Slavoj Zizek explains why Obama is tanned (english sub)

Slavoj Zizek explains the confusion with his (and allegedly Chomsky's) statement that Obama is tanned. Zizek attributed the quote to Chomsky, but, apparently, he was misguided by the Slovene media. Everything is explained here:

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/01/hbc-90004183

For subtitles push the CC button.

An excerpt from a lecture he gave at the Slovenian Ministry of Culture on 28th of January, 2009, as part of a series of lectures organized by the ministry, called Wild Thoughts (Divje misli). The topic (title) was America Against Europe: A Cultural Battle? (Amerika proti Evropi: Kulturni Boj?)

Unfortunately, much of the dialogue is incomprehensible, but the main point is made by Slavoj Zizek who is audible.


Original video in Slovene:

http://www.mk.gov.si/si/video_posnetki/amerika_proti_evropi_kulturni_boj/

I will try to translate the entire lecture in the near future.
Sound is a bit off even in the original video.

***Permission to upload was obtained from the Ministry of Culture***

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Slavoj
• Zizek
• Žižek
• Chomsky
• Obama
• tanned
• Harper
• Berlusconi
• Slovenia

[kzkstn]

If there is one lesson to be learned from Žižek, it's that appearance matters. Why publish to the english-speaking world the compromising bullshit he says in Slovenia? It's clear that he's bluffing a lot and in the case of his dishonesty here he could get in even more trouble over this stupid mistake for these excuses, and they seem to be excuses.

L'Autre n 'existe pas! Derrida once said that people were treating him as if he were dead, while he was still alive. Is the same happening to Žižek?

[nobodyreally11]

@kzkstn

If you're asking me, why did I upload this video, then my answer is simple: because there was a point he made about Obama being tanned.

You think that what he says in the video is "compromising bullshit"? Well, I don't really care whether he was making excuses or not. It's just an excerpt form his talk.

You sound like you don't want other people to know what he says in Slovenia? Why? It's a place like any other...

[kzkstn]

And not to be only negative.. your profile states you are a physicist. I have yet to see someone nitpick Žižek's points about Einstein's theory of relativity! I've bought the Routledge edition of The Meaning of Relativity in Mladinska knjiga for about 10€ last month, but my head hurts when looking at all of the equations..

[nobodyreally11]

@kzkstn

I would describe Zizek's points on relativity as mostly incomprehensible. But philosophers usually have their own, unreal, ideas about the real world (ideology and so on...). It's not like he's saying that he understands the theory of relativity, the special or the general kind, he merely thinks about it in "philosophical" terms. If I remember correctly, he also has an opinion on quantum mechanics.

If you're not a physicist, you should read a book like Lev Landau, What is relativity?

[kzkstn]

@nobodyreally11 Have you noticed this?

Lev Landau = Lev Davidovich Landau

Leon Trotsky = Lev Davidovich Bronshtein

[nobodyreally11]

@kzkstn Interesting! I guess Trostky had a pseudonym. In fact, do you know that Landau, although maltreated by the Soviet authorities (even arrested and sent to Siberia for a while), believed in communism and the "soviet welfare" (when he was in his twenties). I read his biography. He had a very painful life.

[mahyarmohaghegh]

hahahhaha who did the subtitles

what a nice guy

SORRY INCOMPREHENSIBLE hahahahhah like u owe us something

[CaptainJones32]

I hope that Obama can come out of the political closet, he has been heard saying that he would like to spread the wealth (possible socialist) and his claim that he is a christian is a lot less specific than the other American politicians who will sometimes even say which specific church they go to. I think the emo phillips 'Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912' joke shows this.

[CaptainJones32]

It is very obvious that this is positive racism from Zizek, Black people in america have been politically radical due to the injustices against them. In the public eye Barack Obama has to play the suited white-toothed beamer that fills congress to appeal to stupid right-wing racists and this is obvious from his supposed ridicule of the idea of legalizing marijuana. His private image I think does not match this, just google 'Barack Obama Young' I think that is the real Obama.

[CaptainJones32]

It must be noted that Zizek is not 'Politically Correct', he believes that the careful namby-pamby multiculturalist approach to ethnicity is merely dishonest racism, you will get people who will abhor an obvious racist joke and then titter at subtle racist jokes OR obvious racist jokes from non-whites. To me this seems that white people think 'Jokes against white people are allowed because we are sensible and can get over it, but the other races are silly and touchy.'

[WSWarthog]

So Obama is 'racially black but politically a tanned white man'? What does he mean by this exactly? Obama is most certainly NOT racially black; he's at most half black. And a 'politically tanned white man'? What would we expect of a politician who was black throughout? What does that even mean? It's nonsense and he knows it, but he publishes it anyway because he knows it's nonsense that appeals to people's sense of dissatisfaction with Obama.

[TheForwardGaze]

I am so glad to hear him say Obama's an atheist. Now Obama has at least one redeeming quality.

[S2Cents]

@nobodyreally11 ZIzek says he likes that quantum mechanics baffles even physicists and that it seems to show that reality (or Reality) is incomprehensible. Says, it isn't just "idiots like me" that don't get it but the scientists themselves. Reminds him of "The Real" in Lacan, I think he says. That's all I've heard him say on qm

[sbagram]

Thank you for adding (and translating!) non-English talks that Zizek gives. This gives an invaluable perspective on Zizek's politics, as well as his analysis of American politics from a more overtly European point of view. Again, thanks for this.

[uros678]

Kaj sploh hodi Vidmar nekaj pametovat tja... to je Zizek...ve se kdo ma worldwide prepoznavnost kdo pa ne.. kmet..

[MartyredxMaiden]

Obama is racially black AND white, 50-50%. He is politically an Obama.