{1}{1}29.997
{1695}{1754}{Y:i}- I'm giving you a choice:
{1775}{1878}{Y:i}- Either put on these glasses|or start eating that trashcan.
{1883}{2013}I already am eating from|the trashcan all the time.
{2018}{2114}The name of this trashcan|is ideology.
{2148}{2238}The material force|of ideology -
{2243}{2403}makes me not see|what I'm effectively eating.
{2409}{2520}It's not only our reality|which enslaves us.
{2526}{2607}The tragedy of|our predicament -
{2613}{2698}when we are within|ideology, is that -
{2703}{2814}when we think that we|escape it into our dreams -
{2820}{2926}at that point we|are within ideology.
{4045}{4221}'They Live' from 1988|is definitely one of the -
{4226}{4353}forgotten masterpieces|of the Hollywood left.
{4434}{4528}It tells the story of|John Nada.
{4534}{4624}'Nada' of course is Spanish|means 'nothing'.
{4629}{4773}A pure subject, deprived|of all substantial content.
{4778}{4912}A homeless worker in L.A.|who, drifting around -
{4918}{5008}one day enters into|an abandoned church -
{5013}{5176}and finds there a strange|box full of sunglasses.
{5289}{5433}And when he put one of them on|walking along the L.A. streets -
{5438}{5520}he discovers|something weird;
{5555}{5745}That these glasses function like|critique-of-ideology glasses.
{5908}{6064}They allow you to see|the real message beneath -
{6070}{6219}all the propaganda, publicity|glitz, posters and so on.
{6335}{6427}You see a large publicity|board telling you -
{6432}{6494}have your holiday|of a lifetime -
{6500}{6547}and when you|put the glasses on -
{6552}{6704}you just see just on the white|background a gray inscription.
{6758}{6887}We live, so we are told,|in a post-ideological society.
{6892}{6980}We are interpolated,|that is to say -
{6986}{7061}addressed by|social authority -
{7067}{7217}not as subjects who should|do their duty, sacrifice themselves -
{7222}{7302}but subjects of pleasures.
{7307}{7397}Realise your true potential.
{7402}{7458}Be yourself.
{7496}{7584}Lead a satisfying life.
{7686}{7795}When you put the|glasses on -
{7840}{7936}you see dictatorship|in democracy.
{7941}{8130}It's the invisible order which|sustains your apparent freedom.
{8135}{8274}The explanation for the existence|of these strange ideology glasses -
{8280}{8425}is the standard story of the|'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'.
{8510}{8645}Humanity is already under|the control of aliens.
{8650}{8711}{Y:i}- Hey buddy!
{8716}{8780}{Y:i}You gonna pay for that or what?
{8923}{9007}{Y:i}- Look buddy, I don't want|no hassle today.
{9012}{9084}{Y:i}- Either pay for it|or put it back.
{9133}{9243}According to our common sense -
{9248}{9396}we think that ideology is|something blurring, confusing -
{9401}{9467}our straight view.
{9472}{9638}Ideology should be glasses|which distort our view -
{9643}{9803}and the critique of ideology|should be the opposite -
{9808}{9945}like, you take off the glasses|so that you can finally see -
{9950}{10027}the way things really are.
{10032}{10121}This precisely, and here|the pessimism of -
{10126}{10175}the film, of 'They Live' -
{10180}{10303}is well justified, this precisely|is the ultimate illusion:
{10308}{10433}Ideology is not simply|imposed on ourselves
{10438}{10640}Ideology is our spontaneous|relationship to our social world -
{10645}{10736}how we perceive each meaning|and so on and so on.
{10741}{10867}We in a way|enjoy our ideology.
{10873}{10900}{Y:i}- Alright.
{10906}{10994}To step out of ideology -
{11000}{11078}it hurts.|It's a painful experience.
{11083}{11152}you must force yourself to do it.
{11157}{11278}This is rendered in a|wonderful way with -
{11283}{11335}a further scene in the film -
{11341}{11533}where John Nada tries to force|his best friend, John Armitage -
{11538}{11617}to also put the glasses on.
{11623}{11681}{Y:i}- I don't want to fight you.|- Come on!
{11687}{11722}{Y:i}- I don't want to fight you.|- Come on!
{11727}{11765}{Y:i}- Stop it!|- No!
{11770}{11852}And it's the weirdest|scene in the film.
{11857}{11906}The fight takes eight,|nine minutes.
{11911}{11956}{Y:i}- Put on the glasses!
{11961}{12083}It may appear irrational|because why does this guy -
{12088}{12166}reject so violently to|put the glasses on?
{12171}{12327}It is as if he is well aware|that spontaneously he lives -
{12332}{12465}in a lie. That the glasses|will make him see the truth -
{12470}{12548}but that this truth|can be painful.
{12553}{12693}Can shatter many|of your illusions.
{12751}{12826}This is a paradox|we have to accept.
{12831}{12935}{Y:i}- Put the glasses on!|Put 'em on!
{12940}{13061}The extreme violence|of liberation.
{13066}{13152}You must be forced|to be free.
{13157}{13258}If you trust simply your|spontaneous sense of -
{13264}{13294}well-being or whatever -
{13299}{13341}you will never get free.
{13347}{13378}{Y:i}- Look!
{13383}{13453}Freedom hurts.
{13567}{13669}The basic insight|of psychoanalysis -
{13675}{13875}is to distinguish between|enjoyment and simple pleasures.
{13880}{13939}They are not the same.
{13997}{14149}Enjoyment is precisely enjoyment|in disturbed pleasure -
{14154}{14240}even enjoyment in pain.
{14246}{14398}And this excessive factor|disturbs the apparently simple -
{14404}{14576}relationship between|duty and pleasures.
{14633}{14794}This is also a space|where ideology up to -
{14794}{14921}and especially religious|ideology, operates.
{15004}{15116}This brings me to maybe|my favourite example -
{15121}{15254}the great classical Hollywood film|'The Sound of Music'.
{15282}{15460}We all know it's the story|of a nun who is too alive -
{15466}{15528}with too much energy -
{15533}{15600}ultimately sexual energy,
{15605}{15714}to be constrained|to the role of a nun.
{15720}{15797}{Y:i}- Oh, Reverend Mother.|I'm so sorry. I just couldn't -
{15802}{15857}{Y:i}help myself. The gates|we're open and
{15863}{15901}{Y:i}the hills were beckoning|and before I...
{15906}{15980}{Y:i}- Maria, I haven't summoned|you here for apologies.
{15985}{16051}{Y:i}- Oh, please mother do let me|ask for forgiveness.
{16056}{16133}{Y:i}- One, two three.|One, two, three.
{16138}{16213}{Y:i}- One, two, three.|Step together. Now...
{16218}{16348}So, Mother Superior sends her|to the Von Trapp family -
{16354}{16433}where she takes care|of the children -
{16438}{16494}{Y:i}- Under.
{16499}{16621}{Y:i}- Kurt, we'll have to practice...|- Do allow me will you?
{16656}{16756}and at the same time,|of course, falls in love -
{16761}{16841}with the baron Von Trapp.
{16998}{17065}And Maria gets too|disturbed by it -
{17070}{17191}cannot control it,|returns to the convent -
{17196}{17242}{Y:i}- Oh there were times when|we would look at each other...
{17248}{17309}{Y:i}- Oh, Mother,|I could hardly breathe.
{17315}{17353}{Y:i}- Did you let him|see how you felt?
{17359}{17424}{Y:i}- If I did I didn't know it.|That's what's been -
{17429}{17500}{Y:i}torturing me, I was there|on God's errand.
{17505}{17614}No wonder that in old|communist Yugoslavia -
{17619}{17731}where I saw this film|for the first time -
{17736}{17855}exactly this scene,|or more precisely -
{17860}{17980}the song which follows this|strange hedonist, if you want, -
{17988}{18051}advice from the mother superior:
{18056}{18144}"Go back, seduce the guy,|follow this path" -
{18149}{18227}"do not betray your desire..."
{18232}{18377}Namely the song which begins|with "Climb every mountain";
{18382}{18494}The song which is an|almost embarrassing display -
{18500}{18560}and affirmation of desire.
{18566}{18663}This three minutes were censored.
{18668}{18795}{Y:i}- Climb every mountain.
{18800}{18924}{Y:i}- Search high and low.
{18929}{19057}{Y:i}- Follow every by-way
{19062}{19171}{Y:i}- Every path you know.
{19176}{19299}I think the sensor was|a very intelligent man.
{19304}{19397}He knew, as probably|an atheist communist, -
{19403}{19567}where the power of attraction|of catholic religion resides.
{19592}{19709}{Y:i}- 'Till you find your dream.
{19751}{19870}If you read intelligent|catholic propagandists -
{19875}{20030}and if you really try to discern|what deal are they offering you?
{20036}{20176}It's not to prohibit,|in this case sexual pleasures.
{20181}{20292}It's a much more cynical|contract, as it were, -
{20297}{20425}between the church as|an institution and the believer -
{20430}{20546}troubled with, in this case,|sexual desires.
{20552}{20683}It is this hidden obscene|permission that you get -
{20688}{20762}You are covered by|the divine 'Big Other' -
{20767}{20828}you can do|what ever you want.
{20833}{20889}Enjoy.
{20963}{21040}{Y:i}- A dream that will need...
{21045}{21122}This obscene contract|does not belong -
{21127}{21199}to Christianity as such.
{21204}{21389}It belongs to catholic church|as an institution.
{21394}{21532}It is the logic of institution|at its purest.
{21537}{21652}{Y:i}- Climb every mountain.
{21658}{21879}This is again a key|to the functioning of ideology.
{21884}{22023}Not only the explicit message:|renounce, suffer and so on -
{22028}{22124}but the true hidden message:
{22129}{22258}Pretend to renounce and|you can get it all.
{22362}{22508}My psychoanalytic friends are|telling me that typically today -
{22513}{22659}patients who come to the analyst|to resolve their problems -
{22664}{22805}feel guilty, not because of|excessive pleasures -
{22810}{22932}not because they indulge in|pleasures which go against -
{22938}{23051}their sense of duty or|morality, or what-so-ever.
{23056}{23208}On the contrary, they feel|guilty for not enjoying enough.
{23214}{23311}For not being able to enjoy.
{24357}{24472}Oh my god, one is thirsty|in the desert and -
{24477}{24584}what to drink but Coke?
{24589}{24664}The perfect commodity.|Why?
{24669}{24765}It was already Marx who|long ago emphasized that -
{24771}{24936}a commodity is never just a simple|object that we buy and consume.
{24958}{25109}A commodity is an object|full of theological -
{25114}{25201}even metaphysical niceties.
{25207}{25374}Its presence always reflects|an invisible transcendence.
{25379}{25612}And the classical publicity for Coke|quite openly refers to this -
{25617}{25695}absent, invisible quality.
{25700}{25822}Coke is 'The Real Thing' or|'Coke - That's it'.
{25827}{25895}What is that 'it', the 'real thing'?
{25901}{26053}It's not just another positive|property of Coke -
{26058}{26163}something that can be|described or pinpointed -
{26168}{26210}through chemical analysis -
{26216}{26329}it's that mysterious|'something more'.
{26348}{26509}The indescribable excess|which is the Object-Cause -
{26515}{26577}of my Desire.
{26620}{26745}In our post-modern,|how ever we call them, societies -
{26750}{26831}we are obliged to enjoy.
{26880}{27025}Enjoyment becomes a kind or|a weird perverted duty.
{27080}{27171}The paradox of Coke is that|you are thirsty -
{27176}{27251}you drink it but,|as everyone knows -
{27256}{27356}the more you drink it|the more thirsty you get.
{27361}{27572}A desire is never simply|the desire for certain thing.
{27578}{27682}It's always also a desire|for desire itself.
{27688}{27819}A desire to continue to desire.
{27825}{27957}Perhaps the ultimate|horror of a desire is -
{27962}{28044}to be fully filled-in, met -
{28049}{28137}so that I desire no longer.
{28142}{28272}The ultimate melancholic|experience is the experience -
{28277}{28410}of a loss of desire itself.
{28415}{28576}It's not that in some return|to a previous era -
{28582}{28673}of natural consummation -
{28679}{28806}where we got rid of this excess|and were only consuming -
{28812}{28852}for actual needs -
{28857}{28945}like you were thirsty,|you drank water, and so on.
{28951}{28993}We cannot return to that.
{28999}{29078}The excess is with us forever.
{29083}{29183}So, let's have a drink of Coke.
{29254}{29305}It's getting warm.
{29309}{29409}It's no longer 'The Real Coke'|and that's the problem.
{29414}{29604}You know, this passage from|sublime to excremental dimension.
{29609}{29750}When it's cold, properly served,|it has a certain attraction -
{29752}{29841}all of a sudden|this can change into shit.
{29846}{29970}It's the elementary dialectics|of commodities.
{29977}{30088}We are not talking about|objective, factual properties -
{30095}{30267}of a commodity. We are talking|only here about that elusive surplus.
{30506}{30574}'Kinder Surprise egg'.
{30578}{30655}A quite astonishing commodity.
{30659}{30812}The surprise of the 'Kinder|Surprise egg' is that -
{30816}{30961}this excessive object,|the cause of your desire -
{30966}{31100}is here materialized.|In the guise of an object -
{31105}{31248}a plastic toy which fills in|the inner void -
{31252}{31305}of the chocolate egg.
{31309}{31460}The whole delicate balance|is between these two dimensions:
{31464}{31587}What you bought, the chocolate|egg, and the surplus -
{31592}{31674}probably made in some Chinese|gulag or whatever -
{31675}{31751}the surplus that|you get for free.
{31756}{31969}I don't think that the chocolate|frame is here just to send you -
{31973}{32092}on a deeper voyage towards|the inner treasure -
{32096}{32273}the, what Plato calls the 'Agalma'|which makes you a worthy person, -
{32278}{32383}which makes a commodity|the desirable commodity -
{32388}{32472}I think it's the other around.
{32473}{32653}We should aim at the higher goal,|the gold in the middle of an object -
{32658}{32792}precisely in order to|be able to enjoy the surface.
