“Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek: Summary and Critique

Introduction: “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

“Looking Awry” by Slavoj Žižek first appeared in the October journal, published by MIT Press in Autumn 1989 (Vol. 50, pp. 30-55). This seminal work engages with psychoanalytic and cultural theory, employing Jacques Lacan’s concepts to unravel the interplay of fantasy, reality, and the gaze. Žižek explores how art, literature, and cinema construct spaces for projecting desires and anxieties, anchoring his analysis in the Lacanian distinction between reality and fantasy. The essay’s rich intertextual approach uses Shakespeare, Hitchcock, and Freud to illustrate the anamorphic distortions of perception, particularly how desire retroactively creates its own cause. “Looking Awry” is pivotal in literary and cultural theory, reshaping the understanding of narrative, spectatorship, and the elusive object of desire, known as the objet petit a. Its relevance endures as a cornerstone for interdisciplinary studies across psychoanalysis, film theory, and philosophy, offering tools to interrogate the subjective lens through which reality is perceived and reconstructed.

Summary of “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

• Fantasy Space as a Projection Surface
  Žižek explores the concept of fantasy spaces, such as the “black house” in Patricia Highsmith’s story, as empty screens for the projection of desires. These spaces are filled with nostalgic and mythic elements, serving as the stage for personal fantasies (Žižek, 1989, p. 32). When confronted with reality, as seen with the young engineer’s intrusion, the destruction of fantasy provokes violent reactions due to the annulment of a space for desire (Žižek, 1989, p. 33).
• The Anamorphic Perspective
  The essay uses anamorphosis to explain how desire shapes perception. When viewed directly, objects may appear trivial, but when looked at “awry,” they reveal hidden significance. Žižek relates this to Lacanian theory, where the objet petit a (the object-cause of desire) emerges through a distorted gaze, revealing that desire retroactively constructs its object (Žižek, 1989, p. 34-36).
• Pornography and the Loss of the Sublime Gaze
  Žižek critiques pornography for its “objective” depiction, arguing that it eliminates the sublime gaze, reducing objects to mere explicit displays. This results in desublimation, where the viewer becomes the object of the image’s gaze, disrupting the balance of representation and desire (Žižek, 1989, p. 36-38).
• Nostalgia and the Gaze of the Other
  Nostalgia films like Shane or Body Heat exemplify how fascination emerges from a mythical gaze of a past viewer. This gaze imbues contemporary experiences with a sense of historical longing, effectively bridging past and present perceptions (Žižek, 1989, p. 40-43).
• Hitchcockian Montage and the Gaze
  Žižek examines Hitchcock’s films, identifying moments where montage creates a surplus effect—a “gaze” that escapes symbolic integration. For example, in Strangers on a Train, a character’s fixed gaze disrupts visual harmony, marking a spot of unease (Žižek, 1989, p. 45-47).
• The Femme Fatale and Non-Existence of “Woman”
  The femme fatale in film noir symbolizes the Lacanian notion that “Woman does not exist” as a cohesive entity but functions as the symptom of male fantasy. Her power disintegrates into inconsistency during moments of hysterical breakdown, yet this collapse also signifies her as a subject fully embracing the death drive (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).
• The Death Drive in Hitchcock’s Sabotage
  In a key scene, Žižek interprets Sylvia Sidney’s murder of Oscar Homolka as an overlap of conflicting desires. The murder unfolds through gestures of mutual acceptance of death, revealing Hitchcock’s intricate portrayal of the death drive as a shared desire, not an isolated act (Žižek, 1989, p. 49-50).
• Ethics and the Death Drive
  Žižek connects the acceptance of one’s fate, as seen in Carmen’s acknowledgment of death, to Lacanian ethics. By fully embracing the death drive, Carmen transitions from being an object of others’ fantasies to becoming a true subject (Žižek, 1989, p. 52-53).

