Overview

Alejandro Jodorowsky is a force of nature. At 90 years old he is still making films and is a cultural phenomenon who has influenced other artists as disparate as John Waters and Yoko Ono. Although his body of work has long been considered disjointed and random, William Egginton claims that Jodorowsky’s writings, theatre work and mime, and his films, along with the therapeutic practice he calls psychomagic, can all be tied together to form the philosophical programme that underpins his films. Incorporating surrealism and thinkers including Lacan, Kant, Hegel, and Žižek into his interpretation of Jodorowsky's work, Egginton shows how his diverse films are connected by interpretive practices with a fundamental similarity to Lacanian psychoanalysis. Using case studies of Jodorowsky's cult films, El Topo, Fando y Lis and Holy Mountain and more, this book provides a unique perspective on a filmmaker whose work has been notoriously difficult to analyse.

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9781350144774

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Reviews

Alejandro Jodorowsky: Filmmaker and Philosopher is a captivating exploration of Jodorowsky’s work, and a vital read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the filmmaker’s elusive concept of psychomagic. Egginton’s analysis, premised on highlighting the parallel structures that exist between Jodorowsky’s body of work and Lacanian psychoanalysis, has unlocked a register of criticism that will serve Jodorowsky scholars for years to come * Michael Newell Witte, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History, University of San Diego, USA * Alejandro Jodorowsky: Filmmaker and philosopher posits the psychoanalytic theory (and practice) of Jacques Lacan as the glue that binds Jodorowsky’s different activities together … Lacan can be difficult, but William Egginton elucidates him simply and effectively. His close readings of Jodorowsky’s films are likewise illuminating. * The Times Literary Supplement *

Alejandro Jodorowsky: Filmmaker and Philosopher is a captivating exploration of Jodorowsky’s work, and a vital read for those seeking a deeper understanding of the filmmaker’s elusive concept of psychomagic. Egginton’s analysis, premised on highlighting the parallel structures that exist between Jodorowsky’s body of work and Lacanian psychoanalysis, has unlocked a register of criticism that will serve Jodorowsky scholars for years to come * Michael Newell Witte, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art History, University of San Diego, USA *

Author Information

William Egginton is the Decker Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Alexander Grass Humanities Institute at Johns Hopkins University, USA. His research and teaching focus on literature and philosophy, psychoanalysis, the foundations of physics, early modern European literature and thought, and modern Latin American literature.

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