[lbo-talk] How many earths

[Dennis Claxton]

I saw The Examined Life last night.  It's 
directed by Astra Taylor, who did Zizek! a couple 
years ago.  In this movie she and a small crew 
film a number of thinkers walking (in one case 
rowing) and talking about life and 
philosophy.  Zizek is in it and delivers a 
critique of environmentalism in a garbage 
dump.  He says we're not alienated enough from 
nature and that we need "a much more terrifying abstract materialism"

Another favorite line for me was from Avital 
Ronell, who I didn't know before this movie.  She 
says "If you have a good conscience, then you're worthless."

Here's a bit from an interview with Taylor:

http://www.nplusonemag.com/time-real

n+1: One transition that was particularly 
interesting was the one between Michael Hardt and Zizek, which goes from 

AT: "The beautiful better world" 

n+1: 

 to a garbage dump.

AT: The pan up to beautiful trees, revolutionary 
desire and this utopian ambition and then 
basically just plunging you back into trash and chaos.

n+1: At the same time, it does imbue a kind of 
grandeur or majesty to the trash Zizek is moving 
through. How did you find these locations?

AT: Zizek wanted to talk about ecology. I had 
been spending a lot of time in Tijuana for 
another project among people who live in a 
mountain of refuse which has now actually been 
shut down. It's an apocalyptic environment that I 
have an attraction/repulsion to. When Zizek said 
he wanted to talk about ecology I knew we needed 
a garbage dump. Then it was a matter of finding one in London where he was.