The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012)

The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology: Directed by Sophie Fiennes. With Slavoj Zizek. Philosopher Slavoj Zizek examines the hidden themes and existential questions asked by world renowned films.

“The pervertu0026#39;s guide to ideology is a thought provoking documentary, but at the same time enjoyable and full of wit. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIdeology is so ingrained in society that it has affected our dreams. If we want to change our reality we need to change our dreams first. That seems to be the main theme of the film. Applying psychoanalytic theory to film interpretation, Slavoj Zizek attempts to uncover the hidden meaning of many Hollywood films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe first film commented by Zizek is u0026#39;They Liveu0026#39; which is about a man who finds a special pair of sunglasses that allows him to see the real, scary and subliminal message behind posters and adverts in magazines, but also the real monstrous face of some of those living around him. This sets the tone for the film. For the next two hours Zizek attempts to uncover the hidden, subliminal and controlling messages of a number of films produced over the last 50 years. His argument is that Hollywood dictates our fantasies, dreams and desires through ideology. Taking this further, Zizek comments that the ultimate engineered fantasy is not u0026#39;to take what we want but to want to be desiredu0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDesire, is not just a desire for something, but also a u0026#39;desire for desire itselfu0026#39;. This is the main way that capitalism works. There is an urge to consume: u0026#39;people nowadays are made to feel guilty because they donu0026#39;t enjoy themselves enoughu0026#39;, he claims. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor Zizek, there is no u0026#39;big otheru0026#39;, no guaranteed, inherent meaning. We are alone and we have to live with that. All ideology is constructed for manipulation and control. The Titanic for instance, demonstrates that u0026#39;it is OK for the high classes when they are in low vitality to mix temporarily and sexually exploit the lower classesu0026#39;. Vampires and the undead are also a demonstration of the class struggle, with the blood sucking vampires representing the high classes. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSimilarly, the shark in Jaws represents all fears of American people; Americans may fear natural disasters, aliens, immigrants or other, and the shark unifies all those fears. This ideology was adopted by the Nazis who unified the enemy in the face of the Jews, according to Zizek.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAre Zizeku0026#39;s psychoanalytic explanations to films u0026#39;realu0026#39;? This is up to you to decide; however, they sound plausible and are worthwhile for consideration. Regardless of whether you agree with him or not, Zizek will change the way you watch films and Hollywood will never be the same again.”