Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Zizek. Transcript, Excerpt. Kathy Newman. Ch4. 18 Apr 2016.



1.       Zizek: This is basically not a humanitarian Crisis. Let me use an example from cinema. This is the images we see, poor refugees saved in the last moment from drowning in the Sea. That’s of course tragic, but what we need to do in cinematic terms, Alfred Hitchcock often used this, is the shore begins here and then slowly we [zoom out] the camera until what we see in old Marxist terms we call the social totality. What is going on? We should begin to ask the real question of how is responsible for it, and I don’t think it’s only the Western Imperialism that is responsible. Whenever something happens in a Third-World Country like Rwanda, it must be a Consequence of neo-Colonialism. No, sorry, think like ISIS. Think like expansion of Islam, and so on and so on. This is not a passive reaction. This is an active problem, there are also active agents.
2.       Newman: What is the solution then? How do you tackle this? If you accept there’s a problem, what is the solution?
3.       Zizek: This may shock you, but I think this is the only Consequence left, a truly left position. I don’t think that too much integration is good. I think what we need in our multi-cultural mixed Society is a degree of distance. My ideal today is not to live together with all different Races, Cultures, we all love each other. No. I admit it openly. There are things about them that I don’t understand. Probably there are many things that appear weird to them in what I do. I want polite ignorance, and then from time to time, of course it’s wonderful.
4.       Newman: You have polarized Communities. That then is the problem that gives rise to potentially extremism, doesn’t it? If you have People living entirely separately.
5.       Zizek: Here comes another problem. I claim that extremists. Look closely at their life stories. They are not truly excluded. They are deeply fascinated by the Western Culture and they kind of fight with it deeply, they envy it. If anything, this wave of young People ready to fight for ISIS and so on, they react to a certain type of integration which didn’t work.
6.       Newman: If you’re saying you have to respect each other’s differences and stop trying to integrate so much, where does that leave Britain with the European Union? We’re voting very soon on whether to stay in or leave. What would be your.
7.       Zizek: First let me correct you. I love this marginal sphere where different Identities intermingle, and so on. This is usually the source of the site where interesting things happen. I’m not saying don’t enforce it, it’s a catastrophe.
8.       Newman: What I want to know where does all this leave the UK’s Relationship with the European Union? Are we better off being part of one big happy Family or are we better off going off on our own-
9.       Zizek: I think we all know. I think the only way to fight the destructive aspect of global Capital is through transnational connexions. The problems we are facing today, intellectual property, ecological problems and so on, bio-kinetics, these are problems that can only be properly approached through large international Corporations.
10.   Newman: Stay in and reform it from the inside?
11.   Zizek: I’m a little bit tired of how People say Europe is dead, it’s over. Sorry, why then are so many People. Because they still have this dream, and it doesn’t matter if it’s an illusion. No. If you are in Politics, illusions have a certain political efficiency, and this illusion is not a bad one. Europe means a Land, a Place where you can combine a certain level of Freedom, Safety, social Solidarity, minimum of Welfare and so on. This part of European legacy is worth fighting for.

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