More Real than Real

The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006) - Fiennes

The three part lecture on cinema from past to present presided by philosopher Slavoj Zizek is an wild ride. 'Pervert' refers to the moviegoer as a peeping tom living out his/her desires from a safe distance. You can take it face value, or not. Take your pick. Either way, it's super entertaining.

The bathroom scene in Psycho after the killing is an example Zizek gives, where Norman Bates scrubs the blood stain off of the tub. Bates meticulously gets rid of all the evidence. It goes down the drain to the other side, to netherworld, never to be seen again. In Coppola's Conversation, the clogged toilet overflows with blood to confront the audience with an uncomfortable secret. When "The shiiiit comess back up!," the distance of our fantasy and reality gets compromised.

Then there are fantasy and sex. You can't have sex without fantasy in films. But when fantasy is realized or being close to being realized, it becomes a nightmare. Lynchian world is a prime example, so is Hitchcockian universe.

There are layers in films where fantasies become more real than reality. Zizek's analyses of films become more relevant in the internet age and transcends beyond simple Freudian interpretations. I don't have to tell you about 'putting on a persona' in social networking or role playing games.

The very recent incident in my life is a testament of this. Someone hacked my email account and sent everyone I know a spam, causing a huge embarrassment for me. Then there is a guy who has been stalking me on the internet forums. Even though I hardly know him other than from some tit-a-tat sessions on these boards, he used that spam mail against me on a website I regularly write for which has no connection to him at all. The anonymity gives you carte blanche to be whatever on the internetz, and it always ends up on the naughty side. The films tell you a lot about yourself- your darkest, dirtiest desires, Zizek informs us with his unmistakable thick Eastern European accent and wildly gesticulating hands. Now this is my kind of entertainment!