Slavoj Žižek has been interviewed by Al Jazeera to give his unique perspective on the tumultuous changes happening in the world financial and political systems. In an extensive conversation with Tom Ackerman, Žižek discussed the Arab Spring, London Riots and the Occupy movement, as well as the various financial and political crises across the world from Europe to India. Throughout the discussion, Žižek explored the themes of violence across the political spectrum and his irresistible desire to provoke friends and enemies alike.
Visit Al Jazeera to view the interview in situ.
Žižek also visited St Marks bookshop to discuss his views on the Occupy Wall Street protest.
We're delighted to announce that the winner of the Shooting Žižek short film competition is...
Jamie Jones & Liam Saint Pierre, for The Last Capitalist.
Finally, the last shortlisted entry for the Shooting Žižek short film competition. The winner will be announced on Monday.
The End Times are Upon Us by Emalee Arroyo and Rod Mahdavi:
Special mention also goes to Daniel Bird's excellent animation, Seed, which was too long for this brief but is well worth a watch.
Two more of the best entries from the Shooting Zizek competition:
Jamie Jones' The Last Capitalist:
THE LAST CAPITALIST from jamie jones on Vimeo.
Slavoj Žižek writes in the Guardian on the Occupy movement, its taboo-breaking nature, and why hard and patient work is now required.
Carnivals come cheap - the true test of their worth is what remains the day after, how our normal daily life will be changed. The protesters should fall in love with hard and patient work - they are the beginning, not the end. Their basic message is: the taboo is broken; we do not live in the best possible world; we are allowed, obliged even, to think about alternatives.
He goes on to respond to some of the criticisms of the Occupy protests:
Are the protesters violent? True, their very language may appear violent (occupation, and so on), but they are violent only in the sense in which Mahatma Gandhi was violent. They are violent because they want to put a stop to the way things are - but what is this violence compared with the violence needed to sustain the smooth functioning of the global capitalist system?