{32796}{32918}This is what is the|anti-metaphysical lesson, -
{32923}{33035}which is difficult to accept.
{33612}{33760}What does this famous|'Ode to Joy' stand for?
{33764}{33867}It's usually perceived as|a kind of ode to humanity -
{33872}{34043}as such to the brotherhood|and freedom of all people.
{34046}{34188}And what strikes the eye here|is the universal adaptability -
{34193}{34284}of this well-known melody.
{34468}{34545}It can be used|by political movements -
{34549}{34650}which are totally opposed|to each other.
{34657}{34885}In Nazi Germany it was widely used|to celebrate great public events.
{34895}{34992}In Soviet Union|Beethoven was lionized -
{34997}{35100}and the 'Ode to Joy' was|performed almost as -
{35105}{35206}a kind of a communist song.
{35263}{35404}In China during the time|of the great Cultural Revolution -
{35409}{35505}when almost all western|music was prohibited -
{35510}{35586}the 9th symphony|was accepted.
{35591}{35744}It was allowed to play it as a piece|of progressive bourgeois music.
{35968}{36080}At the extreme right|in South Rhodesia -
{36085}{36131}before it became Zimbabwe -
{36136}{36190}it proclaimed independence|to be able -
{36196}{36313}to postpone the|abolishment of apartheid.
{36336}{36398}Therefore those couple of|years of independence -
{36403}{36507}South Rhodesia, again|the melody of 'Ode to Joy' -
{36512}{36680}with changed lyrics of course,|was the anthem of the country.
{36938}{36988}At the opposite end -
{36994}{37102}when Abimael Guzman|President Gonzalo -
{37107}{37243}the leader of 'Sendero Luminoso',|the 'Shining Path' -
{37249}{37361}the extreme leftist|guerrilla in Peru.
{37367}{37465}When he was asked by|a journalist which piece of music -
{37471}{37532}is his favourite,|he claimed -
{37538}{37698}again Beethoven's 9th|symphony 'Ode to Joy'.
{37771}{37833}When Germany was|still divided -
{37839}{37951}and their team was appearing|together at the Olympics -
{37974}{38106}when one of the Germans|won golden medal -
{38132}{38196}again Old to Joy|was played -
{38202}{38326}instead of either East or|West German national anthem.
{38331}{38466}And even now today|'Ode to Joy' is the unofficial -
{38471}{38600}anthem of European union.
{39172}{39350}So it's truly that we can imagine|a kind of a perverse scene of -
{39355}{39457}universal fraternity|where Osama Bin Laden is -
{39462}{39570}embracing President Bush,|Saddam is embracing -
{39575}{39706}Fidel Castro, white races|is embracing Mao Tse Tung -
{39711}{39802}and all together they|sing 'Ode to Joy'.
{39807}{39997}It works. And this is how|every ideology has to work.
{40002}{40064}It's never just meaning.
{40069}{40222}It always has to also work|as an empty container -
{40227}{40316}open to all|possible meanings.
{40322}{40434}It's, you know, that|gut feeling that we feel -
{40440}{40520}when we experience something|pathetic and we say:
{40525}{40634}"Oh my God, I am so moved,|there is something so deep."
{40640}{40702}But you never know|what this depth is.
{40707}{40775}It's a void.
{40780}{40848}Now, of course|there is a catch here.
{40853}{40961}The catch is that of course|this neutrality of a frame -
{40966}{41121}is never as neutral|as it appears.
{41235}{41317}Here, I think the|perspective of Alex from -
{41322}{41394}the 'Clockwork Orange' enters.
{41400}{41508}{Y:i}- We were all feeling a bit|shagged and fagged and fashed.
{41513}{41612}{Y:i}- It having been an evening of|some small energy expenditure -
{41618}{41651}oh my brothers.
{41656}{41741}{Y:i}- So we got rid of the auto|and stopped off at The Korova -
{41746}{41788}for a nightcap.
{41793}{41972}Why is Alex, this ultimate|cynical delinquent, the hero of -
{41977}{42087}'Clockwork Orange',|why is he so fascinated -
{42092}{42123}overwhelmed -
{42128}{42284}when he sees the lady|singing Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy'?
{42289}{42357}{Y:i}- And it was like for a moment,|oh my brothers, -
{42362}{42455}{Y:i}some great bird had|flown into the milk bar -
{42461}{42560}{Y:i}and I felt all the malanky|little hairs on my plott -
{42566}{42671}{Y:i}standing endwise and|the shivers crawling up -
{42676}{42800}{Y:i}like slow malanky lizards,|and then down again.
{42805}{42885}{Y:i}- Because I knew|what she sang.
{42891}{43028}{Y:i}- It was a bit from the glorious|ninth by Ludwig van.
{43071}{43199}Whenever an ideological|text says: "all humanity" -
{43204}{43291}"unite in brotherhood,|joy" and so on, -
{43297}{43338}you should always ask:
{43343}{43423}"Ok, ok, ok, but are this all,|really all?" -
{43428}{43508}"or is someone excluded?"
{43513}{43622}I think Alex the delinquent|from Clockwork Orange -
{43628}{43750}identifies with this|place of exclusion.
{43800}{43905}And the great genius|of Beethoven is that -
{43910}{44014}he literally states|this exclusion.
{44019}{44129}All of a sudden the whole|tone changes into a kind of -
{44134}{44210}a carnavalesque rythm.
{44216}{44358}It's no longer this|sublime beauty.
{44416}{44503}{Y:i}- Excuse me brother,|I ordered this two weeks ago -
{44508}{44593}{Y:i}can you see if|it's arrived yet please?
{44614}{44671}{Y:i}- Just a minute.
{44816}{44953}We hear this vulgar music|precisely when Alex enters -
{44958}{45069}a shopping arcade and|we can see from his movements -
{45074}{45131}that now he feels at home.
{45136}{45250}He is like fish in the water.
{45410}{45439}{Y:i}- Pardon me ladies.
{45445}{45501}Beethoven is not the|cheap celebrator -
{45506}{45568}of the brotherhood|of humanity and so on, -
{45574}{45656}we are one big happy family|enjoying freedom, -
{45662}{45703}dignity, and so on.
{45709}{45752}{Y:i}- Enjoying that are|you my darling?
{45757}{45843}The first part, which is falsely|celebrated today, -
{45849}{45908}you hear it in|all official events -
{45913}{46001}is clearly identified|with Beethoven -
{46007}{46130}as ideology, and then|the second part tells -
{46135}{46263}the true story of that which|disturbs the official ideology -
{46269}{46370}and of the failure|of the offical ideology -
{46375}{46451}to constrain it,|to tame it.
{46456}{46569}This is why Beethoven|was doing something -
{46574}{46643}which may appear|difficult to do.
{46649}{46754}He was already in|the purely musical work -
{46759}{46855}practicing critique|of ideology.
{46945}{47083}If the classical ideology|functioned in the way -
{47088}{47187}designated by Marx|in his nice formula -
{47192}{47234}from Capital Volume One:
{47239}{47297}{Y:i}"Sie wissen es nicht,|aber sie tun es."
{47302}{47344}"They don't know|what they are doing" -
{47349}{47415}"but they are|none the less doing it."
{47420}{47553}Cynical ideology functions|in the mode of -
{47559}{47633}"I know very well|what I am doing"
{47638}{47725}"but I am still none|the less doing it."
{47843}{47983}This paradoxical constellation|is staged in a beautiful way -
{47988}{48130}in the famous song 'Officer Krupke'|in Bernstein's and Sondheim's -
{48136}{48178}'West Side Story'.
{48183}{48232}{Y:i}- Hey you!
{48237}{48304}{Y:i}- Who me, officer Krupke?|- Yeah you!
{48310}{48349}{Y:i}- Give me one good|reason for not -
{48355}{48444}{Y:i}dragging you down|to station house, you punk.
{48449}{48489}{Y:i}- Dear...
{48495}{48584}{Y:i}kindly Sergeant Krupke,|you gotta understand -
{48589}{48678}{Y:i}it's just our bringin' up-ke,|that gets us out of hand.
{48684}{48777}{Y:i}- Our mothers all are junkies,|our fathers all are drunks.
{48782}{48863}{Y:i}- Golly Moses,|natcherly we're punks!
{48868}{48969}{Y:i}-Gee, Officer Krupke,|we're very upset.
{48974}{48997}{Y:i}- We never had the...
{49002}{49131}The delinquent gang enact|a whole explanation, -
{49136}{49281}as a musical number of course,|of why they are delinquents.
{49286}{49369}{Y:i}- ...there is good,|there is untapped good!
{49374}{49417}{Y:i}- Like inside,|the worst of us is good!
{49422}{49489}Addressing the police officer Krupke, -
{49494}{49609}who is not there but all is|addressed at the police officer.
{49614}{49646}{Y:i}- ...toucthin' good story.
{49651}{49693}{Y:i}- Lemme tell it to the world!
{49698}{49748}{Y:i}- Just tell it to the judge.
{49753}{49848}So one of them adopts|the position of a judge:
{49951}{50051}{Y:i}- Dear kindly Judge, your Honor,|my parents treat me rough.
{50056}{50136}{Y:i}- With all their marijuana,|they won't give me a puff.
{50142}{50207}Then the psychological|explanation:
{50212}{50250}{Y:i}- ...he shouldn't be here.
{50255}{50358}{Y:i}- This boy don't need a couch,|He needs a useful career.
{50363}{50452}{Y:i}- Society's played him|a terrible trick -
{50457}{50505}{Y:i}und sociologically|he's sick!
{50510}{50539}{Y:i}- I am sick!
{50544}{50569}{Y:i}- We are sick, we are sick...
{50575}{50745}The paradox here is how can|you know all this and still do it?
{50751}{50867}This is the cynical|functioning of ideology.
{50872}{51007}They're never what they appear|to be cynical brutal delinquents.
{51012}{51104}They always have|a tiny private dream.
{51109}{51203}This dream can be many things.
{51275}{51368}It can even be something|quite ordinary.
{51373}{51536}Let's take the English riots|of august 2011.
{51542}{51640}The standard liberal explanation|really sounds like -
{51645}{51742}a repetition of|'Officer Krupke' song.
{51747}{51915}We cannot just condemn this|riot as delinquent vandalism.
{51920}{52031}You have to see how these people|live in practically ghettos -
{52036}{52078}isolated communities -
{52083}{52174}no proper family life,|no proper education.
{52179}{52296}They don't even have a prospect|of a regular employment.
{52302}{52440}But this is not enough|because man is not simply -
{52445}{52562}a product of objective|circumstances.
{52610}{52796}We all have this margin|of freedom in deciding -
{52801}{52969}how we subjectivise these|objective circumstances -
{52975}{53049}which will of course|determine us.
{53055}{53266}How we react to them by|constructing our own universe.
{53279}{53396}The conservative solution|is we need more police.
{53401}{53491}We need courts, which pass|severe judgements.
{53496}{53599}I think this solution|is too simple.
{53626}{53731}If I listen closely to some of|David Cameron's statements -
{53736}{53822}it looked as if ok,|they are beating people, -
{53827}{53923}burning houses, but the|truly horrible thing is -
{53928}{54042}that they were taking objects|without paying for them.
{54047}{54119}The ultimate things|that we can imagine.
{54124}{54206}In a very limited way,|Cameron was right -
{54211}{54314}there was no|ideological justification.
{54319}{54473}It is the reaction of people|who are totally caught into -
{54478}{54639}the predominant ideology|but have no ways to realise -
{54644}{54769}what this ideology demands|of them so it's kind of -
{54774}{54979}a wild acting out within this|ideological space of consumerism.
{55005}{55085}Even if we are dealing|with apparently -
{55091}{55177}totally non-ideological|brutality, -
{55182}{55308}I just want to burn houses,|to get objects.
{55314}{55468}It is the result of a very specific|social and ideological -
{55473}{55604}constellation where big ideology,|striving for justice -
{55610}{55712}equality etc,|disintegrates.
{55717}{55827}The only functioning ideology|is pure consumerism -
{55833}{55978}and then no wonder what you|get as a form of protest.
{55997}{56102}Every violent acting out|is a sign that -
{56108}{56231}there is something you are not|able to put into words.
{56236}{56363}Even the most brutal violence|is the enacting -
{56368}{56494}of a certain|symbolic deadlock.
{56557}{56663}The great thing about|the 'Taxi Driver' -
{56669}{56834}is that it brings this brutal|outburst of violence -
{56839}{56974}to it's radical|suicidal dimension.
{57079}{57122}We are not dealing|here with something -
{57127}{57327}which simply concerns|the fragile psychology -
{57332}{57474}of a distorted person,|what Travis in Taxi Driver is.
{57479}{57580}It has something to do|with ideology.
{57585}{57656}{Y:i}- Listen you fuckers,|you screw-heads.
{57661}{57739}{Y:i}- Here is a man who would|not take it anymore.
{57744}{57801}{Y:i}- Who would not let...
{57806}{57907}{Y:i}- Listen you fuckers,|you screw-heads.
{57913}{58001}{Y:i}- Here is a man who would|not take it anymore.
{58007}{58071}{Y:i}- A man who stood up|against the scum -
{58076}{58144}{Y:i}the cunts, the dogs,|the filth, the shit.
{58150}{58234}- Here is someone|who stood up.
{58239}{58336}In the 'Taxi Driver',|Travis, the hero -
{58342}{58492}is bothered by the young prostitute|played by Jody Foster.
{58497}{58623}What bothers him are,|of course as is always the case -
{58629}{58699}precisely his fantasies.
{58704}{58751}Fantasies of her.
{58756}{58890}Victim who of her|hidden pleasures...
{58913}{59048}And fantasies are not just|a private matter of individuals.
{59053}{59241}Fantasies are the central stuff|our ideologies are made of.
{59247}{59304}{Y:i}- Don't look at him.
{59309}{59427}Fantasy is in psychoanalytical|perspective -
{59433}{59497}fundamentally a lie.
