the metaphor of the conjugal bed > 18/05/05

Is the marriage of binary opposites such as heaven and hell, male and female the reconciliation of (wo)man? Is the goal of (wo)man to reconcile with the man and the woman in her/him and thereby to take over the conjugal bed of his/her father and mother which in its turn brings forth the birth of something completely new, that is to say, their child? In other words, is the integrational process of these binary opposites and the child in becoming our coming into our own?

[ read more ]

response () tagged: fantasm :: oedipe filed under: speculating :: metapsychology :: the Other

human poverty > 22/04/05

Everywhere I look I come across, on the one, social narcissism, behaviourism, cognitive therapy, infomania and, on the other, anorexia, bulimia, people being burnt out and other bodies in disorder. That is, I come across both the symptoms and the effects of a society that has rid itself of its humanity. Instead of investing in human potential we rely on quick solutions and material welfare to cover up for the lack of faith in human resources. The result is meagre, poor in spirit, rich in bodily disorders.

response () tagged: filed under: the Other :: in the absence of the Other

The melodrama of Cape Fear > 16/03/05

In Cape Fear, we find “evil” in the character of Robert de Niro threatening the family romance by tempting its teen-age daughter with sin (sexuality, smoking dope etc.). He is the stranger, the threat from the outside that throws the hegemony of the family unit apart or besides itself in a diabolical way (diabolos means “throwing apart/aside”).

[ read more ]

response () tagged: patriarchy :: abomination filed under: the Other :: in the absence of the Other

communities > 28/05/04

What’s a community? is a question I’m asking myself after having spent a few months working at the local community center. The answer I arrive at is that a community by definition is fenced in by common ideals, goals, social structures etc that foreclose the other.

It’s not very different from the American ‘neighbourhood’ mentality - the world is no larger than your immediate surroundings - what goes beyond is a potential threat. God knows what’s waiting around the corner - a sociopath, a serial killer, a member of al-qaida, or simply yourself - and chaos.

response () tagged: patriarchy :: the other filed under: the Other :: in the absence of the Other