Overview

Returning to questions about ideology and subjectivity, Flisfeder argues that Slavoj Žižek's theory of film aims to re-politicize film studies and film theory, bringing cinema into the fold of twenty-first century politics.

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9780230341470

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Reviews

This is a wonderfully lucid and perceptive account of how the i ekian approach to cinema provides the theoretical coordinates for our understanding of ideology. Via i ek, Matthew Flisfeder makes a compelling case for a Lacanian reading of film which, once freed from old debates on spectatorship, has a chance to strike a formidable alliance with Marxism to invite us to rethink our world through the eyes of film. - Fabio Vighi, reader in Film and Critical Theory, Cardiff University, UK Matthew Flisfeder's The Symbolic, The Sublime, and Slavoj i ek's Theory of Film marks a decisive moment in film studies. It is the first book to take full account of Slavoj i ek's significance for the analysis of film, and it does so in an exhaustive and insightful way. Though there now exist many recent books on Lacanian film theory and on Slavoj i ek's thought, no books exist that explain i ek's intervention in the domain of film studies. Not only does Flisfeder open new ground in this way, but he also creates a work that is accessible and theoretically sophisticated at the same time, much like i ek's own thought. It will provide a point of entry into the implications of i ek's philosophy on the analysis of cinema for all levels, from undergraduate students to professors of film studies. Flisfeder's book is a treasure for all. - Todd McGowan, associate professor of Film Studies, University of Vermont. USA [Flisfeder's] book insists on the need for a sophisticated and politically aware psychoanalytic film theory, and he makes an effort to answer the question about the relevance of Lacanian film theory today ... This book may help to ignite an exciting new trend in film theory, and I welcome it. Canadian Journal of Communication

"""This is a wonderfully lucid and perceptive account of how the i ekian approach to cinema provides the theoretical coordinates for our understanding of ideology. Via i ek, Matthew Flisfeder makes a compelling case for a Lacanian reading of film which, once freed from old debates on spectatorship, has a chance to strike a formidable alliance with Marxism to invite us to rethink our world through the eyes of film."" - Fabio Vighi, reader in Film and Critical Theory, Cardiff University, UK ""Matthew Flisfeder's The Symbolic, The Sublime, and Slavoj i ek's Theory of Film marks a decisive moment in film studies. It is the first book to take full account of Slavoj i ek's significance for the analysis of film, and it does so in an exhaustive and insightful way. Though there now exist many recent books on Lacanian film theory and on Slavoj i ek's thought, no books exist that explain i ek's intervention in the domain of film studies. Not only does Flisfeder open new ground in this way, but he also creates a work that is accessible and theoretically sophisticated at the same time, much like i ek's own thought. It will provide a point of entry into the implications of i ek's philosophy on the analysis of cinema for all levels, from undergraduate students to professors of film studies. Flisfeder's book is a treasure for all."" - Todd McGowan, associate professor of Film Studies, University of Vermont. USA ""[Flisfeder's] book insists on the need for a sophisticated and politically aware psychoanalytic film theory, and he makes an effort to answer the question about the relevance of Lacanian film theory today . . . This book may help to ignite an exciting new trend in film theory, and I welcome it."" Canadian Journal of Communication"

This is a wonderfully lucid and perceptive account of how the i ekian approach to cinema provides the theoretical coordinates for our understanding of ideology. Via i ek, Matthew Flisfeder makes a compelling case for a Lacanian reading of film which, once freed from old debates on spectatorship, has a chance to strike a formidable alliance with Marxism to invite us to rethink our world through the eyes of film. - Fabio Vighi, reader in Film and Critical Theory, Cardiff University, UK Matthew Flisfeder's The Symbolic, The Sublime, and Slavoj i ek's Theory of Film marks a decisive moment in film studies. It is the first book to take full account of Slavoj i ek's significance for the analysis of film, and it does so in an exhaustive and insightful way. Though there now exist many recent books on Lacanian film theory and on Slavoj i ek's thought, no books exist that explain i ek's intervention in the domain of film studies. Not only does Flisfeder open new ground in this way, but he also creates a work that is accessible and theoretically sophisticated at the same time, much like i ek's own thought. It will provide a point of entry into the implications of i ek's philosophy on the analysis of cinema for all levels, from undergraduate students to professors of film studies. Flisfeder's book is a treasure for all. - Todd McGowan, associate professor of Film Studies, University of Vermont. USA [Flisfeder's] book insists on the need for a sophisticated and politically aware psychoanalytic film theory, and he makes an effort to answer the question about the relevance of Lacanian film theory today . . . This book may help to ignite an exciting new trend in film theory, and I welcome it. Canadian Journal of Communication

'The Symbolic, the Sublime and Slavoj Zizek's Theory of Film provides a most important contribution to film theory not only by reinvigorating our understanding of the viewing subject as integral to film theory, but also by insisting that Zizek's return to and theory of ideology can play a crucial role in contemporary film analysis. Flisfeder's book is skilfully and eloquently written for a diverse audience that includes students of film, society and culture, as well as scholars of Lacanian psychoanalysis and particularly of Zizek himself.' - TOPIA Taken in its entirety, Flisfeder's book is a major step in film studies. Not only does it give accessibility to and frame the mission of Zizek's work in the context of film scholarship, but it allows us to rethink the place of cinema in the present, a time where passivity and postmodern cynicism are raging at full throttle, and where general intellectual skepticism seems to be increasingly superseded by the quantifiable. - Film International Writing with concision, the author provides readers with clear illustrations and a thorough background into the key theoretical debates in film theory, especially between the formalists and those of ideological persuasions. Flisfeder takes on a challenging topic and produces a clear, well-organized volume. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. - CHOICE

This is a wonderfully lucid and perceptive account of how the Zizekian approach to cinema provides the theoretical coordinates for our understanding of ideology. Via Zizek, Matthew Flisfeder makes a compelling case for a Lacanian reading of film which, once freed from old debates on spectatorship, has a chance to strike a formidable alliance with Marxism to invite us to rethink our world through the eyes of film. - Fabio Vighi, reader in Film and Critical Theory, Cardiff University<p><p>'Matthew Flisfeder's The Symbolic, The Sublime, and Slavoj Zi&#382;ek's Theory of Film marks a decisive moment in film studies. It is the first book to take full account of Slavoj Zi&#382;ek's significance for the analysis of film, and it does so in an exhaustive and insightful way. Though there now exist many recent books on Lacanian film theory and on Slavoj Zi&#382;ek's thought, no books exist that explain Zi&#382;ek's intervention in the domain of film studies. Not only does Flisfeder open new ground in this way, but he also creates a work that is accessible and theoretically sophisticated at the same time, much like Zi&#382;ek's own thought. It will provide a point of entry into the implications of Zi&#382;ek's philosophy on the analysis of cinema for all levels, from undergraduate students to professors of film studies. Flisfeder's book is a treasure for all.' - Todd McGowan, associate professor of Film Studies, University of Vermont

Author Information

Matthew Flisfeder is Assistant Professor in the Department of Rhetoric, Writing, and Communications, at the University of Winnipeg, Canada. He is author of Postmodern Theory and Blade Runner (2017), and co-editor (with Louis-Paul Willis) of Žižek and Media Studies: A Reader (2014).

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