Go to bed, old man. I am working out like Olivia Newton-John!
July 14, 2014 10:58 AM Subscribe
paragraphs 4-6 lifted directly from ...dammit mediocre, you ruined my joke.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014
posted by leotrotsky at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014
who knows, but this should be posted in the gym along with the posters for how to correctly do various body-type exercises.
Sisyphus.
posted by k5.user at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014
Sisyphus.
posted by k5.user at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014
i'm sorry but i can't accept a zizek parody that doesn't include the phrase "and so on, and so on"
posted by facetious at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by facetious at 11:07 AM on July 14, 2014 [9 favorites]
> Does this have something to do with his recent plagiarism scandal?
That should have been the post! Great piece, and I love this: "If this is plagiarism, then quite a few academics I know are plagiarists." I guess that's supposed to be a reductio ad absurdum, but it's more like "If this is a computer, then there are quite a few computers."
posted by languagehat at 11:09 AM on July 14, 2014 [4 favorites]
That should have been the post! Great piece, and I love this: "If this is plagiarism, then quite a few academics I know are plagiarists." I guess that's supposed to be a reductio ad absurdum, but it's more like "If this is a computer, then there are quite a few computers."
posted by languagehat at 11:09 AM on July 14, 2014 [4 favorites]
The weirdest thing about the plagiarism scandal is that it would have been both fine and easier for Žižek to have simply cited AmRen's summary, noting that they are proponents of the sort of idea which he intends to demolish. Seems like he's just needlessly created trouble for himself.
posted by Sticherbeast at 11:22 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sticherbeast at 11:22 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Exercise allows us to engage in these repetitive motions without having to question why.
This is honestly part of why I like the gym.
posted by winna at 11:23 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is honestly part of why I like the gym.
posted by winna at 11:23 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Is it not the case, however, that the inadequacy of this Žižek parody still reveals to us the obscene kernel of truth in Žižek's recent career, that his writing has taken a backseat to his persona, the public image of a ludicrous celebrity, a kind of self-conscious bohemian clown, ascending while the endlessly repetitive writing exists more and more only as a support, propitiating the gaze of a big-O Other which still, for some reason, requires the pretense of intellectuality to be maintained? Would not the proper response to this be for the Ž-Man himself to commission a volume of parodies of his work and persona, endorsing all of them as his own, as though he were the Elvis of Bubba Ho-Tep living on as his own impersonator?
posted by RogerB at 11:23 AM on July 14, 2014 [31 favorites]
posted by RogerB at 11:23 AM on July 14, 2014 [31 favorites]
I've never read any Zizek that encouraged me to read more. And I don't feel like I'm really missing out on anything. The plargiasm doesn't change my opinion really.
And the McSweeney's piece is funny. But unfair? Does Zizek not use correct grammar?
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 11:32 AM on July 14, 2014
And the McSweeney's piece is funny. But unfair? Does Zizek not use correct grammar?
posted by MisantropicPainforest at 11:32 AM on July 14, 2014
☑ - Reduction of a complex idea that probably should be explained instead of being reduced to "whatever" or "and so on".
☑ - Using a vulgar joke to prove a point. I deduct points because Slavoj's jokes usually make sense and are funny, and this one was just random humor gibberish.
☑ - Stalin.
☑ - Use of low culture references and rhetorical conventions as an explication of larger sociological trends.
☑ - Dialectic reversal of seemingly obvious fact. Half points for not mentioning Hegel.
☐ - No Lacan. Serious misstep here. In fact, the closest they get is a half-hearted reference to the id, ego and superego. Seems more pseudo Freudian than anything.
☐ - No grunting, sniffling or strange adjustment of clothing. Difficult to convey in the format, but still.
☐ - No explicit reference to perversion or sex. Come on, seriously?
☐ - No "As [FAMOUS PERSON] said to me recently in conversation..." The closest you get is the arm wrestling reference, but that's weak tea.
☐ - No ultimate point which is mostly self-evident to the reader but takes 5,000 words to get to. Say what you will about Zizek, but he usually does arrive at some sort of conclusion.
☐ - No backhanded insults towards western leftists and liberals. Major deduction here, since this is Zizek's wheelhouse.
C- work on this one.
posted by codacorolla at 11:36 AM on July 14, 2014 [33 favorites]
☑ - Using a vulgar joke to prove a point. I deduct points because Slavoj's jokes usually make sense and are funny, and this one was just random humor gibberish.
☑ - Stalin.
☑ - Use of low culture references and rhetorical conventions as an explication of larger sociological trends.
☑ - Dialectic reversal of seemingly obvious fact. Half points for not mentioning Hegel.
☐ - No Lacan. Serious misstep here. In fact, the closest they get is a half-hearted reference to the id, ego and superego. Seems more pseudo Freudian than anything.
