"THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is a Conservative Liberal Film" - Slavoj Žižek (2012) | TIFF REWIND

Recorded in 2012 at TIFF Lightbox, this wide-ranging conversation features philosopher and cultural theorist Slavoj Žižek in dialogue about cinema, ideology, psychoanalysis, and desire. Moving freely between Hitchcock, Hollywood blockbusters, pornography, and political myth-making, Žižek unpacks how film form itself produces ideology - often in contradiction to its explicit message. From Titanic and Vertigo to Spielberg, Nolan, and beyond, this talk captures Žižek at his most provocative, funny, and incisive, arguing that cinema doesn’t just reflect what we believe, but teaches us how to want. Timestamps 00:00 – 02:45 Why Titanic needs the iceberg 02:45 – 05:27 Perversion vs. hysteria in cinema and politics 05:27 – 10:20 Hollywood as a machine that teaches us how to desire 10:20 – 14:19 Hitchcock, form, and ideology 14:19 – 21:12 Titanic as bourgeois myth and class fantasy 21:12 – 26:27 Spielberg, fathers, and ideological fantasy 26:27 – 30:37 When TV (24) is more honest than liberal cinema 30:37 – 36:22 Vertigo vs. Citizen Kane and formalism 36:22 – 43:54 Why Vertigo allows endless analysis 43:54 – 50:21 Cinema, Anxiety, and authentic emotion 50:21 – 52:11 Audience Q&A begins 52:11 – 58:11 Film as social control and “regulated transgression” For more about the Toronto International Film Festival and our year-round programming at TIFF Lightbox, visit http://tiff.net. Subscribe to watch more from TIFF:    / tiff   Want more TIFF? Find us here:   / tiff_net     / tiff_net     / tiff_net     / tiffnet  

Slavoj Žižek | Philomathean Annual Oration 2025
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek | Philomathean Annual Oration 2025

Slavoj Žižek: Trump is a liberal fetish
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek: Trump is a liberal fetish

The fascism expert at the heart of Palantir | If You're Listening | ABC NEWS In-depth
▶︎

The fascism expert at the heart of Palantir | If You're Listening | ABC NEWS In-depth

Slavoj Zizek: Lenin Was a Radical Opportunist
▶︎

Slavoj Zizek: Lenin Was a Radical Opportunist

Slavoj Žižek on Christian Atheism, Dawkins & why young people don't read anymore
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek on Christian Atheism, Dawkins & why young people don't read anymore

The sinister plot behind the far-right's shift on Israel | Norman Finkelstein interview
▶︎

The sinister plot behind the far-right's shift on Israel | Norman Finkelstein interview

Slavoj Žižek Visits Riot Studio to Discuss Faith, AI, Christianity, Love, and What Can Save Us
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek Visits Riot Studio to Discuss Faith, AI, Christianity, Love, and What Can Save Us

Is Donald Trump A 'Fascist'? | Slavoj Zizek And Piers Morgan Debate
▶︎

Is Donald Trump A 'Fascist'? | Slavoj Zizek And Piers Morgan Debate

Slavoj Zizek - Do We Need a Global Restructuring? [ENG AUDIO]
▶︎

Slavoj Zizek - Do We Need a Global Restructuring? [ENG AUDIO]

Slavoj Žižek, "The Real of the Capitalist Illusion"
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek, "The Real of the Capitalist Illusion"

Philosopher Slavoj Žižek on the re-election of Donald Trump & his fears for Western values
▶︎

Philosopher Slavoj Žižek on the re-election of Donald Trump & his fears for Western values

Slavoj Žižek: ‘Trump is an obscenity, Elon Musk lives like a communist’ | Prospect Podcast
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek: ‘Trump is an obscenity, Elon Musk lives like a communist’ | Prospect Podcast

Slavoj Zizek on the Bolsheviks' Red Terror
▶︎

Slavoj Zizek on the Bolsheviks' Red Terror

Slavoj Žižek,  Radical from Berlin, Babylon Exile
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek, Radical from Berlin, Babylon Exile

Slavoj Žižek: Quantum history
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek: Quantum history

It's time we killed reality | Slavoj Žižek and Hilary Lawson on Truth, Trump, and Nazis
▶︎

It's time we killed reality | Slavoj Žižek and Hilary Lawson on Truth, Trump, and Nazis

Down with ideology? Talk with Slavoj Žižek | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur
▶︎

Down with ideology? Talk with Slavoj Žižek | Sternstunde Philosophie | SRF Kultur

Slavoj Žižek: On Corbyn, the election, Brexit and fake news
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek: On Corbyn, the election, Brexit and fake news

Slavoj Žižek. Capitalism and its Threats. 2018
▶︎

Slavoj Žižek. Capitalism and its Threats. 2018

Slavoj Zizek's "THE PARALLAX OF LACK AND SURPLUS IN POLITICS" (LACK V, 2025)
▶︎

Slavoj Zizek's "THE PARALLAX OF LACK AND SURPLUS IN POLITICS" (LACK V, 2025)