Since the early 1970s,
film ,
media , and
cultural theorists have appealed to
Lacanian psychoanalytic theory in
order to discern
processes of
subjectivization ,
representation , and
ideological interpellation . However, beginning with the
work of theorists such as
Jacqueline Rose ,
Joan Copjec , and
Slavoj Žižek , a new approach to
Lacan has been advanced, one which pays closer attention to
concepts such as
sexual difference , the ‘
objet petit a ‘ (the
object -
cause of
desire ),
fantasy , the
Real ,
enjoyment , and the
drive . Žižek in
particular has advanced a
political -
philosophical re-
interpretation of Lacan that has spawned a
whole new wave of film, media, and cultural theory that shows a marked difference from an early Lacanian approach. The contributors in this book take up a specifically Žižekian approach to studies of
cinema and media, both old and new, raising questions
about power ,
ideology ,
sexual difference , and enjoyment. Including chapters written by key
figures in Žižekian film, media, and cultural theory such as Jodi
Dean , Todd McGowan,
Paul A. Taylor, and Fabio Vighi, it concludes with a response from Žižek himself.
