Zizek, Kung Fu Panda, Berlusconi and Iran
Kung Fu Panda, the 2008 cartoon hit, provides the basic coordinates for understanding the ideological situation I have been describing. The fat panda dreams of becoming a kung fu warrior. He is chosen by blind chance (beneath which lurks the hand of destiny, of course), to be the hero to save his city, and succeeds. But the film’s pseudo-Oriental spiritualism is constantly undermined by a cynical humour. The surprise is that this continuous making-fun-of-itself makes it no less spiritual: the film ultimately takes the butt of its endless jokes seriously. … This is how ideology functions today: nobody takes democracy or justice seriously, we are all aware that they are corrupt, but we practise them anyway because we assume they work even if we don’t believe in them. Berlusconi is our own Kung Fu Panda.
- Slavoj Žižek. You’ll probably want some more context. Especially for that Berlusconi comparison. Check out the article this came from, entitled Berlusconi in Tehran.
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