A British documentary directed by Sophie Fiennes, starring Slavoj Zizek.
Slavoj explains his thoughts on political and religious belief systems, using films as examples.
This was very similar to The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006) to the point that I think they should be considered a single work. West Side Story was used to compare classical ideology's "they don't know what they are doing, but they are nonetheless doing it" with cynical ideology's "I know very well what I am doing, but I am still nonetheless doing it". He compared M.A.S.H. (1970) with Full Metal Jacket (1987) to discuss obscenity in military institutions and brought in If.... (1968) to back it up. The initiated involve grotesque and crude references to get the attention of new members, but sometimes this can backfire, as in the case of Gomer Pyle. If... was used to demonstrate that this is an institutional operational system that includes not only the military, but academic systems as well, with older students tormenting the younger ones. Jaws (1975) allowed many problems to be personified in a single, easily dealt with package. The concept of "big other" was dealt with in The Fireman's Ball (1967), Brief Encounter (1945) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988). Big other (not, but maybe is Brother?) is an idea of society as a whole, with leaders and a mass known as "the people" that does not include any individuals. I think that this goes very well with the discussion of Superego from the previous film. Overall, if you can make it through and understand one of these films, the other (not big) is required viewing. I rate this awesome as well.
A British Austrian Netherlands documentary directed by Sophie Fiennes, starring Slavoj Zizek.
Slavoj Zizek explains his views on how psychology relates to film with examples from famous movies.
This is part of my research into movies about movies. I realized that I had seen so many films and was getting to the end of my university education that I needed to learn about film from a perspective outside the classroom and the screen itself. Slavoj may not be the best teacher in this field, but I think that his wild style and "outside the box" ideas make him a good teacher for me. I grasped his ideas on Freudian psychology immediately. I could see how the Marx brothers and the levels of the house in Psycho relate directly to the Id, the Ego and the Super-Ego. I also think that I understood his discussion of a "gaze" being returned by inanimate objects. His flower comment questions a long-standing universal opinion by pointing out the blatantly obvious. He went into discussions on fantasy vs. reality and borders between spaces. I had to watch this twice because of his frenetic pace and the depth of material that he covers. I wish my professors would discuss ideas and theories at this level. Overall, this is something that folks will understand or not. Those that get it will find a wealth of knowledge and probing questions. Those that don't get it will call it crazy and stupid trash, projecting their own stupidity upon the thing that pointed out their lack of intelligence. I rate this awesome and am about to begin watching the sequel on ideology.