{59502}{59567}Not a lie in the sense that|it's just a fantasy -
{59572}{59680}but not a reality|but a lie in the sense that -
{59685}{59842}fantasy covers up a certain|gap in consistency.
{59848}{59924}When things are blurred,|when we cannot really get -
{59930}{60105}to know things, fantasy|provides an easy answer.
{60189}{60338}The usual mode of fantasy|is to construct a scene -
{60343}{60425}not a scene where|I get what I desire -
{60430}{60642}but a scene in which I imagine|myself as desired by others.
{60717}{60836}'Taxi Driver' is an|unacknowledged remake of -
{60841}{60927}perhaps the greatest|of John Ford's westerns -
{60932}{61021}his late classic 'The Searchers'.
{61026}{61160}{Y:i}- I take many...?|- Scalps.
{61291}{61388}In both films,|the hero tries to save -
{61393}{61622}a young woman who is perceived|as a victim of brutal abuse.
{61757}{61841}In the Searchers the|young Nathalie Wood -
{61847}{61942}was kidnapped and lived|for a couple of years -
{61947}{62098}as the wife of an Indian chief.
{62103}{62181}In Taxi driver|the young Jodie Foster -
{62186}{62268}is controlled by|a ruthless pimp.
{62273}{62339}{Y:i}- You walk out with those|fucking creeps and lowlifes -
{62344}{62396}{Y:i}and degenerates|out on the streets -
{62401}{62481}{Y:i}and you sell your little pussy|for nothing man?
{62486}{62546}{Y:i}For some low life pimp?
{62552}{62638}{Y:i}Stands in a hall?
{62643}{62680}{Y:i}- I'm the- I'm square?
{62685}{62738}{Y:i}- You're the one|that's square man.
{62744}{62791}{Y:i}- I don't go screw and|fuck with a bunch of killers -
{62796}{62836}{Y:i}and junkies the way you do.
{62842}{63009}The task is always to save|the perceived victim.
{63042}{63160}But what really drives|this violence of the hero -
{63165}{63312}is a deep suspicion that|the victim is not simply a victim.
{63317}{63417}That the victim, effectively|in a perverted way -
{63422}{63594}enjoys or participates in what|appears as her victimhood.
{63600}{63662}So that, to put it very simply -
{63667}{63794}she doesn't want to be redeemed,|she resists it.
{64016}{64083}{Y:i}- Let's go home Debby.
{64212}{64293}And this is the big problem -
{64298}{64378}if I make an immediate jump|to the political dimension -
{64383}{64472}the big problem of American|military interventions -
{64477}{64572}especially so-called|humanitarian interventions.
{64577}{64775}From Iraq to already|Vietnam half a century ago.
{64781}{64855}We try to help them -
{64860}{64988}but what if they really|did not want our help?
{64993}{65049}The result of this|debilitating deadlock -
{65054}{65136}can only be an|outburst of violence.
{65266}{65341}We do get, towards|the end of the film -
{65346}{65458}Travis exploding|in a killing spree.
{65463}{65629}Killing the pimps, all the|people around the young girl.
{65793}{65913}Violence is never|just abstract violence.
{65918}{66064}It's a kind of brutal|intervention in the real -
{66069}{66224}to cover up a certain|impotence concerning -
{66229}{66304}what we may call|cognitive mapping.
{66310}{66432}You lack a clear picture|of what's going on.
{66438}{66492}Where are we?
{66497}{66632}Exactly the same holds|for the terrifying outburst of -
{66637}{66829}violence; Anders Behring Breivik's|murder spree in Oslo.
{66834}{66922}Exploding a bomb in front|of the government building -
{66927}{67018}and then killing dozens|of young members -
{67023}{67072}of the social democratic party -
{67077}{67163}in an island close to Oslo.
{67242}{67319}Many commentators|tried to dismiss this as -
{67324}{67421}a clear case of personal insanity.
{67426}{67568}But I think Breivik's manifesto|is well worth reading.
{67573}{67745}It is palpably clear|there how this violence -
{67750}{67913}that Breivik not only theorised|about but also enacted -
{67918}{68036}is a reaction|to the impenetrability -
{68042}{68125}and confusion of global capital.
{68130}{68297}It's exactly like Travis Bickle's|killing spree -
{68303}{68410}at the end of the 'Taxi Driver'.
{68489}{68550}When he is there,|barely alive -
{68556}{68666}he symbolically with|his fingers points a gun -
{68671}{68725}at his own head.
{68730}{68848}Clear sign that all this|violence was basically suicidal.
{68877}{68960}He was on the right path,|in a way -
{68965}{69031}Travis in the 'Taxi Driver'.
{69036}{69093}You should have the|outburst of violence -
{69098}{69174}and you should|direct it at yourself -
{69180}{69332}but in a very specific way|at what in yourself -
{69338}{69486}change you, ties you|to the ruling ideology.
{69840}{69920}{Y:i}- Pippin? Pippin?
{69925}{70004}In Steven Spielberg's Jaws -
{70009}{70173}a shark starts to attack|people on the beach.
{70179}{70250}What does this attack mean?
{70255}{70351}What does the shark stand for?
{70473}{70559}There were different,|even mutually exclusive -
{70564}{70634}answers to this question.
{70825}{70890}On the one hand|some critics claimed -
{70896}{71033}that obviously the shark stands|for the foreign threat -
{71039}{71108}to ordinary Americans.
{71114}{71234}The shark is a metaphor|for either natural disaster -
{71240}{71332}storms or immigrants|threatening -
{71337}{71407}United States citizens|and so on.
{71412}{71511}On the other hand|it's interesting to note that -
{71516}{71590}Fidel Castro,|who loves the film -
{71595}{71699}once said that for him|it was obvious that -
{71704}{71784}Jaws is kind of|a leftist Marxist film -
{71790}{71878}and that the shark|is a metaphor for -
{71883}{72083}brutal big capital|exploiting ordinary Americans.
{72139}{72222}So which is|the right answer?
{72228}{72380}I claim none of them and|at the same time all of them.
{72385}{72486}Ordinary Americans, as ordinary|people in all countries -
{72492}{72561}have a multitude of fears.
{72566}{72621}We fear all kind of things.
{72626}{72747}We fear maybe,|immigrants or people -
{72752}{72845}whom we perceive as lower|than ourselves attacking us,
{72850}{72946}robbing us. We fear people|raping our children.
{72952}{73046}We fear natural disasters,|tornados, earthquakes, -
{73051}{73169}tsunamis, we fear|corrupted politicians.
{73174}{73266}We fear big companies|which can basically -
{73272}{73366}do with us|whatever they want.
{73551}{73581}The function of the shark|is to unite all these fears
{73586}{73685}so that we can in away|trade all these fears
{73690}{73762}for one fear alone.
{73835}{73877}{Y:i}- Smile you son of a...
{74049}{74218}In this way our experience|of reality gets much simpler.
{74223}{74325}Why am I mentioning this?|Because isn't it that -
{74331}{74458}for example, the most extreme|case of ideology -
{74463}{74538}maybe in the history|of humanity -
{74543}{74649}the Nazi fascist anti-Semitism -
{74654}{74721}work precisely in|the same way?
{74726}{74833}Imagine an ordinary|German citizen -
{74838}{74915}in the late 20s early 30s.
{74920}{75030}His situation is,|in an abstract way -
{75035}{75115}the same as that|of a small child.
{75120}{75173}He's totally perplexed.
{75179}{75300}Social authority, symbolic|order is telling him -
{75306}{75409}you are a German worker,|banker, whatever, -
{75414}{75469}but nothing functions.
{75474}{75532}What does society|want from him?
{75537}{75607}Why is everything|going wrong?
{75613}{75669}The way he perceives|the situation -
{75675}{75727}is that newspapers|lie to him.
{75732}{75794}He lost his work|because of inflation.
{75799}{75955}He lost all his|money in the bank.
{75960}{76045}His moral degradation|and so on...
{76050}{76110}So what's the|meaning of this all?
{76456}{76557}The original fascist|dream is to -
{76562}{76645}of course as the dream|of every ideology -
{76651}{76758}to have a cake|and to eat it.
{76788}{76890}As it was often pointed|out, fascism is, -
{76895}{77024}at it's most elementary,|a conservative revolution
{77029}{77090}Revolution; economic|development, -
{77095}{77157}modern industry, yes.
{77163}{77241}But a revolution which|would none the less -
{77246}{77466}maintain or even reassert|a traditional hierarchal society.
{77596}{77667}A society which is|modern, efficient, -
{77672}{77742}but at the same time|controlled by -
{77747}{77900}hierarchal values with no|class or other antagonisms.
{78010}{78112}Now, they have a problem|here, the fascists, -
{78118}{78262}but antagonism, class|struggle and other dangers -
{78267}{78383}is something inherent|to capitalism.
{78388}{78453}Modernisation,|industrialisation, -
{78458}{78518}as we know from|the history of capitalism, -
{78523}{78637}means disintegration|of old stable relations.
{78642}{78716}It means social conflicts.
{78721}{78894}Instability is the way|capitalism functions.
{78923}{79036}So how to solve|this problem? Simple.
{79041}{79165}You need to generate|an ideological narrative -
{79170}{79289}which explains how|things went wrong -
{79294}{79413}in a society, not|as a result of the -
{79418}{79532}inherent tensions in the|development of this society -
{79537}{79690}but as the result|of a foreign intruder.
{79752}{79957}Things were ok until Jews|penetrated our social body.
{79962}{80076}The way to restore the|health of our social body -
{80082}{80201}is to eliminate the Jews.
{80282}{80367}It's the same operation|as with -
{80373}{80422}the shark in jaws.
{80428}{80501}You have a multitude|of fears -
{80506}{80606}and this multiplicity|of fears confuses you -
{80611}{80665}Like you simply|don't know -
{80670}{80726}what's the meaning|of all this confusion.
{80731}{80823}And you replace this|confused multitude -
{80828}{80906}with one clear figure:
{80912}{81025}the Jew. And everything|becomes clear.
{81030}{81100}{Y:i}- The search for cuts in|the social security provision -
{81106}{81207}{Y:i}to lone parent families|in part spurred this report.
{81212}{81257}{Y:i}The social security|department fears -
{81262}{81294}{Y:i}that the accelerating budget -
{81299}{81340}{Y:i}for single mothers|on benefits -
{81346}{81399}{Y:i}could reach nearly|5 billion pounds -
{81404}{81447}{Y:i}by the end of the decade.
{81452}{81503}{Y:i}But the issue|of the lone parent -
{81508}{81556}{Y:i} has increasingly been|seen as the heart -
{81561}{81633}{Y:i}of John Major's back to |basics crusade.
{81639}{81754}Remember I think around|two, three decades ago -
{81759}{81833}when the prime minister of|the United Kingdom was -
{81838}{81883}John Major -
{81888}{81967}there was a kind of|ideological campaign -
{81972}{82045}to return to|morality and so on.
{82051}{82177}And all the evils of society -
{82182}{82294}were embodied in the|conservative narrative -
{82299}{82391}in the figure of -
{82416}{82497}unemployed single mother.
{82502}{82589}Like there is violence|in our suburbs?
{82594}{82670}Of course, because single|unemployed mothers -
{82675}{82746}cannot take care|of their children -
{82751}{82816}don't properly educate|them and so on.
{82855}{82958}We have a lack in our budget,|not enough money, -
{82964}{83089}of course, because we have|to support unwed -
{83094}{83176}single mothers|and so on and so on.
{83199}{83263}In an ideological edifice -
{83268}{83366}you need some pseudo|concrete image like this -
{83372}{83429}to fixate your imagination -
{83434}{83516}and then this image|can mobilise us.
{83698}{83827}Imagine ideology|as a kind of a filter.
{83833}{83951}A frame, so that if|you look at the same -
{83956}{84076}ordinary reality through|that frame -
{84081}{84152}everything changes.|In what sense?
{84157}{84302}It's not that the frame|actually adds anything;
{84307}{84492}It's just that the frame opens|the abyss of suspicion.
{84710}{84796}If we look at the anti-Semitic|image of the Jew -
{84802}{84872}it's crucial to notice how|contradictory this figure -
{84878}{84920}of the Jew is.
{85289}{85376}Jews are at the same time|extra intellectual -
{85381}{85447}like mathematicians,|whatever, -
{85452}{85494}and vulgar.
{85673}{85746}Not washing regularly.
{85917}{86038}Seducing innocent girls all the|time and so on and so on.
{87780}{87853}This is typical for racism.
{87858}{87982}You try to imagine how|the other enjoys -
{87987}{88108}all the secret orgies or|whatever, because in racism -
{88113}{88208}the other is not|simply an enemy, -
{88213}{88330}Usually it is also|invested with -
{88335}{88447}some specific|perverse enjoyment or -
{88452}{88544}in an inverted way,|the other can be someone -
{88549}{88681}who tries to steal from us|our enjoyment, our...
{88686}{88816}to disturb, as we usually|put it; our way of life.
{88876}{88960}We should be here|very precise -
{88965}{89089}not to fall into the usual|trap of disqualifying -
{89094}{89254}all elements out of which|the Nazi ideological edifice -
{89259}{89417}is composed, to disqualify all|them as proto-fascist.
{89506}{89592}We should never forget that|the large majority -
{89597}{89737}of these elements which we|today associate with fascism -
{89742}{89853}were taken from|the workers' movement.
{89961}{90107}This idea of large numbers of|people marching together -
{90112}{90265}this idea of strict bodily|discipline as our duty;
{90296}{90443}the Nazis directly took this over|from social democracy -
{90448}{90500}from the left.
{90506}{90581}Let me just take some other|central concepts -
{90587}{90629}of the Nazi world-view;
{90634}{90694}the solidarity of the people.
{90700}{90798}My God, there is nothing bad|in this notion as such.
{90827}{90937}The problem is solidarity|to what kind of people?
{90943}{91032}If by people you mean|'Volksgemeinschaft' -
{91037}{91093}the organic community|of people -
{91098}{91181}where then the enemy|is automatically -
{91186}{91247}the foreign intruder, -
{91252}{91343}in this case|we are in Nazism.
