Just finished Plague of Fantasies and am now moving on to The Fragile Absolute. And throughout it all, I got so caught up in the ubiquitous applications of Jouissance, I have managed to neglect 2 of the most important points made in the book for my purposes:
One is Zizek’s concerning how the slave/master relationship can be sustained through the tolerance of small transgressions which comes in the form of the slave stealing Jouissance from and through the master. In this sense, the slave is given just enough of a taste of freedom to settle for the transgressions rather than the actual freedom of escape. We have seen this dynamic at work in the way that marijuana laws have been loosely enforced –except, of course, when it came to the minorities (those unfortunate others) who happened to supply it. Even back in the 70’s, pot was treated as a highly discouraged drug. Still, it was not uncommon for cops to just let it go (that is while taking your weed) and all was right with the world and system. It was as if we were allowed to do it according to unofficial law while being condemned officially.
But getting back to the slave/master dialectic, I now realize how much a part the dynamic played in what Malcolm X referred to as the house slave and how it has bled into contemporary culture. The house slave was one whose family was kept in the house and given privileges. This way, when one of the other slaves got uppity and talked about rebellion or escape, the house slave would be right there insisting that the consequences of doing so would be far worse than just accepting their present condition. But what we need to consider here is the role the house slave must have played in the phantasmic support of the social arrangement of the slave in offering possibility rather than real advantage. Imagine the slave thinking that if they work hard and conform enough, they too might one day be a house slave.
And isn’t it that very kind of possibility that Capitalism sells (that is as compared to real advantage) through reality TV: Who Wants to be a Millionaire, American Idol, Pimp My Ride, Extreme Home Makeovers, etc., etc.? In fact, does not so-called Reality TV (as well as U-tube) sell possibility in the inherent suggestion that anyone can be a star? Of course, outside of what marketers think they can sell, the catch is that you have to stay within the values of producer/consumer Capitalism. The only other alternative is an appearance on COPS or Jerry Springer which are basically whipping posts for minorities and white trash: those who do not stay within the confine of ideal producer/consumers. I mean what is Duck Dynasty but testament to the conservative values that have overtaken media –that is even though the right still insists on some kind of left wing Hollywood conspiracy.
Of course the well to do left need not despair. They can drink Starbucks lattes and watch Maher’s Real Time and Stewart’s The Daily Show. And while I do not question the integrity of Maher’s or Stewart’s leftist sentiments, I have to wonder if it isn’t just another example of a tolerable instance of the slave stealing Jouissance for the sake of the power relationship (between us and corporate power) as a whole. I mean the right to dissent can only be the appearance of freedom until it actually changes something that might not be in the interest of the status quo.
That said, will get to the second point on the next post.