Archive for 2012

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[ecrea] new book: the symbolic, the sublime, and slavoj žižek's theory of film (palgrave macmillan)

Fri Oct 12 14:52:40 GMT 2012




NEW BOOK OUT *OCTOBER 30TH, 2012*:

http://us.macmillan.com/thesymbolicthesublimeandslavojzizekstheoryoffilm/MatthewFlisfeder

*THE SYMBOLIC, THE SUBLIME, AND SLAVOJ ŽIŽEK'S THEORY OF FILM*
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*By MATTHEW FLISFEDER*

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.

"This is a wonderfully lucid and perceptive account of how the Žizekian approach to cinema provides the theoretical coordinates for our understanding of ideology. Via Žizek, Matthew Flisfeder makes a compelling case for a Lacanian reading of film which, once freed from old debates on spectatorship, has a chance to strike a formidable alliance with Marxism to invite us to rethink our world through the eyes of film." - Fabio Vighi, reader in Film and Critical Theory, Cardiff University

'Matthew Flisfeder's The Symbolic, The Sublime, and Slavoj Žižek's Theory of Film marks a decisive moment in film studies. It is the first book to take full account of Slavoj Žižek's significance for the analysis of film, and it does so in an exhaustive and insightful way. Though there now exist many recent books on Lacanian film theory and on Slavoj Žižek's thought, no books exist that explain Žižek's intervention in the domain of film studies. Not only does Flisfeder open new ground in this way, but he also creates a work that is accessible and theoretically sophisticated at the same time, much like Žižek's own thought. It will provide a point of entry into the implications of Žižek's philosophy on the analysis of cinema for all levels, from undergraduate students to professors of film studies. Flisfeder's book is a treasure for all.' - Todd McGowan, associate professor of Film Studies, University of Vermont

*TABLE OF CONTENTS*

Introduction

1 From Film Theory to Post-Theory

2 Sublime Objects of Cinema

3 Class Struggle in Film Studies

Interlude:  The Pervert and the Analyst

4 Cinema, Ideology, and Form

5 Enjoyment in the Cinema

Conclusion:  Theory as Realism Set in Drive

*MATTHEW FLISFEDER* is a media and cultural theorist. His work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Cultural Politics, the International Journal of Žižek Studies, and cineACTION. He has held teaching positions at OCAD University, Wilfrid Laurier University, and Ryerson University.




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