{91431}{91614}The crucial thing is to locate|ideology where it belongs.
{91619}{91699}Let's take a clear example.
{91704}{91804}The well known song|'Tomorrow Belongs To Me' -
{91809}{91869}from the film 'Cabaret'.
{91874}{92060}{Y:i}- The sun on the meadow|is summery warm -
{92065}{92264}{Y:i}the stag in the forest|runs free...
{92269}{92374}Some of my friends after|seeing the film, -
{92380}{92426}Bob Fosse's 'Cabaret' -
{92431}{92512}thought that after|they heard this song -
{92517}{92622}they finally understood|what at it's deepest -
{92627}{92772}as to its emotional impact,|what fascism is.
{92777}{92918}But I think this precisely|is the mistake to be avoided.
{92948}{93053}This song is rather ordinary|popular song.
{93058}{93148}Incidentally it was composed|while they were -
{93154}{93239}shooting the movie|by a Jewish couple.
{93244}{93293}Nice irony.
{93317}{93446}If you look not only at the|music, at the way it is sung, -
{93451}{93518}but even at the words:
{93524}{93627}"awakening of a nation,|tomorrow belongs to me..."
{93632}{93739}One can well imagine with|a slight change of words -
{93744}{93838}radically leftist,|communist song.
{93926}{94111}{Y:i}- But soon says the whisper;|arise, arise...
{94333}{94425}The German hard rock|band 'Rammstein' -
{94430}{94533}are often accused of flirting,|playing with -
{94538}{94625}the Nazi militaristic|iconography.
{94630}{94713}But if one observes|closely their show -
{94718}{94810}one can see very nicely|what they are doing.
{94815}{94971}Exemplarily in one of their best|known songs 'Reise Reise'.
{95206}{95315}{Y:i}- Reise, reise,|Seemann reise -
{95320}{95424}{Y:i}Jeder tut's auf seine Weise -
{95429}{95532}{Y:i}Der eine stÃÅ›Ãźt den|Speer zum Mann -
{95537}{95627}{Y:i}- Der andere zum Fische dann.
{95632}{95735}{Y:i}- Reise, reise,|Seemann reise...
{95740}{95835}The minimal elements|of the Nazi ideology -
{95840}{95935}enacted by 'Rammstein'|are something like
{95940}{96069}pure elements of|libidinal investment.
{96313}{96393}Enjoyment has to be,|as it were, -
{96399}{96503}condensed in some|minimal tics: gestures, -
{96508}{96625}which do not have any|precise ideological meaning.
{96656}{96745}What 'Rammstein' does is -
{96750}{96908}it liberates these elements|from their Nazi articulations.
{96926}{97097}It allows us to enjoy them in|their pre-ideological state.
{97451}{97595}The way to fight Nazism|is to enjoy these elements, -
{97601}{97661}ridiculous as they|may appear, -
{97666}{97791}by suspending the|Nazi horizon of meaning.
{97796}{97952}This way you undermine|Nazism from within.
{98599}{98684}So how does none the less|ideology do this?
{98689}{98834}How does it articulate|pre-ideological elements?
{98839}{99013}These elements can also be|seen as a kind of a bribe.
{99018}{99176}The way ideology pays us to|seduce us into it's edifice.
{99182}{99267}These bribes can be|purely libidinal bribes, -
{99272}{99351}all those tics which are|condensed enjoyment.
{99357}{99451}Or they can be explicit|discursive elements like -
{99456}{99627}notions of solidarity|of collective discipline, -
{99632}{99743}struggle for one's destiny|and so on and so on.
{99748}{99908}All these in itself are|free floating elements -
{99913}{100096}which open themselves to|different ideological fields.
{100102}{100295}Let's turn to the high point|of our consumerism.
{100319}{100434}Let me take a drink...
{100487}{100591}Some of it –|'Starbucks' coffee.
{100597}{100742}I am regularly drinking it,|I must admit it.
{100748}{100867}But are we aware that|when we buy a cappuccino -
{100873}{101026}from 'Starbucks', we also buy|quite a lot of ideology.
{101031}{101077}Which ideology?
{101082}{101166}You know when you enter|a 'Starbucks' store -
{101171}{101251}it's usually always displayed|in some posters there, -
{101256}{101294}their message which is:
{101299}{101400}Yes our cappuccino is more|expensive than others -
{101406}{101474}but - and then|comes the story:
{101480}{101588}We give one percent of|all our income to some -
{101594}{101687}Guatemala children|to keep them healthy.
{101692}{101787}For the water supply|for some Sahara farmers, -
{101793}{101926}or to save the forests, to enable|organic growing coffee...
{101931}{101971}whatever, whatever.
{101976}{102089}Now I admire the ingeniosity|of this solution.
{102095}{102227}In the old days of|pure simple consumerism -
{102232}{102327}you bought a product|and then you felt bad.
{102332}{102407}My God, I'm just|a consumerist -
{102412}{102475}while people are|starving in Africa.
{102480}{102623}So the idea was you had to|do something to counteract -
{102628}{102697}your pure distractive|consumerism.
{102702}{102768}For example, I don't know,|you contribute -
{102774}{102821}to charity and so on.
{102827}{103002}What 'Starbucks' enables you|is to be a consumerist and -
{103033}{103110}be a consumerist without|any bad conscience -
{103115}{103205}because the price|for the counter measure, -
{103210}{103262}for fighting consumerism -
{103267}{103375}is already included into|the price of a commodity.
{103380}{103455}Like you pay a little bit more|and you are not just -
{103460}{103658}a consumerist but you do also|your duty towards environment -
{103664}{103786}the poor starving people in|Africa and so on and so on.
{103791}{103897}It's, I think, the ultimate|form of consumerism.
{103902}{104027}We should not simply|oppose a principal life -
{104032}{104261}dedicated to duty and enjoying|our small pleasures.
{104266}{104356}Let's take today's capitalism.
{104362}{104478}We have, on the one hand,|the demands of the circulation -
{104483}{104621}of the capital which push us|towards profit making -
{104627}{104782}expansion, exploitation and|destruction of nature and, -
{104787}{104893}on the other hand,|ecological demands:
{104898}{105024}let's think about our posterity|and about our own survival, -
{105029}{105161}let's take care of|nature and so on.
{105166}{105270}In this opposition between|ruthless pursuit of -
{105276}{105417}capitalist expansion and|ecological awareness -
{105422}{105517}duty, a strange perverted|duty of course -
{105522}{105696}duty is on the side|of capitalism, -
{105701}{105850}as many perspicuous|analysts noted.
{105855}{106027}Capitalism has a strange|religious structure.
{106032}{106146}It is propelled by this|absolute demand:
{106151}{106312}capital has to circulate to|reproduce itself to expand -
{106317}{106392}to multiply itself and|for this goal -
{106398}{106492}anything can be sacrificed,|up to our lives, -
{106498}{106549}up to nature and so on.
{106555}{106664}Here we have a strange|unconditional injunction.
{106669}{106736}A true capitalist is a miser|who is ready -
{106741}{106879}to sacrifice everything|for this perverted duty.
{107131}{107232}What we see here in|Mojave desert -
{107237}{107354}at this resting place for|abandoned planes -
{107359}{107510}is the other side of|capitalist dynamics.
{107605}{107701}Capitalism is all|the time in crisis.
{107706}{107844}This is precisely why it appears|almost indestructible.
{107849}{107915}Crisis is not its obstacle.
{107920}{107980}It is what pushes|it forwards -
{107985}{108088}towards permanent|self-revolutionising -
{108093}{108200}permanent, extended|self-reproduction, -
{108205}{108256}always new products.
{108261}{108396}The other invisible side|of it is waste, -
{108401}{108514}tremendous amount of waste.
{108536}{108656}We shouldn't react to|these heaps of waste -
{108661}{108812}by trying to somehow|get rid of it.
{108844}{108988}Maybe the first thing to do|is to accept this waste.
{108993}{109092}To accept that there|are things out there -
{109098}{109180}which serve nothing.
{109186}{109345}To break out of this eternal|cycle of functioning.
{109575}{109647}The German philosopher|Walter Benjamin -
{109652}{109734}said something very deep.
{109739}{109837}He said that we|experience history, -
{109842}{109926}what does it mean for us to|be historical beings, -
{109931}{110069}not when we are engaged in|things, when things move, -
{110075}{110168}only when we see|this, again, -
{110173}{110274}rest waste of culture being|half retaken by nature, -
{110280}{110483}at that point we get an intuition|of what history means.
{110578}{110667}Maybe this also accounts|for the redemptic value -
{110673}{110758}of post-catastrophic movies -
{110764}{110869}like 'I Am Legend' and so on.
{110885}{110997}We see the devastated|human environment, -
{111003}{111082}half empty factories,|machines falling apart, -
{111087}{111158}half empty stores.
{111163}{111270}What we experience|at this moment, -
{111275}{111364}the psychoanalytic term|for it would have been -
{111369}{111440}the 'Inertia of the Real' -
{111445}{111581}this mute presence|beyond meaning.
{111626}{111668}What moments like -
{111673}{111757}confronting planes|here in Mojave Desert -
{111762}{111827}bring to us is|maybe a chance -
{111833}{111944}for an authentic|passive experience.
{111949}{112041}Maybe without this|properly artistic -
{112046}{112128}moment of|authentic passivity -
{112134}{112238}nothing new can emerge.
{112283}{112440}Maybe something new only|emerges through the failure, -
{112445}{112546}the suspension of proper|functioning of the -
{112551}{112639}existing network of our life -
{112644}{112725}where we are.
{112790}{112948}Maybe this is what we need|more than ever today.
{113392}{113522}What does the wreck of|the 'Titanic' stand for?
{113586}{113647}We all know the|standard reading -
{113652}{113763}of the impact of|the sinking of the Titanic.
{113768}{113892}Not only the film|but the real accident.
{113912}{114035}This sinking had such an|impact because it happened -
{114040}{114217}in a society still at that point|in all its glitz and glory -
{114222}{114357}unaware of the decay that|awaited it in the near future;
{114362}{114448}the World Wars and so on.
{114453}{114517}But there is something|in excess -
{114522}{114580}of this entire field|of meanings -
{114586}{114671}which is the very|fascinating presence -
{114677}{114812}of the ruin of the Titanic|at the bottom of the ocean.
{114904}{114964}When James Cameron|organised -
{114969}{115037}a trip to the real|wreck of titanic -
{115042}{115141}he also made a similar remark.
{115147}{115248}When the explorers|approached the wreck, -
{115253}{115348}they had this almost|metaphysical experience -
{115353}{115433}that they are approaching|a forbidden territory -
{115438}{115571}in which the sacred and|the obscene overlap.
{115577}{115624}{Y:i}- Yeah, Roger that.|Ok drop down -
{115629}{115693}{Y:i}and go into the first|class gangway door.
{115698}{115746}{Y:i}- I want you guys|working with...
{115751}{115857}Every effective political,|ideological symbol -
{115862}{115972}or symptom has to rely|on this dimension of -
{115977}{116063}petrified enjoyment.
{116068}{116242}Of the frozen grimace of|an excessive pleasure in pain.
{116707}{116815}What am I doing here|in the middle of the ocean -
{116820}{116940}alone in a boat surrounded|by frozen corpses?
{116945}{116975}{Y:i}- Jack?
{116981}{117116}am in a scene from|James Cameron's 'Titanic' -
{117121}{117151}{Y:i}- Jack?
{117156}{117353}which is the supreme case of|ideology in recent Hollywood.
{117384}{117484}Why? Beause|of the imminent -
{117489}{117553}tension to the story|of the film.
{117559}{117601}{Y:i}– I don't know this dance.|– Neither do I.
{117606}{117675}{Y:i}- Just go with it.|Don't think.
{117680}{117731}We have at least three levels.
{117736}{117843}First there is what people|ironically refer to as -
{117848}{117962}James Cameron's|Hollywood Marxism -
{118016}{118187}this ridiculous fake sympathy|with lower classes.
{118238}{118296}Up there, first class|passengers -
{118301}{118404}they are mostly evil,|egotistic, cowardly -
{118409}{118483}{Y:i}- You know I don't|like that, Rose.
{118488}{118547}Embodied in Kate|Winslet's fiancé -
{118553}{118621}{Y:i}played by Billy Zane.|- She knows.
{118632}{118711}This whole narrative|is sustained -
{118716}{118811}by a much more|reactionary myth.
{118908}{118994}{Y:i}- Did you see|those guys' faces?
{119000}{119139}We should ask what role does|the iceberg hitting the ship -
{119144}{119238}play in the development|of the love story?
{119243}{119381}{Y:i}- When the ship docks|I'm getting off with you.
{119409}{119475}{Y:i}- This is crazy. |- I know.
{119480}{119582}My claim is here|a slightly cynical one.
{119587}{119676}This would have been|the true catastrophe.
{119681}{119813}We can imagine how maybe|after two three weeks of -
{119818}{119899}of intense sex in New York -
{119904}{120002}the ove affair would|somehow fade away.
{120007}{120081}{Y:i}- As a paying customer -
{120109}{120192}{Y:i}I expect to get what I want.
{120274}{120386}Kate Winslet is|an upper class girl -
{120391}{120505}in psychological|distress confused, -
{120510}{120608}her ego is in shatters.
{120613}{120705}and the function|of Leonardo Dicaprio -
{120710}{120793}{Y:i}- Over on the bed,|the couch.
{120798}{121019}is simply that he helps her|to reconstitute her ego.
{121025}{121092}{Y:i}- Good. Lie down.
{121097}{121187}Her self image, literally|he draws her image.
{121193}{121224}{Y:i}- Tell me when it looks right.
{121230}{121281}{Y:i}- Put your arm back|the way it was.
{121287}{121397}It's really a new version|of one of the old -
{121402}{121493}favourite imperialist myths.
{121498}{121588}The idea being that when|the upper class people -
{121593}{121662}lose their vitality -
{121667}{121775}they need a contact|with lower classes.
{121780}{121935}Basically ruthlessly exploiting|them in a vampire like way -
{121940}{122030}as it were sucking|from them the life energy.
