We Are All the Worst, But Slavoj Žižek Is the Best

At the risk of upsetting Žižek’s fanatical global following, I would say that a lot of his work is impenetrable. But he writes with exhilarating ambition and his central thesis offers a perspective even his critics would have to concede is thought-provoking. In essence, he argues that nothing is ever what it appears, and contradiction is encoded in almost everything. Most of what we think of as radical or subversive — or even simply ethical — doesn’t actually change anything.

— The Guardian’s Decca Aitkenhead offers a pretty delightful intro to Slavoj Žižek, the wild and crazy Slovenian philosopher, self-proclaimed madman, and movie-proclaimed “Elvis of cultural theory.”

I like the dude a lot, despite only understanding mayyyybe 10% of what he is talking about. My first intro to him was when a friend (who understands closer to 30% of what he is talking about) shared this amazing animated talk with me. It’s called: “First as Tragedy, Then as Farce,” and it’s basically about how even the best of us are all terrible hypocrites! (Topics covered: Organic apples, charity, Starbucks, Toms Shoes, Oscar Wilde, and more.) It’s great. Totally, totally worth watching. You will love him. Your head will hurt, but you will love him. And that accent: Incredible.

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