☐ - No grunting, sniffling or strange adjustment of clothing. Difficult to convey in the format, but still.
☐ - No explicit reference to perversion or sex. Come on, seriously?
☐ - No "As [FAMOUS PERSON] said to me recently in conversation..." The closest you get is the arm wrestling reference, but that's weak tea.
☐ - No ultimate point which is mostly self-evident to the reader but takes 5,000 words to get to. Say what you will about Zizek, but he usually does arrive at some sort of conclusion.
☐ - No backhanded insults towards western leftists and liberals. Major deduction here, since this is Zizek's wheelhouse.
C- work on this one.
posted by codacorolla at 11:36 AM on July 14, 2014 [33 favorites]
I had no idea white supremacists had academic journals, so I learned something today.
posted by Sangermaine at 11:36 AM on July 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Sangermaine at 11:36 AM on July 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
Are there any authentic Zizek critiques of gym culture? I bet it would be pretty good if has written or will write such a piece.
This article did not hold my attention and I wanted to like it.
posted by bukvich at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
This article did not hold my attention and I wanted to like it.
posted by bukvich at 11:50 AM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
BTW this old comment by stammer is still my favorite parody/summary of the Žižek formula to date, online or off.
posted by RogerB at 12:10 PM on July 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by RogerB at 12:10 PM on July 14, 2014 [3 favorites]
Teach us how to do those boxes and checkmarks, codacorolla.
posted by notyou at 12:49 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by notyou at 12:49 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
They're unicode. You can enter them with a keyboard command (I think) but typically I just search for "unicode ballot box check" and then copy and paste the unicode reference site (for example, FileFormat.net).
posted by codacorolla at 1:06 PM on July 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 1:06 PM on July 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
I would like to be able to like Žižek's stuff, but no such luck so far.
Perhaps I could learn to see him as an opening act, with the main event waiting eagerly in the wings . . . for someone to figure out a way of getting Žižek to stop talking.
posted by jamjam at 2:01 PM on July 14, 2014
Perhaps I could learn to see him as an opening act, with the main event waiting eagerly in the wings . . . for someone to figure out a way of getting Žižek to stop talking.
posted by jamjam at 2:01 PM on July 14, 2014
Honestly, Žižek does this better, good effort but nope.
posted by Substrata at 2:57 PM on July 14, 2014
posted by Substrata at 2:57 PM on July 14, 2014
Ok ok now someone do Werner Herzog Welcomes You to Zumba Class
posted by Doleful Creature at 3:08 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Doleful Creature at 3:08 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
Doleful Creature:
"Welcome to the Zumba Pool Party Workout. Are we truly the crocodiles who look back into an abyss of time?"
posted by Atrahasis at 4:06 PM on July 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
"Welcome to the Zumba Pool Party Workout. Are we truly the crocodiles who look back into an abyss of time?"
posted by Atrahasis at 4:06 PM on July 14, 2014 [5 favorites]
Evan is a great guy, and I taught him everything he knows about book design. You can see some of his funny cartoons here at the Toast.
posted by rikschell at 4:16 PM on July 14, 2014
posted by rikschell at 4:16 PM on July 14, 2014
I basically approach Zizek as a kind of intellectual comedian troll, it's the only way I know how to deal with him. Watching and hearing him is crucial to get the full effect. The full documentary Zizek! is available on YouTube. Also, The Pervert's Guide to Ideology is available for streaming on Netflix. Here's his take on They Live.
posted by naju at 4:59 PM on July 14, 2014
posted by naju at 4:59 PM on July 14, 2014
i like his response to the incident, and it makes perfect sense. a lot of what he does is to serve as a sort of clearinghouse for cool ideas. even his magnus opus, less than nothing, is basically 25- or 50-page chunks where he expounds somebody's ideas, comments on them, then pulls one of his patented slippery transitions to the next one. i don't see it as a bad thing in any way - he gets me psyched up every time i read him. i'm not sure i'd want to have a conversation with him, any more than i'd like to get into a saxophone playing contest with rahsaan roland kirk, but reading his books has taught me many things and has stimulated me to learn many more.
posted by facetious at 7:29 PM on July 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by facetious at 7:29 PM on July 14, 2014 [2 favorites]
Good that the tiny bit of my cortex that considered Zizek an insufferable poser, without having touched any of his stuff, is now able to forge a permanent connection with the rest of my brain. Another thing off the bucket list, I'll be able to one-with-the-cosmos myself any day now.
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:12 PM on July 14, 2014
posted by turbid dahlia at 8:12 PM on July 14, 2014
Zizek may be insufferable, but I don't know what he's posing at that he isn't actually. He's pretty straight-forward with his shtick.
posted by codacorolla at 9:44 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by codacorolla at 9:44 PM on July 14, 2014 [1 favorite]
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posted by mediocre at 11:03 AM on July 14, 2014