{122036}{122164}Revitalised they can join their|secluded upper class life.
{122170}{122254}{Y:i}- My heart was pounding|the whole time.
{122259}{122390}{Y:i}- It was the most erotic|moment of my life.
{122485}{122605}{Y:i}- Up until then at least.|The ship hits the iceberg -
{122611}{122809}not immediately after sex but|when the couple goes up -
{122814}{122946}to the open space and|decide to stay together.
{122955}{123054}{Y:i}- Oh yes. Hey look at this.
{123117}{123189}You know, often in history -
{123195}{123303}the event which may|appear as a catastrophe -
{123309}{123376}saves persons or an idea,
{123381}{123467}elevating it into a myth.
{123472}{123561}Remember the intervention|of the Soviet army -
{123566}{123736}and other Warsaw backed armies|in 1968 in Czechoslovakia -
{123772}{123888}to strangle the so|called Prague Spring.
{123893}{123995}The attempt of the Czech|democratic communists -
{124001}{124128}to introduce a more|human faced socialism.
{124151}{124265}Usually we perceive this|brutal Soviet intervention -
{124270}{124395}as something that destroyed|the brief dream of Prague Spring.
{124400}{124492}I think it saved the dream.
{124524}{124627}Either Czechoslovakia would|have turned into an ordinary -
{124633}{124717}liberal capitalist state -
{124722}{124808}or at a certain point which|was usually the fate of -
{124813}{124920}reformist communists,|the communist in power -
{124925}{124988}would be obliged|to set a certain limit.
{124993}{125065}Ok, you had you fun,|your freedom -
{125070}{125210}that's enough, now we|again define the limits.
{125215}{125330}Again, the paradox is precisely|the Soviet intervention -
{125335}{125427}saved the dream of|the possibility of -
{125432}{125498}another communism|and so on and so on.
{125503}{125572}So, here again -
{125591}{125683}through the temporal|catastrophe -
{125688}{125806}we have a love story|which is at it were, -
{125812}{125937}redeemed in it's idea,|saved for eternity.
{125982}{126064}We can ultimately|read the catastrophe -
{126069}{126145}as a desperate manoeuvre -
{126150}{126264}to save the illusion|of eternal love.
{126381}{126494}We can see how ideology|works effectively here.
{126499}{126577}We have two|superficial levels.
{126582}{126709}All the fascination of|the accident, then -
{126715}{126817}the love story - but all this|which is quite acceptable -
{126823}{126891}for our liberal|progressive minds, -
{126896}{126993}all this is just a trap.
{126998}{127098}Something to lower|our attention -
{127103}{127216}threshold, as it were,|to open us up -
{127222}{127369}to be ready to accept the|true conservative message -
{127374}{127511}of rich people having tried|to revitalise themselves -
{127516}{127691}by ruthlessly appropriating the|vitality of the poor people.
{127696}{127728}{Y:i}- There's no one here sir.
{127733}{127808}There is a wonderful detail|which tells everything.
{127813}{127845}{Y:i}- Come back.
{127850}{127938}When Kate Winslet notices|that Leonardo Dicaprio -
{127943}{128042}is dead she, of course,|starts to shout:
{128048}{128107}"I will never let go,|I will never let go."
{128112}{128203}{Y:i}while at the same moment -|- I will never let go.
{128208}{128314}{Y:i}- I promise.|she pushes him off.
{128345}{128503}He is what we may call ironically|a vanishing mediator.
{128551}{128625}This logic of the|production of the couple -
{128630}{128714}has a long history|in Hollywood.
{128720}{128762}Whatever the story is about, -
{128767}{128847}it may be about the end of|the world, an asteroid -
{128852}{128955}threatening the very|survival of humanity -
{128960}{129032}or a great war whatever.
{129037}{129166}As a rule we always|have a couple whose -
{129171}{129295}link is threatened and|who somehow through -
{129301}{129463}this ordeal at the end|happily gets together.
{129511}{129607}This logic does not hold|only for Hollywood films.
{129858}{129961}In the late forties,|in Soviet Union, -
{129966}{130043}they produced arguably|one of the most expensive -
{130048}{130085}film of all times:
{130090}{130151}'The Fall of Berlin'.
{130175}{130268}The chronicle of the|second World War -
{130273}{130314}from the Soviet standpoint.
{130319}{130390}And it's incredible how|closely this film -
{130395}{130516}also follows the logic of|the production of a couple.
{130536}{130592}The story begins just before -
{130597}{130650}the German attack|on the Soviet Union -
{130655}{130736}when the model worker|who is in love -
{130742}{130900}with a local girl but is too|shy to propose to her, -
{130905}{131045}is called to Moscow to get|a medal from Comrade Stalin.
{131069}{131222}There Stalin notices his|confusion, distress, -
{131227}{131299}and Stalin gives|him some advice -
{131304}{131365}which poetry|to quote and so on.
{131370}{131455}This part unfortunately|was lost -
{131460}{131569}because in the background|of this scene there was Beria -
{131574}{131647}a Soviet politician who|after Stalin's death -
{131653}{131709}became a 'non-person' -
{131714}{131780}was shot as a traitor.
{131785}{131906}But we know from the|screenplay what was there.
{131911}{131989}If Stalin gives you love|advice it has to succeed -
{131995}{132083}so the couple embraces.
{132332}{132439}He tells her probably|to make love.
{132581}{132657}At that very moment|there is the triumphant -
{132662}{132743}violent entrance|of the obstacle:
{132748}{132863}German planes come,|dropping bombs.
{133167}{133216}The girl is taken prisoner.
{133389}{133461}The boy of course joins|the Red Army -
{133466}{133564}and we follow him through|all the great battles.
{133570}{133697}The idea being that in a|deeper logic of the film, -
{133702}{133774}what these battles|were about -
{133779}{133880}was really to|recreate the couple.
{133886}{133977}The boy has to get his girl.
{133983}{134048}This is what happens|at the end -
{134054}{134163}but in a very strange|way which reconfirms -
{134169}{134301}Stalin's role as the supreme|divine matchmaker.
{134415}{134529}The scene itself, Stalin|emerging himself into -
{134534}{134659}a crowd of ordinary people|never happened.
{134664}{134757}Stalin was totally paranoid|about flying, -
{134763}{134830}about taking planes.
{134835}{134979}But none the less when he|saw this scene he cried.
{135294}{135437}Of course he himself as you|know, wrote the lines.
{135451}{135536}When the couple|encounters each other -
{135541}{135651}the girl first sees Stalin, -
{135656}{135751}then she turns around|and, surprised, -
{135757}{135793}sees her lover -
{135798}{135885}for whom she was waiting|all the time of the war.
{135959}{136040}So it's only through|the presence of Stalin -
{136045}{136126}that the couple|gets reunited.
{136513}{136585}This is how ideology works.
{136590}{136659}Not the explicit|ideology of the film -
{136664}{136721}which we hear at the|end Stalin saying:
{136726}{136799}now all the free people|will enjoy peace -
{136805}{136836}and so on and so on.
{136842}{136986}But precisely ideology|at its more fundamental.
{137047}{137183}This apparently totally|subordinated motive -
{137188}{137245}unimportant in itself, -
{137250}{137403}the story of a couple, this is|what is the key element, -
{137409}{137502}which holds the|entire film together, -
{137507}{137653}that small surplus element|which attracts us, -
{137658}{137739}which maintains|our attention.
{137745}{137841}This is how ideology works.
{137881}{137937}{Y:i}- Nice.
{137981}{138054}{Y:i}- Everything clean.
{138068}{138126}{Y:i}- Oiled.
{138182}{138267}{Y:i}- So that your action|is beautiful.
{138377}{138414}{Y:i}- Smooth, Charlene.
{138420}{138475}We usually think that|military discipline -
{138480}{138596}is just a matter of mindlessly|following orders.
{138602}{138661}Obeying the rules.
{138666}{138746}You don't think you do|what is your duty.
{138751}{138792}It's not as simple as that.
{138797}{138940}If we do this, we just|become machines.
{138945}{139019}There has to be|something more.
{139024}{139144}This more can have|two basic forms.
{139149}{139309}The first more benign form|is an ironic distance.
{139314}{139401}Best epitomised by the|well known movie -
{139407}{139475}and TV series 'M.A.S.H.'
{139480}{139514}{Y:i}- Hawkeye?
{139520}{139591}Where the military|doctors are involved -
{139596}{139670}in sexual escapades, -
{139675}{139751}make jokes all the time.
{139762}{139850}Some people took Robert|Altman's movie 'M.A.S.H.' -
{139856}{139990}as a kind of antimilitaristic,|satiric product -
{139995}{140031}but it's not.
{140036}{140117}We should always bear|in mind that these -
{140122}{140191}soldiers with all their|practical jokes, -
{140196}{140273}making fun of the|serious and so on -
{140278}{140368}operated perfectly|as soldiers.
{140374}{140436}They did their duty.
{140441}{140507}{Y:i}- This one's for you, babe.
{140512}{140632}Much more ominous|is a kind of obscene -
{140637}{140794}obscene supplement to|pure military discipline.
{140799}{140904}In practically all movies|about U.S. Marines, -
{140909}{141010}the best-known embodiment|of this obscenity -
{141016}{141094}are marching chants.
{141099}{141211}{Y:i}A mixture of nonsense:|- I don't know but I've been told.
{141217}{141293}{Y:i}- Eskimo pussy is mighty cold.
{141298}{141365}And obscenity.
{141411}{141565}This is not undermining,|making fun of military discipline.
{141599}{141711}It is it's inner most constituent.
{141716}{141826}You take this obscene|supplement away -
{141832}{141970}and military machine|stops working.
{141975}{142067}{Y:i}- Well, no shit. |- What have we got here?
{142072}{142138}{Y:i}- A fucking comedian?|- Private Joker.
{142143}{142199}{Y:i}- I admire your honesty.
{142204}{142249}{Y:i}- Hell, I like you. |- You can come over -
{142254}{142334}{Y:i}to my house and|fuck my sister.
{142348}{142395}{Y:i}- You little scum bag!
{142400}{142474}{Y:i}- I've got your name!|- I've got your ass!
{142479}{142538}{Y:i}- You will not laugh.|- You will not cry.
{142543}{142615}{Y:i}- You will learn by the numbers.|- I will teach you.
{142620}{142676}{Y:i}- Now get up!|- Get on your feet!
{142689}{142769}{Y:i}- You had best unfuck yourself|or I will unscrew -
{142774}{142830}{Y:i}your head and shit|down your neck.
{142835}{142882}{Y:i}- Sir, yes, sir!|- Private Joker -
{142887}{142948}{Y:i}why don't you join|my beloved corps?
{142953}{143025}I think that the|drill sergeant, -
{143030}{143211}the way it is played in|an exemplary way in -
{143216}{143292}Stanley Kubrick's|'Full Metal Jacket' -
{143297}{143403}that the drill sergeant|is rather a tragic figure.
{143408}{143502}I always like to imagine|him as the person who -
{143507}{143624}after his work returns home,|is quite decent and so on.
{143630}{143686}{Y:i}- This is my rifle,|this is my gun.
{143691}{143799}All this obscene shouting|is just a show put on -
{143804}{143885}not so much to impress|ordinary soldiers -
{143890}{143979}whom he is training|as to bribe them -
{143984}{144064}with bits of enjoyment.
{144119}{144215}It's not just a question|of these obscenities, -
{144220}{144271}which sustains the|military machinery;
{144277}{144381}it's another more general rule|which holds for -
{144386}{144486}military communities,|but even more -
{144492}{144596}I would say, for all|human communities.
{144601}{144708}From the largest nations,|ethnic groups, -
{144713}{144802}up to small university|departments and so on.
{144807}{144926}You don't only have|explicit rules.
{144931}{145080}You always, in order to become|part of a community, -
{145085}{145191}you need some implicit|unwritten rules -
{145196}{145279}which are never|publicly recognised -
{145284}{145375}but are absolutely crucial|as the point of -
{145380}{145461}the identification|of a group.
{145529}{145609}In the U.K. everyone|knows about -
{145614}{145681}the obscene|unwritten rituals, -
{145686}{145832}which regulate life|in public schools.
{145837}{145881}{Y:i}- That'll be all. Thank|you, Finchley.
{145887}{145943}{Y:i}- I want to see all whips|in my study after break.
{145948}{146014}{Y:i}- Right, sir.|- Oh, how was India? Enjoy it?
{146019}{146052}{Y:i}- Jolly good.|- Bridges!
{146057}{146128}{Y:i}- I'll labor night and day...
{146134}{146274}Just think about Lindsay|Anderson's classic 'If...'.
{146306}{146367}The public life|is democratic -
{146372}{146453}we have professors who|interact with their pupils, -
{146459}{146568}nice atmosphere,|teaching friendship, -
{146573}{146623}spirit of cooperation -
{146628}{146712}but then we all know|what happens -
{146718}{146788}beneath the surface.
{146906}{147025}Older pupils torturing, sexually|abusing the younger.
{147030}{147182}This same mixture of obscenity|and sadistic violence.
{147227}{147298}And again what is|crucial here is -
{147303}{147386}we should not simply|put all the blame -
{147391}{147512}or all the enjoyment|on the older pupils.
{147604}{147650}The victims even are -
{147655}{147780}part of this infernal|cycle of obscenity.
{147800}{147906}Its as if in order to really be|a member of a community -
{147911}{147972}you have to render|you hands dirty.
{147977}{148105}And I think even the|Abu Ghraib scandal -
{148110}{148223}of American soldiers|torturing or -
{148228}{148328}especially humiliating|Iraqi prisoners -
{148333}{148386}is to be read in this way.
{148391}{148490}It's not simply, we the|arrogant Americans -
{148495}{148551}are humiliating others.
{148556}{148655}What Iraqi soldiers|experienced there -
{148660}{148768}was the staging of|the obscene underside -
{148773}{148871}of the American|military culture.
