Interrogating the Real

This text is a GREAT dictionary on the Zizekian reading of Lacan, Hegel, and Freud. In general, the interpretation of difference and the theoretical understanding of racism, ethnocentrism, anti-semitism, etc. is necessary reading for any student of post-strucutralist thought as it applies to the social world.

The first collection in a series of essays by Slavoj Zizek, who is a Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovena and Visiting Professor at the New School for Social Research, New York and one of the leading contemporary cultural critics of the 20th century. A critically important acquisition for academic library Philosophy collections and student reading lists, this first volume of Professor Zizek's work is divided into three principle sections: 'Lacanian Orientations'; 'Philosophy Traversed by Psychoanalysis'; and 'The Fantasy of Ideology'. Enhanced with a glossary, an index, and an 'Author's Afterword: Why Hegel is a Lacanian', "Interrogating The Real" showcases impeccable scholarship and clearly documents Professor Zizek as an original and insightful philosopher in his own right.

What sizzling insistencies are presented here, served up on a platter of salad encrusted banana littered plenitude succulently garnished with mouth watering 1001 Nights Supa Sauce plus ultra crispy fries smoothly layered on delicious South Pacific grillings lightly and pliantly tossed and toasted in a sensational semiological batter, a perfect feast for the egregious sorts that salt away in the mines of academe with nary a twist or tryst such a work is a marvel to behold as it nestles willy nilly on the shelves of Opportune, suppurating and gently roasting in a chested blemish of buffoons...

I still have a few essays left in this little gem, but I would already highly recommend it because I have never had a better experience understanding Zizek. First off, if you simply wish to gain a straight forward understanding of some of the possible theoretically usages of Lacan, Hegel, Kant, Foucault, Heidegger and a host of other heavy hitters then Zizek is your man. He loves a tangent, but he uses anecodotes, jokes and examples from popular culture to demonstrate difficult concepts in a clear way. (In my opion, that's what real genius is.) Secondly, the essays are very witty, sometimes even hilarious. Whether Zizek is explaining that the Lacanian analyst is like Hannibal Lecter trying to eat Clarisse Starling's 'Dasein' or describing the perverse self-denials in Casablanca, he is always pretty snarky. Lastly, I think Zizek, despite his penchant for silliness, does have a serious project. I think he wants people to use logic to transcend academic and psuedo-academic fads and to understand that human beings are miraculous and miraculously cracked. Zizek is miraculously cracked, that's for sure.