After watching Zizek’s lecture on Cultural Capitalism several times, I was finally able to get an idea of the message he is trying to convey. He talks about the idea or act of charity and how it has changed throughout the years. One of the things he said that really caught my attention was when he said that “the remedies are part of the disease”, so basically by dropping your change in the donation box after you make a purchase at a McDonald’s is really, like Zizek says, prolonging the problem.
I don’t consider my self a philanthropist but I donate once in a while. I don’t believe in giving change to a begger on the subway, but donating to an organization that is actually bring some change makes me believe that my donation is really going to help someone out there. But here comes Zizek with his ideas and absurd examples and you know what..THEY MAKE SENSE!, well at least to me they do. For those who have not yet seen the complete video more than 3 times …do it!, it’s going to be more clear the 4th time, besides you get to watch the really cool animation by RSA!!.
Juan David