Slavoj Zizek - "The Reality of the Virtual" (2003)

For those who found the documentary "Zizek!" spoiled by an excess of action sequences, there is now "Slavoj Zizek: The Reality of the Virtual," in which the Slovenian intellectual of the title sits in front of a camera and does nothing but talk. And talk. Shot by Ben Wright over the course of a single day, here is the apotheosis of the talking-head movie, made up entirely of seven long, static takes of Mr. Zizek seated in front of a bookshelf. His discourse is accompanied by a habitual repertory of twitches, spasms and uncontrolled perspiration, an alarming frenzy of exuberance that contributes to his reputation as a rock star of philosophy.

In this filmed lecture, Slavoj Zizek lucidly and compellingly reflects on belief - which takes him from Father Christmas to democracy - and on the various forms that belief takes, drawing on Lacanian categories of thought. In a radical dismissal of todays so called post-political era, he mobilizes the paradox of universal truth urging us to dare to enact the impossible. It is a characteristic virtuoso performance, moving promiscuously from subject to subject but keeping the larger argument in view. Based at Ljubliana University, Slavoj Zizek's main body of work includes Welcome to the Desert of the Real and, most recently, The Puppet and the Dwarf: The Perverse Core of Christianity.