Review of The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012) by Mark J — 04 Oct 2013

"Cinema is the ultimate pervert art. It doesn't give you what you desire - it tells you how to desire". Slovenian philosopher Slovaj Zizek brings his unique brand of cultural analysis to bear on such movie classics as Titanic, Taxi Driver and Brief Encounter. If you've seen The Pervert's Guide to Cinema you will have some idea of what to expect, though newcomers may find his delivery somewhat taxing after a couple of hours (he sounds like Dracula with a bad coke habit). Directed by Sophie Fiennes, who had full control over the edit, Zizek pops up in re-created scenes from classic movies and then proceeds to deliver his Marxist philosophizing against the capitalist-consumer culture we are so heavily steeped in.

If at times Zizek's ideas seem to come across as a bit of a jumbled mess there are some fascinating insights. He takes a deeper look at film and how it reflects dominant ideologies, fantasies and our unconscious desires. As well as the occasional flippancy, there's some serious stuff here too, particularly Zizek's commentary on the 'other' when discussing the work of Leni Riefanstahl and such ideologically driven productions as Triumph of the Will and The Eternal Jew. But even seemingly innocuous blockbusters like Jaws can be read as a critique of hegemonic capitalist ideology. Probably.

Zizek has a deep love of cinema and his choice of material is entertainingly diverse (The Sound of Music, A Clockwork Orange etc..), but cultural products like Kinder eggs, Coca-Cola and Starbucks also come in for some serious discussion. Zizek is best understood as an intellectual provocateur, encouraging us to see the world differently, to think more critically, and in this regard Pervert's Guide to Ideology is a success.