My main interest in the first part of this interview is that it proves me right yet again, this time with regard to his stance toward Stalinism. Coming on the heels of his appearance with Altizer on AAR, this is almost more vindication than my system can take.
11 thoughts on “Zizek, as interviewed by a complete moron”
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An und für sich 
On twitter I referred to the host as a “posh ****” who was given the job of hosting (the ridiculously named) HARDtalk after the producers randomly selected a mentally deficient individual with an Oxbridge accent. Seriously, it is as if every question is asked in that way that only posh English ****s can ask a question: with complete ignorance and total confidence.
Yeah. I love the way interviewers press him the Stalin point when he has far more right, since he actually lived under an authoritarian communist state, to talk about what it is actually like under Stalinism than a cosy liberal upholding the status quo.
Complete ignorance and total confidence: incredible!
The whole interview (and programme) is rather Chris Morris.
But Anthony, what you are saying is perverse, is it not?
This motivated me to read the Wikipedia article on Maximilien Robespierre. The section on his early life begins: “Maximilien de Robespierre was a sexual predator who eats babies.” This is clearly an anti-Zizek conspiracy.
Yes, the host is an asshole, but Slavoj could have at least explained why Capitalism, in the end, preys on the poor. Why not show how the ‘apartheids’ being created now are a result of the fabulous market?
The interviewer was born in a rural, air force connected town in Lincolnshire. Probably not a born and bred toff. Went to Cambridge, and then Harvard though. A degree of belief in upward social mobility and the need to protect it obviously inform his stance, or lack of one, on things. Covered the Velvet Revolution, imbedded with British Army during Gulf War, lives in Israel and covers Rabin’s death and the PLO, goes to Washington to lay into Clinton over Lewinsky, back to Iraq – and now gets a job interviewing leftist intellectuals for BBC World’s hotel living audience to gleen over, while consuming any fad value that might surround their names. “Oh, they had that Zizek guy on, man can’t even put an English sentence together!”, “Sackur gave ‘im a grilling though! F@#%g loony!”, “yeah, stupid over subsidised college kids yacking on about communism” anon.
The HardTalk site is well, a sight. China: empowered it’s people? Zizek: Communism “a total failure” Hong Kong: exchange is “independent”.Israel: Middle East vision…
Amish,
The fact that he was born in Lincolnshire and talks like that makes it all worse! At least it does for me. People from Lincolnshire do not have that kind of accent, which means he has created this speaking voice. Ugh.
“But Anthony, what you are saying is perverse, is it not?”
Oh my god, I almost fell off of my chair!
For a real cringefest, watch the HARDtalk interview with Badiou. I’m far from a Badiou fan, but, wow.