The end of dissatisfaction? : Jacques Lacan and the emerging society of enjoyment / Todd McGowan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McGowan, Todd.

Series:

SUNY series in psychoanalysis and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Psychoanalysis and culture.

Lacan, Jacques, 1901-1981.

Lacan, Jacques.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (249 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Winner of the 2004 Gary Olson Award for best book in cultural theory presented by JACExploring the emergence of a societal imperative to enjoy ourselves, Todd McGowan builds on the work of such theorists as Jacques Lacan, Slavoj Zðizûek, Joan Copjec, and Theresa Brennan to argue that we are in the midst of a large-scale transformation—a shift from a society oriented around prohibition (i.e., the notion that one cannot just do as one pleases) to one oriented around enjoyment. McGowan identifies many of the social ills of American culture today as symptoms of this transformation: the sense of disconnection, the increase in aggression and violence, widespread cynicism, political apathy, incivility, and loss of meaning. Discussing these various symptoms, he examines various texts from film, literature, popular culture, and everyday life, including Toni Morrison's Paradise, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, and such films as Dead Poets Society and Trigger Effect. Paradoxically, The End of Dissatisfaction? shows how the American cultural obsession with enjoying ourselves actually makes it more difficult to do so.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

From Prohibition to Enjoyment

The Decline of Paternal Authority

Embracing the Image

Shrinking Distances

Interpretation under Duress

The Appeal of Cynicism

The Politics of Apathy

A Missing Public World

Explosions of Incivility, Aggressiveness, and Violence

Conclusion

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-232) and index.

ISBN:

9780791485712

0791485714

9781417575787

1417575786

OCLC:

62616411