The Symbolic, the Sublime, and Slavoj Zizek’s Theory of Film

Slavoj Žižek is one of the world’s most important contemporary public intellectuals. Much of his popularity stems from his constant and recurring references to popular culture and cinema, as well as his own appearances in films such as The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema and Examined Life. Although Žižek refers to cinema in order to help explain difficult concepts in his theoretical writing, film scholars question whether Žižek has his own theory of film. This book argues that Žižek’s writing on film radically reorients the scope of contemporary film studies. Returning to questions about ideology and subjectivity, Flisfeder argues that Slavoj Žižek’s theory of film aims to re-politicize film studies and film theory, bringing cinema into the fold of twenty-first century politics.