{148934}{149045}In 'Full Metal Jacket' it's|the character of 'Joker' -
{149051}{149091}played by|Matthew Modine -
{149096}{149187}who is close to what we|would call a normal soldier.
{149192}{149270}A 'M.A.S.H.' type of soldier.
{149281}{149353}He has proper|ironic distance.
{149358}{149428}He proves, at|the end, militarily, -
{149434}{149513}the most efficient soldier.
{149722}{149763}Returning back to me.
{149768}{149852}Why then will I soon|shoot myself?
{149858}{149939}Something went wrong|there. But what?
{149944}{149978}{Y:i}- Lock and load!
{149983}{150097}I did not just run amok.
{150113}{150177}{Y:i}- Order.
{150226}{150286}{Y:i}- This is my rifle.
{150291}{150393}{Y:i}- There are many like it,|but this one is mine.
{150399}{150490}But I got too|directly identified -
{150495}{150554}with these obscene rituals.
{150559}{150603}I lost the distance.
{150608}{150662}I took them seriously.
{150668}{150723}{Y:i}- What in the name|of Jesus H. Christ -
{150728}{150788}{Y:i}are you animals doing|in my head?
{150793}{150871}If you get too close to it -
{150877}{150965}if you over|identify with it -
{150971}{151063}if you really immediately|become the voice -
{151068}{151182}of this super ego,|it's self destructive.
{151187}{151229}You kill people around you -
{151234}{151320}you end up|killing yourself.
{151981}{152038}{Y:i}- Oh, shh, shh, shh.
{152043}{152154}{Y:i}- So you think Batman's made|Gotham a better place? Hm?
{152168}{152217}{Y:i}- Look at me.
{152222}{152273}{Y:i}- Look at me!
{152393}{152499}{Y:i}- You see, this is how crazy|Batman's made Gotham.
{152505}{152568}{Y:i}- You want order in Gotham -
{152574}{152700}{Y:i}Batman must take off his|mask and turn himself in.
{152705}{152823}{Y:i}- Oh, and every day he|doesn't, people will die.
{152828}{152885}{Y:i}- Starting tonight.
{152891}{152931}{Y:i}- I'm a man of my word.
{152936}{153039}So who is Joker?
{153058}{153214}{Y:i}- If we're gonna play games...|Which is the lie he is opposing?
{153237}{153305}{Y:i}- ...I'm gonna need|a cup of coffee.
{153310}{153437}{Y:i}- Ah, the 'good cop,|bad cop' routine?
{153442}{153487}{Y:i}- Not exactly.
{153492}{153641}The truly disturbing thing|about The Dark Knight -
{153646}{153893}is that it elevates lie into|a general social principal, -
{153899}{153964}into the principal|of organisation -
{153969}{154027}of our social political life.
{154032}{154152}As if our societies|can remain stable, -
{154158}{154234}can function, only|if based on a lie.
{154239}{154325}As if telling the truth,|and this telling the truth -
{154330}{154476}embodies in Joker|means distraction.
{154481}{154537}Disintegration of|the social order.
{154542}{154578}{Y:i}- Never start with the head.
{154583}{154629}{Y:i}- The victim gets all fuzzy.
{154634}{154683}{Y:i}- He can't feel the next...
{154688}{154791}Toward the end it is|as if lie functions -
{154797}{154879}as a hot potato passing from -
{154885}{154958}one person's hand to|another person's hand.
{154963}{155036}First there is Harvey Dent.
{155079}{155129}{Y:i}- So be it. Take the Batman|into custody...
{155134}{155223}The public prosecutor|who lies.
{155242}{155325}{Y:i}- I am the Batman.|Claiming that he is the real -
{155330}{155463}person behind Batman's mask.|That he is Batman.
{155499}{155543}Then we have Gordon, -
{155549}{155628}honest policeman,|Batman's friend, who -
{155633}{155758}fakes, stages his|own death.
{155974}{156076}{Y:i}- Five dead.|Two of them cops.
{156081}{156129}{Y:i}- You can't sweep that off.
{156134}{156292}At the end, Batman himself|takes upon himself -
{156298}{156383}{Y:i}- But the Joker cannot win.|the crimes, murders committed -
{156389}{156515}by Harvey Dent, the public|prosecutor turned criminal -
{156520}{156611}{Y:i}- Gotham needs|its true hero.
{156639}{156786}in order to maintain|the trust of the public -
{156791}{156857}into the legal system.
{156863}{156958}The idea is if the ordinary|public were to learn -
{156963}{157074}how corrupt was or|is the very core of our -
{157079}{157173}legal system then everything|would have collapsed -
{157178}{157291}so we need a lie|to maintain order.
{157296}{157344}{Y:i}- A hero.
{157349}{157459}{Y:i}- Not the hero we deserved,|but the hero we needed.
{157464}{157580}{Y:i}- Nothing less than|a knight, shining.
{157585}{157630}There's nothing new in this.
{157635}{157726}This is an old|conservative wisdom -
{157731}{157854}asserted long ago by|philosophers from Plato -
{157860}{157936}especially, and then|Immanuel Kant,
{157941}{157994}Edmond Burke and|so on and so on.
{157999}{158101}This idea that the truth|is too strong.
{158106}{158217}That a politician should|be a cynicist who, -
{158222}{158325}although he|knows what is true,
{158331}{158467}tells to ordinary people what|Plato called 'a noble fable' -
{158472}{158506}a lie.
{158511}{158653}{Y:i}- Um, the United States|knows that Iraq -
{158659}{158738}{Y:i}has weapons of|mass destruction.
{158743}{158796}{Y:i}- The U.K. knows|that they have -
{158802}{158836}{Y:i}weapons of mass destruction.
{158841}{158894}{Y:i}- Any country on|the face of the earth -
{158899}{158950}{Y:i}with an active|intelligence program -
{158955}{159052}{Y:i}knows that Iraq has weapons|of mass destruction.
{159057}{159151}{Y:i}- Which could be activated|within forty five minutes -
{159156}{159230}{Y:i}including against his|own Shia population.
{159235}{159332}{Y:i}The choice is his and|if he does not disarm -
{159337}{159446}{Y:i}the United States of America|will lead a coalition -
{159452}{159534}{Y:i}and disarm him|in the name of peace.
{159547}{159641}Let's be frank.|We can have a state -
{159646}{159713}public system of power -
{159718}{159831}as legitimate as you want|submitted to critical press, -
{159836}{159919}democratic elections and|so on and so on, -
{159924}{160029}apparently just|serves us.
{160034}{160121}But nonetheless, if you|look closely into -
{160127}{160297}how even the most democratic|state power functions -
{160302}{160398}in order for it to display|true authority, -
{160403}{160508}and power needs authority,|there has to be, as it were, -
{160513}{160661}between the lines all the|time this message of:
{160667}{160752}"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are|legalised through elections" -
{160758}{160880}"but basically we can do with|you whatever we want."
{160903}{160982}{Y:i}- Because that's what|needs to happen.
{161005}{161114}{Y:i}- Because sometimes,|truth isn't good enough.
{161150}{161220}{Y:i}- Sometimes people|deserve more.
{161313}{161366}{Y:i}- Sometimes people|deserve -
{161372}{161426}{Y:i}to have their|faith rewarded.
{161431}{161493}One of the|great platitudes -
{161499}{161534}which are popular today -
{161540}{161681}when we are confronted|with acts of violence -
{161687}{161812}is to refer to Theodore|DostoÃÅ»evsky's -
{161817}{161905}famous statement from|'The Brothers Karamazov':
{161910}{162035}"If there is no God then|everything id permitted."
{162040}{162130}Well, the first problem with|this statement is that -
{162135}{162230}DostoÃÅ»evsky, of crouse,|never made it.
{162245}{162329}he first one who used|this phrase as -
{162334}{162396}allegedly made by|DostoÃÅ»evsky was -
{162401}{162463}Jean-Paul Sartre in -43 -
{162468}{162578}but the main|point is that this -
{162583}{162672}statement is simply wrong.
{162677}{162777}Even a brief look at our|predicament today -
{162783}{162846}clearly tells us this.
{162953}{163005}It is precisely:
{163011}{163155}if there is God, that|everything is permitted -
{163161}{163245}to those who not|only believe in God -
{163250}{163350}but who perceive|themselves as instruments, -
{163355}{163446}direct instruments|of the divine will.
{163492}{163604}If you posit or perceive|or legitimise yourself -
{163609}{163687}as a direct instrument|of the divine will -
{163692}{163833}then of course all narrow|petty moral considerations -
{163839}{163908}disappear.
{163982}{164061}How can you even think|in such narrow terms -
{164067}{164194}when you are a direct|instrument of God?
{164205}{164312}This is how so-called religious|fundamentalists work, -
{164317}{164374}but not only them.
{164379}{164495}Every form of so called|totalitarianism -
{164501}{164610}works like that even|if it is presented -
{164615}{164725}or if it presents|itself as atheist.
{164730}{164776}Let's take Stalinism.
{164781}{164951}Officially Stalinism was based|on atheist Marxist theory, -
{164957}{165100}but if we look closely at|the subjective experience -
{165105}{165237}of a Stalinist|political agent, -
{165242}{165300}leader, we see that -
{165306}{165381}it's not a position of|an arrogant master, -
{165386}{165436}who can do|whatever he wants.
{165442}{165561}It's on the contrary the|position of a perfect servant.
{165566}{165684}In a Stalinist universe|there definitely is -
{165689}{165805}what in psychoanalytic theory|we call the 'Big Other'.
{167874}{167961}This 'Big Other' in the|Stalinist universe -
{167967}{168030}has many names.
{168076}{168151}The best known of them|are the necessity of -
{168156}{168231}historical progress|towards communism -
{168236}{168311}simply history.
{168316}{168370}History itself is the 'Big Other'.
{168375}{168508}History as the necessary|succession of historical stages.
{169205}{169304}A communist experiences|himself as simply -
{169310}{169427}an instrument whose|function is to actualise -
{169432}{169502}a historical necessity.
{169631}{169710}The people, the|mythic people -
{169715}{169831}whose instrument the|totalitarian leader is -
{169836}{169981}are never simply the actually|existing individuals -
{169986}{170032}groups of people and so on.
{170037}{170175}It's some kind of imagined|idealised point of reference -
{170181}{170308}which works even when,|for example in -
{170313}{170394}rebellions against|the communist rule, -
{170399}{170453}like in Hungary -56, -
{170458}{170587}when the large majority|of actually resisting people -
{170592}{170692}raises up, is opposed|to the regime.
{170708}{170812}They can still say: "no,|these are just individuals" -
{170817}{170895}"they are not|the true people."
{170904}{170947}When you are accused|of: "My God" -
{170953}{171016}"How could you have been doing|all of these horrible things?"
{171021}{171073}You could have said,|and this is the -
{171079}{171142}standard Stalinist excuse:
{171147}{171239}"Of course my heart bleeds|for all the poor victims, -
{171244}{171327}"I am not fully|responsible for it" -
{171332}{171445}"I was only acting on|behalf of the 'Big Other'".
{171646}{171732}"As for myself, I like cats,"
{171737}{171780}"small children",|whatever -
{171785}{171848}this is always part|of the iconography of -
{171854}{171908}a Stalinist leader.
{171939}{172026}Lenin in Stalinism is|always presented as -
{172031}{172136}someone who likes small|children and cats.
{172141}{172171}The implication being -
{172176}{172270}Lenin had to order many|killings and so on, but -
{172275}{172317}but his heart|was not there -
{172323}{172388}this was his duty|as instrument of -
{172393}{172483}historical progress and|so on and so on.
{172517}{172595}The way to undermine|Stalinism is not simply -
{172600}{172670}to make fun of the|leader which can be, -
{172675}{172748}up to a point|even tolerated.
{172753}{172855}It is to undermine|this very reference, -
{172860}{172973}mythic reference which|legitimises the Stalinist leader:
{172988}{173019}the people.
{173629}{173697}This is how I read -
{173702}{173822}the by far best work|of Milos Forman -
{173827}{173922}his early Czech films.
{174295}{174375}'Black Peter', the 'Loves|of a Blond' -
{174380}{174468}and 'Firemen's Ball'|where he mocks -
{174473}{174566}precisely the|ordinary people.
{174641}{174705}In their daily|conformission, -
{174711}{174796}stupidity, egotistic lust -
{174801}{174860}and so on and so on.
{175165}{175262}It may appear that this is|something very arrogant -
{175267}{175350}but no, I think that|this is the way to -
{175355}{175466}undermine the entire structure|of the Stalinist universe.
{175471}{175562}To demonstrate not that|leaders are not leaders, -
{175567}{175610}they are always ready to say:|Oh, but we are just" -
{175615}{175656}"ordinary people like you."
{175661}{175769}No! That there is no|mythic people -
{175774}{175894}which serves as the|ultimate legitimisation.
{176195}{176265}So what is the 'Big Other'?
{176270}{176430}This basic element of|every ideological edifice?
{176435}{176549}It has two quite|contradictory aspects.
{176554}{176599}On the one hand,|of course, -
{176604}{176717}the 'Big Other' is the secret|order of things like -
{176722}{176816}divine reason, fate|or whatever, -
{176821}{176895}which is controlling|our destiny.
{176901}{176969}But it is maybe the least|interesting aspect -
{176974}{177018}of the 'Big Other' -
{177023}{177085}as the agents, which|guarantees meaning -
{177090}{177127}of what we are doing.
{177166}{177237}Much more interesting|is the 'Big Other' -
{177242}{177342}as the order of appearances.
{177395}{177469}Many things which|are prohibited -
{177475}{177540}are not simply|prohibited but -
{177545}{177664}they should not happen|for the 'Big Other'.
{177715}{177793}A supreme|example of this -
{177799}{177908}agency of the 'Big Other'|as the agency of -
{177913}{178058}appearance is the|prattling busybody -
{178063}{178211}in David Lean's masterpiece,|the 'Brief Encounter'.
{178216}{178272}At the very beginning|of the film, -
{178277}{178372}the two lovers, Celia Johnson|and Trevor Howard, -
{178378}{178468}arrange for their last|meeting in a cafeteria -
{178473}{178524}of a small train station.
