Blog #6
Zizek describes ideology as “ glasses which distort our view of reality”. The video depicts a man walking through a city with glasses on that allow him to see the hidden reality. For example, the man sees a billboard advertising personal computers but when he puts the glasses on, the billboard reads “obey”. Zizek claims that there is dictatorship within democracy or an invisible order which sustains freedom. To fix these problems we must step out of ideology. He says that people gravitate toward this illusion because it is difficult to accept the pains of reality. In the common sense, ideology is “a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.(Oxford Dictionary)”
Zizek states the following: “When we think we escape it into our dreams, at that point we are within ideology”. He is saying the ideology represents an alternate reality. When we dream, we create an alternate reality which is an ideology. Zizek also states: “Ideology is our spontaneous relationship to our social world, how we perceive its meaning…” Ideology provides the social connection to economic and political theories within society. For example, the man comes across another billboard that shows a woman in a swimsuit. While in the social context she is attractive, it connects to the political theory of marriage and reproduction. In government, reproduction is economically favorable because it allows the economy to grow. This is the same reason why married people get tax deductions on their income while single people do not.
I think in many ways the American educational system is an ideology. It teaches us to be employees rather than business owners. High Schools and Colleges teach us skills employers look for rather encouraging entrepreneurship. This is because much of the health of our economy is dictated by employment rates. High employment rates are strongly correlated to the health of an economy and this is why the education system teaches us to be employees. It is important to remember that the public school system and colleges are heavily funded by the federal government. As a result schools have incentives to teach students skills politicians believe will be most beneficial to the economy. In the context of Zizek’s view of ideology, while society is told to get an education and work as an employee to be successful, the glasses say “maximizes employment rates to improve the economy”. If that is the case, why don’t we all become entrepreneurs? This is because the success of a business relies on the work of employees. Starting a business is risky while salaries provide financial security. 90% of starter businesses go bankrupt. If everyone quit their jobs to become entrepreneurs, the economy would collapse. What is best for the individual is not what is best for the nation and what is best for the nation is not what is best of the individual. While being an employee may not be best for the individual, it is best for the nation as a whole, that is why we have the education system we have today.
South America 