NZIFF Review: ‘The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology’

I’m not sure there’s such a thing as a stand-up philosopher, but if there was, Slavoj Zizek would be one. Here he turns his eye to the cinema, taking classic (and a few barely remembered) films and turning whatever we may have thought they were about on its head. And he does this cleverly, from within the films he’s using as examples.

He begins with the little known John Carpenter film, They Live, citing it as a ‘forgotten masterpiece of the Hollywood left’. From there he moves on at breakneck speed, analysing a slew of popular films from Jaws to Taxi Driver and even The Sound of Music to show how they reinforce or contradict popular and deep-seated ideologies.

Until I saw this film I’d never imagined there was a connection between the London riots, Coke commercials and a Nazi propaganda film, but Zizek has set me straight there!

I consider myself to be a fairly deep thinker when it comes to cinema, which is why I prefer films with substance and complex underlying themes. Yet in many cases here I struggled to follow Zizek’s train of thought. Partly this was due to the denseness of the material and Zizek’s thick accent. But those I managed to grasp were surprising, and often very funny as well.

The film’s editing work must be commended because it seamlessly joins the original movie footage with the recreations of that film’s set.

Overall I enjoyed this film, but I can’t help wishing it had been slightly shorter and the arguments slightly better articulated. I’m unsure if there was a consistent or solid ideology underlying the film as a whole. And given this was the subject, I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

6/10

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