{178529}{178580}{Y:i}- Laura, what a lovely surprise.
{178585}{178615}{Y:i}- Oh, Dolly.
{178620}{178669}{Y:i}- My dear, I've been shopping|till I'm dropping.
{178674}{178728}{Y:i}- My feet are nearly off,|and my throat's parched.
{178733}{178773}{Y:i}- l thought of having|tea in Spindle's -
{178778}{178822}{Y:i}but l was terrified|of losing the train.
{178827}{178913}{Y:i}- Oh, dear.|- This is Dr. Harvey.
{178918}{178970}{Y:i}- How do you do?|- Would you be a perfect dear -
{178976}{179018}{Y:i}and get me my cup of tea?|l really don't think l could
{179024}{179063}{Y:i}drag my poor old bones|over to the counter.
{179068}{179140}Why is this situation|so interesting?
{179145}{179281}Because on the one hand we|cannot but experience -
{179287}{179401}this annoying lady as|a brutal intruder.
{179406}{179446}{Y:i}- There's your train.|- Yes, l know.
{179451}{179482}{Y:i}- Oh, aren't you coming|with us?
{179488}{179524}{Y:i}- No, l go in the opposite|direction.
{179529}{179569}{Y:i}- My practice is in Churley.|- Oh, I see.
{179574}{179616}{Y:i}- I'm a general practitioner|at the moment.
{179622}{179666}{Y:i}- Dr. Harvey's going out|to Africa next week.
{179671}{179706}{Y:i}- Oh, how thrilling.
{179711}{179832}Instead of the two lovers|being allowed at least their -
{179837}{179894}final moments alone -
{179899}{179959}they have to maintain|the appearances -
{179965}{180025}that nothing is happening|between them, -
{180030}{180105}that they are just acquaintances|and so on and so on.
{180272}{180325}{Y:i}- He'll have to run,|or he'll miss it.
{180330}{180388}{Y:i}- He's got to get right over|to the other platform.
{180404}{180500}This precisely is the function|of the 'Big Other'.
{180505}{180620}We need for our stability,|a figure of 'Big Other' -
{180625}{180717}for whom we maintain|appearances.
{180722}{180777}{Y:i}- And l arrived at the station|with exactly half -
{180782}{180865}{Y:i}a minute to spare.|My dear, l flew.
{180871}{180971}But are things really|as simple as that?
{180976}{181039}The next scene, the|scene of Celia Johnson -
{181044}{181127}totally desperate, she knows|she will never again -
{181132}{181175}see her lover.
{181180}{181224}{Y:i}- Yes, he's a nice creature.
{181230}{181330}{Y:i}- You known him long?|- No, not very long.
{181347}{181383}{Y:i}- l hardly know him|at all, really.
{181389}{181468}{Y:i}- Well, my dear, I've always|had a passion for doctors.
{181473}{181591}Then we hear the line of|Celia Johnson's thought.
{181604}{181680}{Y:i}- I wish I could trust you.
{181693}{181778}{Y:i}- I wish you were|a wise, kind friend -
{181783}{181833}{Y:i}instead of a gossiping|acquaintance I've known -
{181838}{181915}{Y:i}casually for years and never|particularly cared for.
{181920}{182011}What is the nature of this|deadlock of Celia Johnson?
{182016}{182111}She is split between|the two figures -
{182116}{182199}in the film|of the Big Other.
{182215}{182293}On the one hand|it's her husband, -
{182298}{182377}the ideal listener, but -
{182383}{182481}it's out of question|to confess to him.
{182733}{182781}{Y:i}- Fred.
{182794}{182850}{Y:i}- Fred.
{182872}{182920}{Y:i}- Dear Fred.
{182944}{183020}{Y:i}- There's so much that|I want to say to you.
{183043}{183105}{Y:i}- You're the only one in the|world with enough wisdom -
{183110}{183161}{Y:i}and gentleness|to understand.
{183193}{183260}{Y:i}- Wild horses wouldn't drag |me away from England -
{183265}{183314}{Y:i}and home and all the|things I'm used to.
{183319}{183395}{Y:i}- l mean, one has one's roots|after all, hasn't one?
{183400}{183449}{Y:i}- Oh, yes, one has|one's roots.
{183461}{183558}On the other hand you|have here this stupid -
{183563}{183647}person who is available|as a confessor -
{183652}{183757}but there is not even|an elementary trust.
{183762}{183829}{Y:i}- I wish you'd stop talking.
{183834}{183925}{Y:i}- I wish you'd stop prying and|trying to find things out.
{183930}{183981}{Y:i}- I wish you were dead.|No, l don't mean that.
{183986}{184057}{Y:i}- That was silIy and unkind -
{184069}{184143}{Y:i}but l wish you'd stop talking.|- My dear, all her hair -
{184148}{184213}{Y:i} came out, and she said the|social life was quite, -
{184219}{184295}{Y:i}quite horrid. Provincial, you know,|and very nouveau riche.
{184300}{184335}{Y:i}- Oh, Dolly.|- What's the matter, dear?
{184340}{184379}{Y:i}Are you feeling ill again?
{184385}{184446}So that's the tragedy|of our predicament.
{184452}{184542}In order to fully|exist as individuals -
{184547}{184635}we need the fiction|of a 'Big Other'.
{184640}{184767}There must be an agency|which, as it were, -
{184772}{184837}registers our predicament.
{184842}{185001}An agency where the truth of|ourselves will be inscribed, -
{185007}{185092}accepted. An agency|to which to confess.
{185098}{185190}But what if there is|no such agency?
{185195}{185368}This was the utmost despair|of many women raped -
{185373}{185438}in the post Yugoslav war -
{185444}{185501}in Bosnia in|the early nineties.
{185506}{185609}They survived their|terrible predicament -
{185614}{185710}and what kept them alive was|the idea I must survive -
{185715}{185757}to tell the truth.
{185763}{185912}If when if they survived they|made a terrible discovery;
{185917}{185998}there is no one to|really listen to them.
{186004}{186083}Either some ignorant|bored social worker -
{186088}{186142}or some relative -
{186147}{186241}who usually made|obscene insinuations like -
{186246}{186298}are you sure you were not|enjoying a little bit -
{186303}{186343}the rape and so on|and so on.
{186348}{186450}They discovered|the truth of what -
{186455}{186563}Jacques Lacan claims:|there is no 'Big Other'.
{186568}{186654}There may be|a virtual 'Big Other' -
{186659}{186708}to whom you|cannot confess.
{186713}{186813}There may be a 'Real Other' -
{186819}{186863}but it's never|the virtual one.
{186868}{186954}We are alone.
{187456}{187557}I think Kafka was right|when he said that -
{187562}{187695}for a modern secular|non-religious man -
{187727}{187853}bureaucracy, state bureaucracy|is the only remaining -
{187859}{187968}contact with the|dimension of the divine.
{188089}{188172}It is in this scene|from 'Brazil' -
{188178}{188239}that we see|the intimate link -
{188245}{188341}between bureaucracy|and enjoyment.
{188365}{188447}What the impenetrable|omnipotence of -
{188452}{188509}bureaucracy harbours -
{188514}{188571}is divine enjoyment.
{188724}{188783}{Y:i}- My name's Lowry,|Mr. Warren, Sam Lowry.
{188790}{188884}The intense rush of|bureaucratic engagement -
{188889}{188930}serves nothing.
{188935}{188989}{Y:i}- Glad to have you on board.
{189048}{189185}It is the performance of|it's very purposelessness -
{189228}{189303}that generates|an intense enjoyment -
{189308}{189416}ready to reproduce|itself forever.
{189586}{189635}{Y:i}- Between you and|me, Lowry, this... no, no!
{189640}{189692}{Y:i}...departement... tell Records|to get stuffed!
{189698}{189742}{Y:i}...is about to be|upgraded and the..
{189747}{189823}{Y:i}- Ah!
{189828}{189863}{Y:i}- Here we are.
{189868}{189952}{Y:i}- Your very own number|on your very own door.
{189958}{190039}{Y:i}- And behind that door,|your very own office.
{190044}{190137}{Y:i}- Congratulations, DZ-015.
{190143}{190190}{Y:i}Welcome to the team.
{190195}{190291}{Y:i}- Yes. No. Cancel that.|Send to copies to Finance.
{190296}{190378}The adverse of that is|a wonderful scene -
{190384}{190471}more towards the|beginning of the film.
{190476}{190533}{Y:i}- Harry Tuttle, heating|engineer, at your service.
{190538}{190613}The hero who has a problem|in his apartment -
{190618}{190758}with plumbing tries to get|the State agency to fix it.
{190763}{190827}{Y:i}- Are you from|Central Services?
{190832}{190916}Of course, two guys come,|they just want forms -
{190921}{190984}to fill in, they do nothing.
{190990}{191037}{Y:i}- I called|Central Services.
{191042}{191157}And then the ultimate|subversive figure comes;
{191162}{191279}a kind of clandestine plumber,|played by Robert Deniro, -
{191285}{191378}{Y:i}- Just a minute. What was that|business with the gun?
{191384}{191469}{Y:i}- Just a precaution, sir.|Just a precaution.
{191475}{191563}who tells him: "Just tell me|what is the problem" -
{191569}{191637}and promise quickly|to fix it.
{191642}{191780}This of course is the ultimate|offense to bureaucracy.
{191786}{191852}{Y:i}- Are you telling me|this is illegal?
{192034}{192074}{Y:i}- Thanks.
{192079}{192162}{Y:i}- Listed kid, we're all in|it together.
{192167}{192197}{Y:i}- Go on.
{192202}{192284}In the ordinary|theological universe -
{192290}{192367}your duty is imposed|onto you by God -
{192373}{192453}or society or another|higher authority, and -
{192459}{192538}your responsibility|is to do it.
{192583}{192674}But in a radically|atheist universe -
{192679}{192801}you are not only responsible|for doing your duty, -
{192806}{192935}you are also responsible|for deciding -
{192940}{192996}what is your duty.
{193082}{193179}There is always|in our subjectivity, -
{193184}{193257}in the way we|experience ourselves -
{193263}{193379}a minimum of hysteria.
{193384}{193481}Hysteria is what? Hysteria|is the way -
{193486}{193597}we question our social,|symbolic identity.
{193602}{193696}{Y:i}- You're sure it's God? You're|sure it's not the devil?
{193707}{193793}{Y:i}- I'm not sure. I'm not|sure of anything.
{193799}{193862}{Y:i}- If it's the devil, the devil|can be cast out.
{193867}{193916}{Y:i}- But what if it's God?
{193921}{193993}{Y:i}- You can't cast out|God, can you?
{194012}{194124}What is hysteria at|it's most elementary?
{194135}{194243}It's a question addressed|at the authority which -
{194248}{194313}which defines my identity.
{194319}{194487}It's: "Why am I what you are|telling me that I am?"
{194505}{194608}In psychoanalytic theory,|hysteria is much more -
{194614}{194672}subversive than perversion.
{194677}{194758}A pervert has no|uncertainties while again -
{194764}{194841}the hysterical position|is that of a doubt -
{194847}{194939}which is an extremely|productive position.
{194944}{195076}All new inventions come|from hysterical questioning -
{195081}{195195}and the unique character|of Christianity is that -
{195201}{195301}it transposes this|hysterical questioning -
{195306}{195417}onto God himself|as a subject.
{195561}{195655}{Y:i}- Who's that? Who's following|me? Is that you?
{195717}{195809}This is the ingenious|idea of -
{195815}{195902}'The Last Temptation of Christ' -
{196001}{196085}as Kazantzakis' novel and|Scorsese's film, -
{196091}{196197}namely the idea that|when Jesus Christ -
{196202}{196323}in his youth is told|that he is -
{196328}{196449}not only the Son of God,|but basically God himself, -
{196454}{196514}he doesn't simply accept it.
{196520}{196625}This is for Jesus Christ, boy, -
{196630}{196709}traumatic news like, my God,|why am I dead?
{196714}{196760}Am I really dead?
{196854}{196932}How did we come to|that unique point, -
{196938}{197063}which I think, makes|Christianity an exception?
{197100}{197200}t all began with|the Book of Job -
{197206}{197310}as we all know things|turn out bad for Job.
{197316}{197354}He loses everything.
{197359}{197491}His house, his family, his|possessions and so on.
{197502}{197606}hree friends visit him|and each of them -
{197611}{197743}tries to justify|Job's misfortunes.
{197757}{197826}The greatness of Job is that -
{197831}{197972}he does not accept this|deeper meaning.
{198012}{198177}When, towards the end of the Book|of Job, God himself appears, -
{198196}{198293}God gives right to Job.
{198298}{198392}He says everything that the|theological friends -
{198397}{198467}were telling Job is false;
{198472}{198543}everything that job|was saying is true.
{198549}{198625}No meaning in catastrophes.
{198695}{198829}Here we have the first step|in the direction of -
{198834}{198936}delegitimizing suffering.
{199014}{199114}{Y:i}- Father stay with me,|don't leave me.
{199240}{199344}The contrast between|Judaism and Christianity -
{199349}{199508}is the contrast between|anxiety and love.
{199657}{199784}The idea is that the Jewish|God is the God of the -
{199790}{199923}abyss of the other's desire.|Terrible things happen, -
{199928}{200028}God is in charge|but we do not -
{200034}{200166}know what the 'Big Other',|God, wants from us.
{200171}{200276}What is the divine desire?
{200346}{200427}To designate this|traumatic experience -
{200432}{200553}Lacan used the Italian|phrase 'che voglio'?
{200558}{200646}"What do you want?"|This terrifying question:
{200651}{200729}but what do you|want from me?
{200840}{200960}The idea is that Judaism|persists in this -
{200965}{201078}anxiety, like God remains|this enigmatic -
{201083}{201137}terrifying other.
{201142}{201223}And then Christianity|resolves -
{201228}{201301}the tension through love.
{201307}{201404}By sacrificing his son,|God demonstrates -
{201410}{201462}that he loves us.
