Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Pervert art - Untangling the fantasy

Slovenian philosopher and psychoanalyst, Slajov Zizek once said, "Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It doesn't give you what you desire - it tells you how to desire."

In his film, "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema," Zizek and director Sophie Fiennes present a psychoanalyical look at some of cinema's greatest films, such as "'The Birds," "Psycho" and "The Matrix" and "The Wizard of Oz" to name a few. Zizek offers an introduction to some of his most exciting ideas on fantasy, reality, sexuality and desire, as he shoots at original locations or on replica sets, as if speaking from within the films themselves. He says, "I can really explain a line of thought if I can somehow illustrate it in a scene from the film." As such, he is IN the scene, relating what he believes is the meaning behind it.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Zizek's ideas...are frequently amusing and provocative, whether using Norman Bates' multilevel house in 'Psycho' and the Marx Brothers to illustrate Freud's theories about the superego, ego and id or the films of David Lynch to explore, well, pretty much every aspect of human sexuality."

To learn more about Slajov Zizek's "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema," visit www.thepervertsguide.com.

2 Comments:

Blogger glorianna said...

Ann,
This Zizek quote is a riot, and quite new to me. If you do not know already, learning how to desire should be considered a very positive accomplishment; as in your subsequent post, desire presents invitation to engage without requiring that the desiree acknowledge the inevitability of consequence. I am not sure that is all bad. Twenty years ago I believed that a goal of digital interaction cinema was seduction. I still believe this to be a critical goal but also acknowledge how difficult it is to shape seduction. Perhaps I should go for desire instead!

6:25 PM  
Blogger Ann said...

In simpler term (ones that I would understand!LOL) learning how to desire could also be thought as seduction without guilt. Hmmmm. I see nothing wrong here. LOL

9:37 PM  

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