subjectivity, desire, materiality and cinematic form. Whether he is untangling the famously baffling films of David Lynch, or overturning everything you thought you knew about Hitchcock, Zizek illuminates the screen with his passion, intellect, and unfailing sense of humour. THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA applies Zizek's ideas to the cinematic canon, in what The Times calls 'an extraordinary reassessment of cinema.'

The film cuts its cloth from the very world of the movies it discusses; by shooting at original locations and on replica sets, it creates the uncanny illusion that Zizek is speaking from within the films themselves. Described by The Times as 'the woman helming this Freudian inquest,' director Sophie Fiennes' collaboration with Slavoj Zizek illustrates the immediacy with which film and television can communicate genuinely complex ideas. Says Zizek: 'My big obsession is to make things clear. I can really explain a line of thought if I can somehow illustrate it in a scene from a film. THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA is really about what psychoanalysis can tell us about cinema.'

THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA is constructed in three parts. Says Fiennes: 'The form of the Guide is a deliberately open one. There are three parts, but there could be more. Zizek's method of thinking is exciting because it's always building. Things relate forwards and backwards and interconnect into a mind-altering network of ideas. The film's title is something of a McGuffin - just a way to get you into this network.'

China Tracy: i.Mirror

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 1

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 2

China Tracy: i.Mirror part 3

China Tracy is Cao Fei, a Guangzhou artist who's "a key member of the vibrant new generation of Chinese artists emerging in the early twenty-first century" (by Art Forum's lights), and has been featured by the New York MOMA, among an intimidating roster of showings at galleries, museums, and biennials across the globe. Highlights in her portfolio include the insanely delightful "Hip Hop" (everyday Chinese get down with African-American freshness) and the virally acclaimed "Cosplayers" (playing videogame superheroes in a post-industrial cityscape where the demand for grand gestures no longer exists.) New World Notes

Miles Davis & Co. At the Isle of Wight Festival

Start with the first video at the top and move through the four sections. A study in jazz sound mind deconstruction. From 29 August 1970. Taken together these musicians: Jack DeJohnette, Airto Moreira, Dave Holland, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett, and Gary Bartz, paint a riveting picture of Miles' transformation in the late 1960s from jazz icon to musical explorer who fused the improvisational spirit of jazz with influences from rock, soul, funk, world, and folk music.

For the first time ever in a visual medium, something of the focus, magic, power, and excitement of Miles' method and musical journey into jazz-rock comes palpably across. When the concert footage finally arrives expectations are high and the effect of watching it is cathartic.

Sitar Gods

Most people in the West who know what a sitar is probably think of Pandit Ravi Shankar as the master of the instrument. While Ravi Shankar was a great player (still alive but no longer playing as far as I know), in a very rhythmic and deliberate way, there are at least two others who I think are far better. I speak of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Vilayat Khan. Both played differently but the subtle magic of their styles are breathtaking. Please witness this short extract from Banerjee. It seems to float out from him;

Nikhil Banerjee-BBC performance

And then there is the intricate wonder of Vilayat Khan. I have several tapes of him and it is always uplifting in an otherworldly sense. It just takes you away.

Raag Darbari, Pandit Kishan Maharaj and Late Vilayat Khan

I saw Kishan Maharaj (the tabla player) play in Varanasi in 1996. A four hour performance that started at midnight at the main ghat. The Ganges flowed by as beetle nut sellers skipped along the rows and Pandit Maharaj showed us the business.


One more from Ustad Vilayat Khan just to take you that little bit higher.

Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady in City Lights

The black and white footage of Allen Ginsberg and Neal Cassady in City Lights bookstore I had seen before, of Neal rapping madly about "everybody following the forms but there is no life in the forms". But I had never seen the whole (??) sequence that begins with Ginsberg reciting Kraj Majales (King of May). Here is is.......

Theo Jansen: The art of creating creatures

Theo Jansen is the Dutch creator of what he calls "Kinetic Sculptures," where nature and technology meet. Essentially these sculptures are robots powered by the wind only





Theo Jansen (born March 17, 1948, in The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch artist and kinetic sculptor. He builds large works which resemble skeletons of animals and are able to walk using the wind on the beaches of the Netherlands. His animated works are a fusion of art and engineering; and in a BMW television commercial, Jansen says, "The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds."

Sites of Resistance

Last night I watched the Danish film GUERRILLA GIRL (2005). It is is the story of a young girl who enters the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - FARC), the largest insurgent group in Colombia. With unprecedented access, Danish director Frank P. Poulsen follows a training course for future guerrilla soldiers, describing the transformation of a middle-class city-girl having to adapt to strict military training, Marxist ideology and primitive conditions of life.

In a post 9/11 context, the U.S. State Department and other non-government organisations have labelled FARC a "terrorist organization, engaging in terrorist activity including murder, hostage-taking and violent destruction of property". The film elevates the discussion beyond the specific, and in a further perspective deals with the underlying social and political basis of terrorism, in a very humane way.

Unsettling and unforgettable, this film captures with intensity the remarkable metamorphosis the guerrilla recruits undergo, during the 3 month basic training course. From her first arrival to the hidden guerrilla camp, we follow the main character, Isabel, in her quest to become a part of this ideological organisation, and thereby renouncing life as she knows it. It is the classic tale of losing ones innocence, a propelling human interest story.

GUERRILLA GIRL is a critical anti-war-film, from a distant world that people usually have sporadic conceptions or weak prejudice about. From deep within the Colombian jungle, we get the first cinematic in-depth look at the life, trials and tribulations of young men and women who are lead into an ideologically narrow and dangerous life cycle.

Ngurra-kurlu

Warlpiri educator and scholar Steve Jampijinpa explains the five pillars of Warlpiri culture. This film was made by Steve Jampijinpa, with Maxwell Tasman and Tristan Tasman from Lajamanu, Northern Territory, Australia.

Sister Welk

"The Lawrence Welk Show" mash up showing how groovy it really was (or at least could have been). More surreal polka TV can be found HERE.