This weekend I attended a showing of "Derrida", a
biographical documentary on the French philosopher,
Jaques Derrida, who is famous for
"deconstructionism".
A californian film crew follows Derrida as he gives
lectures, answers interviewers' questions and
discusses aspects of his life and philosophy. It's
not often that we in America get to see documentaries of famous living philosophers, so I was quite
enthusiastic about viewing this film.
Derrida observes towards the end of his film that
this documentary will have more to say about the
film crew than about him, Jacques Derrida, because it
will be the film crew to edit the shootings and decide
"which Jacques Derrida" is to be presented. If
that is indeed the case, then the movie tells us its
creators were young, inexperienced, not well-versed
in philosophy; they missed a golden opportunity to
meaningfully explore the life and philosophy of the
last great post-structuralist.
At regular intervals, difficult passages from
Derrida's writings flash on the screen, leaving us
little time to ponder them. Sound bytes dont work
well for Derrida! The interviewers questions are
haltingly broad, "What do you have to say on the
subject of love?", haltingly personal, "Tell us
about how you fell in love with your wife?", or
haltingly stupid, "which philosopher would you have
liked as a mother?". To his credit, Derrida either
refuses to answer such questions, or reformulates
them into intelligent ones. At one point Derrida begins to make interesting comments on the myth of "Narcissus" and "Echo", obviously alluding to the relationship between "source" and "simulacra", but the
interviwer fails to ask penetrating questions to draw him out on the matter.
After a family lunch, Derrida himself, turning the tables, asks an overly broad question of the interviewer: "What did you think of my
family?". "Il sont tres gentils, tres chaleureux" is the response. I wonder if the irony of this was lost
on Derrida and the film crew.
We see Derrida eat, get a haircut and meet
friends...a warm fuzzy to remind us that Gallic
philosophers are, after all, just like us. In
short,if Americans suddenly took more interest in the
lives of French philosophers than Britney Spears,
this film would be on "People" magazine's recommended
list. Tant pis.
-Thomas
===== "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."
"Money eats quality and shits out quantity" -William Burroughs
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