{201468}{201526}So it's a kind|of a imaginary, -
{201531}{201641}sentimental even|resolution of a situation -
{201646}{201735}of radical anxiety.
{202316}{202418}{Y:i}- Father, forgive them.
{202423}{202483}If this were to be the|case then Christianity -
{202488}{202590}would have been a kind of|ideological, reversal -
{202595}{202686}or pacification of the|deep, much more -
{202691}{202769}shattering Jewish insight.
{202774}{202866}but I think one can read|the Christian gesture -
{202871}{202959}in a much more radical way.
{203011}{203093}This is what the sequence|of crucifixion -
{203098}{203178}in Scorsese's film shows us.
{203183}{203303}What dies on the|cross is precisely -
{203308}{203393}this guarantee|of the 'Big Other'.
{203399}{203528}The message of Christianity|is here radically atheist.
{203533}{203621}It's the death of Christ|is not any kind of -
{203626}{203709}redemption of commercial|affair in the sense of -
{203714}{203788}Christ suffers to|pay for our sins.
{203793}{203860}Pay to whom?|For what? And so on.
{203865}{203985}It's simply the disintegration|of the God which -
{203990}{204114}guarantees the meaning|of our lives.
{204120}{204192}And that's the meaning|of that famous phrase:
{204198}{204256}"Eli Eli lama sabachthani?"
{204262}{204366}"Father, why have you|forsaken me?"
{204425}{204614}{Y:i}- Father, why have you|forsaken me?
{204848}{204934}Just before Christ's|death, we get -
{204939}{205023}what in psychoanalytic|terms we call -
{205028}{205122}subjective destitution.
{205160}{205247}Stepping out totally of|the domain of -
{205253}{205335}symbolic identification
{205377}{205503}cancelling or suspending|the entire field -
{205509}{205556}of symbolic authority, -
{205562}{205656}the entire field|of the 'Big Other'.
{205826}{205892}Of course, we cannot know -
{205897}{206035}what God wants from us|because there is no God.
{206182}{206262}This is the Jesus Christ|who says, -
{206267}{206396}among other things,|"I bring to earth not peace."
{206401}{206455}"If you don't hate your|father, your mother" -
{206461}{206507}"you are not my follower."
{206512}{206600}Of course this does not mean|that you should actively -
{206606}{206655}hate or kill your parents.
{206660}{206753}I think that family relations|stand here for -
{206759}{206844}hierarchic social relations.
{206849}{206908}The message of Christ is:
{206913}{207039}I'm dying but my death|itself is good news.
{207044}{207148}It means you are alone,|left to your freedom, -
{207153}{207232}be in the Holy Ghost, -
{207248}{207357}Holy Spirit, which is just|the community of believers.
{207363}{207413}It's wrong to think that -
{207419}{207551}the second coming will be|that Christ as a figure will -
{207556}{207610}return somehow.
{207615}{207702}Christ is already here when -
{207707}{207815}believers form an|emancipatory collective.
{207820}{207899}This is why I claim that -
{207918}{208021}that the only way really|to be an atheist -
{208026}{208111}is to go through Christianity.
{208116}{208225}Christianity is much|more atheist than -
{208230}{208336}the usual atheism which -
{208341}{208415}can claim there is no|God and so on -
{208421}{208518}but none the less|retains a certain trust -
{208524}{208603}into the 'Big Other', this|'Big Other' can be called -
{208608}{208695}natural necessity,|evolution or whatever.
{208700}{208823}We humans are none|the less reduced to a -
{208840}{208973}position within a harmonious|whole of evolution or whatever, -
{208978}{209066}but the difficult thing|to accept is again -
{209071}{209127}that there is no 'Big Other'.
{209132}{209294}No point of reference which|guarantees meaning.
{209717}{209864}We are in John|Frankenheimer's Seconds, -
{209869}{209987}a neglected Hollywood|masterpiece from 1966 -
{209992}{210079}from the very heart|of the hippy era -
{210084}{210174}which preached|unrestrained hedonism.
{210179}{210287}Realise your dreams,|enjoy life fully.
{210292}{210416}The film is the story of a late|middle age businessman -
{210421}{210519}leading a gray totally|alienated life -
{210524}{210600}and then he decides|at some point -
{210605}{210674}that he has enough of it.
{210679}{210777}Through one of his|friends he contacts -
{210782}{210878}a mysterious agency,|which offers him a deal.
{210883}{210975}They will reorganise|his life so that -
{210980}{211047}so that he will be reborn.
{211278}{211346}{Y:i}- The cost runs in the|neighborhood of -
{211351}{211409}{Y:i}thirty thousand dollars.|I know this seems -
{211414}{211504}{Y:i}rather high but in|addition to the rather -
{211509}{211602}{Y:i}extensive cosmetic|renovation by way of -
{211607}{211699}{Y:i}plastic surgery for you,|CPS has to provide -
{211704}{211783}{Y:i}a fresh corpse that|perfectly matches your -
{211788}{211881}{Y:i}physical dimensions and|medical specifications.
{211887}{211919}{Y:i}- CPS?
{211924}{211997}{Y:i}- Oh, Cadaver|Procurement Section.
{212009}{212152}They use some corpse; they|change it to look like -
{212157}{212284}his own body. They plant this|corpse, stage a pseudo accident -
{212289}{212361}so that police think he is dead.
{212366}{212423}{Y:i}- Now, mister Wilson, you|represent something -
{212428}{212490}{Y:i}of a milestone around here.
{212532}{212684}And then, the agency|organises an ultimate life -
{212768}{212860}in a nice villa somewhere|around L.A. -
{212865}{212979}they even organise a nice|lady who conveniently -
{212984}{213061}stumbles upon him when|he is taking a walk -
{213067}{213124}along the beach.
{213191}{213258}He is thus reborn...
{213274}{213347}no longer as a boring|business man but as a -
{213352}{213445}modernist painter -
{213450}{213482}{Y:i}- Tony Wilson.
{213487}{213540}called Tony Wilson -
{213546}{213690}played by none other|than Rock Hudson.
{213818}{213923}So, the woman, Nora,|his new love, -
{213928}{214029}tries to engage him in life,|even takes him to some -
{214074}{214149}wine orgy where|people get drunk, -
{214154}{214219}dance naked and so on.
{214225}{214299}Everything seems ok -
{214361}{214538}but Tony Wilson starts|to miss his old life.
{214581}{214722}More and more he is|haunted by his past.
{214727}{214800}Finally he breaks down, -
{214805}{214892}approaches again|the agency -
{214897}{214976}telling them that|he wants to return -
{214981}{215050}to his old life.
{215124}{215213}The boss of this|mysterious company, -
{215219}{215290}{Y:i}a kind of kindly cruel, -|- Hello son.
{215295}{215362}superego paternal figure -
{215367}{215427}tells him the truth.
{215432}{215522}He disappointed them|by not being able to -
{215528}{215611}adapt himself to|his new life.
{215617}{215688}{Y:i}- You know, I sure hoped|you'd make it, -
{215693}{215758}{Y:i}find your dream come true.
{215763}{215793}{Y:i}- What?
{215799}{215861}{Y:i}- I said, I sure hoped|you'd make it -
{215866}{215927}{Y:i}find your dream come true.
{215932}{216030}{Y:i}- You can call it wishful|thinking, son -
{216035}{216097}{Y:i}but life is built on wishing.
{216102}{216178}{Y:i}- You've got to just keep|plugging away at them.
{216183}{216245}{Y:i}- You can't give up...
{216259}{216382}{Y:i}and you can't let the mistakes|jeopardize the dream.
{216388}{216429}So what went wrong here?
{216434}{216507}The problem was|that his past -
{216512}{216602}in it's material|existence was erased.
{216608}{216659}{Y:i}- Well, here's your|transportation.
{216664}{216701}{Y:i}- What?|- Surgery, sir.
{216706}{216839}He lived in a totally new|environment, new job, -
{216844}{216897}new friends and so on.
{216903}{217014}What remained the same|were his dreams -
{217020}{217135}because when the company|organised his rebirth, -
{217140}{217242}when the company|provided a new existence -
{217247}{217347}for him they simply|followed his dreams.
{217352}{217448}His dreams were|wrong dreams -
{217453}{217589}and this is quite a deep lesson|for the theory of ideology.
{217594}{217643}{Y:i}- Just remember, son. We've|got to keep plugging away -
{217649}{217739}{Y:i}at the dream. The mistakes teach|us how. It wasn't wasted.
{217744}{217780}{Y:i}Remember that.
{217785}{217882}On the way to the operation|hall, he discovers -
{217887}{217944}the horrible truth.
{217950}{218105}He will not be reborn|but he will be used as a -
{218110}{218261}cadaver for another person|who wants to be reborn.
{218379}{218442}We should draw a line|of distinction -
{218448}{218528}within the very field|of our dreams.
{218595}{218687}Between those who|are the right dreams -
{218693}{218806}pointing towards a dimension|effectively beyond -
{218811}{218923}our existing society|and the wrong dreams:
{218928}{219009}the dreams which|are just an idealised -
{219014}{219115}consumerist reflection, -
{219120}{219215}mirror image of our society.
{219287}{219372}We are not simply|submitted to our dreams -
{219378}{219463}they just come from|some unfathomable -
{219468}{219561}depths and we can't|do anything about it.
{219567}{219653}This is the basic lesson|of psychoanalysis -
{219659}{219713}and fiction cinema.
{219718}{219809}We are responsible|for our dreams.
{219815}{219900}Our dreams stage|our desires -
{219905}{220008}and our desires are|not objective facts.
{220013}{220097}We created them,|we sustained them, -
{220102}{220168}we are responsible for them.
{220174}{220250}This is an area of ancient|lakebeds deposited -
{220255}{220321}five to ten million years ago.
{220421}{220532}The scene of mass orgy|in 'Zabriskie Point' -
{220537}{220627}is a nice metaphor|of what went wrong -
{220632}{220730}with the 1960s|hippy revolution.
{220802}{220952}It's crucial that 'Zabriskie Point'|was made in 1970 -
{220957}{221044}when the authentic|revolutionary energy -
{221049}{221200}of the sixties was already|losing its strength.
{221239}{221334}This orgy is somewhere|between subversion -
{221339}{221415}of the existing|social order -
{221421}{221523}and already the|full estheticised -
{221528}{221607}reincorporation|of this allegedly -
{221613}{221774}transgressive activities into|the hegemonic ideology.
{221804}{221888}Although Antonioni|meant this -
{221893}{222019}as a kind of transcendence|of the existing constraints, -
{222025}{222111}we can easily|imagine this shot -
{222117}{222210}in some publicity campaign.
{222242}{222333}The first step to freedom|is not just to -
{222338}{222431}change reality to|fit your dreams -
{222437}{222501}it's to change|the way you dream.
{222507}{222623}and again this hurts|because all satisfactions -
{222628}{222737}we have come from|our dreams.
{222743}{222810}{Y:i}- The great supreme|commander chairman Mao -
{222816}{222889}{Y:i}issued a world shaking|call to us:
{222894}{222973}{Y:i}you should pay attention|to state affairs -
{222978}{223066}{Y:i}and carry the great proletarian|Cultural Revolution -
{223072}{223118}{Y:i}through to the end.
{223204}{223276}One of the big problems|of all great -
{223281}{223394}revolutionary movements|of the 20th century -
{223399}{223488}such as Russia,|Cuba or China, -
{223493}{223592}is that they did change|the social body -
{223666}{223801}but the egalitarian communist|society was never realised.
{223807}{223892}The dreams remained|the old dreams -
{223897}{224011}and they turned into|the ultimate nightmare.
{224037}{224123}Now what remains of|the radical left -
{224128}{224196}waits for a magical event -
{224202}{224327}when the true revolutionary|agent will finally awaken.
{224332}{224450}While the depressing lesson of|the last decades is that -
{224455}{224574}capitalism has been the true|revolutionising force.
{224579}{224682}Even as it serves only itself.
{224777}{224935}How come it is easier for us to|imagine the end of all life on earth -
{224940}{225006}an asteroid hitting the planet -
{225011}{225140}than a modest change|in our economic order?
{225145}{225293}Perhaps the time has come|to set our possibilities straight -
{225298}{225413}and to become realists|by way of demanding -
{225418}{225557}what appears as impossible|in the economic domain.
{225612}{225744}The surprising explosion of|Occupy Wall Street protests -
{225749}{225831}the mass mobilisation in Greece -
{225836}{225907}the crowds on Tahrir square -
{225913}{226063}they all bear witness for the hidden|potential for a different future.
{226069}{226177}There is no guarantee that|this future will arrive.
{226182}{226300}No train of history on which|we simply have to take a ride.
{226305}{226446}It depends on us,|on our will.
{226642}{226769}In revolutionary|upheavals some energy -
{226775}{226920}or rather some utopian dreams|take place, they explode -
{226925}{227102}and even if the actual result|of a social upheaval is just a -
{227107}{227329}commercialised every day life,|this excess of energy, -
{227334}{227505}what gets lost in the result,|persists not in reality, but -
{227511}{227656}as a dream haunting us|waiting to be redeemed.
{227662}{227740}In this sense,|whenever we are engaged
{227746}{227821}in radical|emancipatory politics -
{227826}{227967}we should never forget|as Walter Benjamin put it -
{227999}{228029}almost a century ago -
{228034}{228182}that every revolution, if it is an|authentic revolution, -
{228188}{228281}is not only directed|towards the future -
{228286}{228466}but it redeems also|the past failed revolutions.
{228472}{228612}All the ghosts as it were; the living|dead of the past revolution -
{228618}{228752}which are roaming around,|unsatisfied will finally -
{228757}{228873}find their home|in the new freedom.
{228897}{229033}From transcript to subtitle:|TJL and tom_elkrider
{233909}{234037}I may be freezing to death|but you'll never get rid of me.
{234044}{234193}All the ice in the world|cannot kill a true idea.
{234218}{234343}Odwiedź www.NAPISY.info
{234353}{234503}www.Cinematix.TV - to Twoje internetowe|kino na żywo. Odwiedź je koniecznie !!!