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Conversations with Zizek (Conversations)

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Previous to reading this book I had read quite a few of Zizek's books, as well as some other secondary material on Lacan, and always seemed to miss the mark on some key conceptual understandings. They were always too technical, above my head, or hard to understand. In this book, by contrast, and probably in part because it's in an interview format, Zizek does an incredible job of succinctly explaining difficult Lacanian concepts in easy to understand terms. He also outlines his vision of politics and ethics, although if you want to see him defending his politics at his best, I reccomend Revolution at the Gates. The first part of the book also has the added bonus of giving alot of biographical information about Zizek, which, quite frankly, I couldn't care less about, but theory-heads might enjoy the story of his life. Daly also does a pretty good job explaining Zizek's interpretation of Lacan in the introduction - at least far better than most secondary material on Zizek. A great read if you want to get to understand Zizek and Lacan better but have had difficulty understanding his other books.

Anyone interested in learning about Zizek should read this book. It is lively and accessible, a perfect way to get acquainted with a daunting thinker who writes faster than most of us read.

Can academic or intellectual celebrities exist? The answer seemed indisputable in the days of Bertrand Russell and Isaiah Berlin: yes, definitely yes. While the answer seems to have swung violently towards an absolute "no" today, Slavoj Zizek nonetheless seems to have re-christened the title. He's everywhere today, at least in most parts of the world. The American mainstream, for probably obvious reasons, has not welcomed him onto its airwaves with any frequency. But in other regions, and within "intellectual" and academic circles, he receives the now clichéd moniker "The Elvis of Cultural Theory" or sometimes "The Elvis of Philosophy." His face has appeared on numerous international programs. A documentary of his life and thought, with the emphatic title "Zizek!," was released in 2006. His well attended talks often elicit hoots and cheers from audiences as the energy and directness of his thought emerge via wild gesticulation and histrionics. Profundity and humor often emerge from these presentations which attract the young and old alike. But transitioning from his usually accessible and entertaining talks to his dense books can prove difficult. Those with no background in Continental Philosophy, especially in Lacanian psychoanalysis, may find themselves feeling stifled and frustrated. In such cases, simplified introductory texts provide the best destination. Even better, interviews often force thinkers to articulate their thoughts in more conversational form. Though risks of oversimplification or incomprehensibility exist, typically interviews in which thinkers attempt to "summarize" their ideas stand as some of the best introductory material available. Especially since they use their own words. "Conversations With Zizek" fits nicely into this category. Though the language by no means remains effortless, these codified discussions will at least help the uninitiated find a foothold.

All five interviews date from 2002 and cover everything from biography to culture to psychoanalysis and politics. It even contains a few naughty passages. Conversation one begins with biography and covers Zizek's early influences, such as Heidegger, Derrida, Hegel and ultimately Lacan. The "happy accident" of his early career makes for a great, and somewhat bizarre, story. And though he produces nearly a book each year he admits that he nonetheless hates writing. A trite but amusing question closes the talk: the interviewer asks which 1 book, 1 CD and 1 video Zizek would take to a "desert island." His desert island book will cause jaws to drop. The remaining talks move away from Zizek's life and into his thought. The voluminous topics and points defy summary. But, needless to say, the topic of "The Real" appears frequently throughout. At one point, at risk to himself he jokes, that for him Kant remains the "first philosopher" due to the transcendental dimension opened up by his work. Everything prior to Kant, Zizek claims, can be read via Kantian transcendentalism (though he doesn't really elaborate). Also, he provides intriguing observations on the "Kinder" chocolate eggs with embedded toys in relation to commodities. Zizek claims that the US bans them because they expose the true nature of commodities, in that many people buy them for the inner toy and not for the advertised chocolate product (he doesn't mention the 1938 law banning all food items that inherently mingle with inedible and non-functional items). On the subject of biogenetics, Zizek accuses the "enlightenment philosopher" Habermas of anti-enlightenment thinking, in that Habermas favors abandoning biogenetics in the potential face of its risks to our identities and culture. Zizek finds this contradictory to the very enlightenment ideals Habermas professes. Other fascinating topics fly by as the discussions progress: films, virtual reality, the meaning of 911, multiculturalism, Marxism, and countless others. Also, Zizek defends himself against the common critique that he constantly repeats himself in his books and talks. His defense rests on the notion that he's simply reformulating ideas and so they come up again and again. Some will obviously find this more convincing than others.

Regardless of what one thinks about Zizek's thought, these talks provide much food for thought. They rely heavily on terminology from Lacanian psychoanalysis, which some may find tiresome (psychoanalysis in general remains controversial). Not to mention Zizek's support of Communism, or at least of a modified Communism that integrates the mistakes of 20th century state socialism. Some, especially those in the USA, will dismiss him on these grounds alone. And though Zizek's arguments will not have hard-line capitalists singing "The Internationale," they nonetheless provide a perspective on western life and politics that, if nothing else, demands a response. What does not remain controversial is that "Conversations With Zizek" delivers an entertaining, often challenging and insightful look at one of today's most acclaimed, hip and, of course, controversial thinkers. Apparently, philosophy isn't dead yet.

In order to familiarize yourself with the thoughts and strategies of any critic or philosopher without being exposed to the sufferings sustained in the painful job of reading extremely complex texts, you should always focus on the interviews made with the critic or the philosopher. You will get a much better grasp of highly complicated ideas suggested by philosophers such as Sartre, Foucault, and Said by reading through their published interviews. I mention those three authors for it has been claimed by some reviewers that they have turned the activity of giving an interview into an artform. Daly's interviews with Zizek does not spare us from Zizek's playful, and at times elusive, style when he goes down on Kinder chocolate, virtual reality, globalization, Hitchcock, Fight Club, etc... Zizek is as quick and as versatile as you may have imagined him to be from his previous books or lectures. Daly seems to know to press the right buttons in order to get Zizek off the ground. The chemistry in this book makes even Deleuze sound as a wild and attractive philosopher. However, you should beware Zizek's Lacan is quite different from the clinical readings of Lacan. It became quite clear already in 1989 in "the Sublime Object of Ideology" that Zizek preferred to focus on the underestimated Real in the Lacanian cognitive edifice. Daly explains in a very lucid way the importance of the Real to Zizek's Lacan, and he helps the reader to enter Zizek's streams of thought. This book helps any reader to understand Zizek's highly complex ideas in a very simple way. I would place this book among the other books of interviews made with the authors mentioned above, Sartre, Foucault, and Said. Daly and Zizek are preserving the artform.