euronews - interview - euronews talks with Slavoj Zizek

Of all Europes thinkers, Slavoj Zizek is one of the most outspoken. The Slovenians philosophical works include thoughts on such diverse topics as Lenin, the Iraq war, cyberspace, globalisation and Alfred Hitchcock. euronews caught up with him at the Sarajevo Film Festival, seen as a key event in rebuilding the Bosnian capitals self confidence after the conflict of the 1990s. Zizek gave his thoughts on cinema and the Balkans.

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[BalkanibalX]

He is soooooo true about the Balkans! Here in Croatia (and Bosnia, Serbia etc...) all you ever hear from media is when will we enter the EU, why aren't we good enough for Europe, the EU standards this and the EU standards that...

[janasiskova]

i love his english :)

[Danno1850]

if his voice was a material object it would be a wet soggy loaf of bread

[Reido2828]

@BalkanibalX

10 years? WTF are you smoking you fool. Read the writing on the wall one more time ok.

[BalkanibalX]

@Reido2828

Cos' I'd rather be inside pissing out, than outside and be pissed at.

If it will take EU 10 years to get out of this crisis, I guaratee you, non-members like Serbia, Ukraine or Albania will take 30 or 40 years.

But I'd like to see EU reformed towards federalization

[Reido2828]

@BalkanibalX

Why would you want to Enter the EU? Its a dump

[rivet138]

@jackbox1971 It is impossible to achieve a totally homogeneous cultural world. There will always be differences just like it is impossible for two individuals to have the same living-experience. But there aren’t only differences like multiculturalists usually point out. There are also similarities which should be stressed in order to achieve more equality in the global culture.

[jackbox1971]

@rivet138 So whereas I spent three paragraphs trying to elucidate MY point, you dismiss it with five words. Somehow, I just don't think you're putting the effort in, mate. I will only ask you to think about the follow question: IF we lived in what I presume is your perfect, homogenous cultural world, would you still find people who supported a different football team in your country offensive to you?

[rivet138]

@jackbox1971 Multiculturalism is a racist ideology

[jackbox1971]

@Zehop I agree with your point. I think intellectuals and critics are hostile to their own kind. Nothing is more predictable than denouncing a critic as having "mis-read" what he or she has written.

To me, either an idea is "Playable" or it is inert. I am not convinced that Marxism is still playable. What is it good for besides nostalgia?

[jackbox1971]

So much of an intellectual's rhetoric is overwhelming the interlocutor with a wild array of quotes and misquotes. Then, when they are criticized, they will claim they were "misread."

But I will not dismiss him. He has ideas to play with. That's all I care about. You can't build a civilization on his ideas, but you can enhance the intellectual alacrity of a civilization.