Monday, March 7, 2011

Quote of the Week- Slavoj Zizek (this is a great one...)




Today, we begin our series of quotes from famous philosophers, which might well seem like an oxy moron, with a quip from the great Slovenian thinker Slavoj Zizek (b. 1949).

We are not normally fans of 'bathroom humor,' but we love this image of Zizek on the throne, and we like this quote even more.

Some background for those of you unfamiliar with Zizek, and I am not a philosophy major myself though the few I've met always seem to be smarter than I am, he is described by Wikipedia as: "A Slovenian continental philosopher and critical theorist working in traditions of Hegelianism and Marxism who is known for his political theory and film theory."

Yes, I'm sure that cleared things up for you. Zizek was also the subject of the quirky documentary film "Zizek!" (2005). His books include "Iraq: The Borrowed Kettle" and "The Pervert's Guide to Cinema."

We first heard about Zizek through "Film Comment" which listed some of his guilty pleasures. I don't have the list in front of me, but I am 99 percent "Troll 2," a film we mentioned in our entry two days ago, was not on that list (it probably wouldn't be on mine either!).

Ah, yes, here is the quote:

"Love feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all pleasures."

We told it was a good one, didn't we!

It's too bad today is not Valentine's Day as this would have been perfect for that one day when Air Supply sells more cds than Arcade Fire!

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