Theoretical Terms/Concepts in “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

Term/Concept	Definition/Explanation	Context/Example from the Text
Fantasy Space	A symbolic “screen” where individuals project their desires, often embodying nostalgic or forbidden elements.	The “black house” in Highsmith’s story serves as a projection of the townsmen’s desires and nostalgia, becoming a symbolic space of fantasy until confronted by reality (Žižek, 1989, p. 32-33).
Objet Petit a	In Lacanian psychoanalysis, the object-cause of desire, which is retroactively posited by desire itself.	The “black house” exemplifies objet petit a as it gains significance only through the men’s distorted perceptions and desires (Žižek, 1989, p. 34-36).
Anamorphosis	A perspective-dependent distortion where an object reveals its true meaning only when viewed from a specific angle.	The “distorted” gaze allows objects like Holbein’s The Ambassadors or the Queen’s grief in Richard II to assume a distinct form when looked at “awry” (Žižek, 1989, p. 34).
Sublime Gaze	A gaze that transcends the ordinary, imbuing an object with fascination or desire; often contrasted with a desublimated, “flat” representation.	Pornography eliminates the sublime gaze by “showing everything,” thus reducing the viewer to a passive object (Žižek, 1989, p. 36-38).
Desublimation	The process of stripping an object of its mystical or symbolic allure by revealing it in overly explicit terms.	In pornography, the attempt to “show everything” undermines the sublime by reducing the experience to vulgar explicitness (Žižek, 1989, p. 38).
Nostalgia	A longing for an idealized past, often mediated through the imagined gaze of a mythical “naive” spectator.	Films like Body Heat and Shane evoke nostalgia by framing the present through the perspective of a mythic past (Žižek, 1989, p. 40-43).
Death Drive	A Freudian and Lacanian concept referring to a subconscious drive toward self-destruction or the pursuit of an unattainable “second death.”	Carmen’s acceptance of her imminent death in Peter Brook’s adaptation exemplifies the death drive, transforming her into a Lacanian subject (Žižek, 1989, p. 52-53).
The Gaze as Object	Lacan’s concept where the gaze is not simply an act of looking but also a point where the object “looks back” at the subject, destabilizing them.	Hitchcock’s films, such as Strangers on a Train, depict the unsettling “gaze” as an isolated spot that disrupts visual harmony and implicates the viewer (Žižek, 1989, p. 45-47).
Hysterical Breakdown	A state where a subject’s masks and roles collapse, revealing their fundamental inconsistency or lack of identity.	The femme fatale in film noir, such as Brigid O’Shaughnessy in The Maltese Falcon, disintegrates into a series of inconsistent masks during moments of crisis (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).
Symbolic Order	Lacan’s term for the structures and norms governing social reality, which are disrupted by fantasy or the intrusion of the Real.	The symbolic order frames the men’s view of the “black house,” while its exposure as a mere ruin collapses the structure of their shared fantasy (Žižek, 1989, p. 32-33).
The Real	A Lacanian concept denoting what resists symbolic representation, often manifesting as trauma or a “missing link” in experience.	The intermediate phase in the fantasy of “A Child Is Being Beaten” represents the Real, as it exists only as a constructed yet essential absence (Žižek, 1989, p. 50).
Montage	A cinematic technique where editing creates meaning by juxtaposing images, often revealing a “leftover” that escapes symbolic integration.	In Hitchcock’s Sabotage, montage highlights the gap between Oscar’s gestures and Sylvia’s murderous intent, making visible their shared death drive (Žižek, 1989, p. 46-49).
Traversing the Fantasy	A process of confronting and moving beyond the symbolic structures of fantasy to confront the Real.	The femme fatale’s breakdown and dissolution into inconsistency forces the detective to traverse his fantasy, facing the void behind her mask (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).

Contribution of “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek to Literary Theory/Theories

1. Psychoanalytic Theory (Lacanian Framework)

• Expansion of Lacan’s Concepts in Literary Analysis: Žižek applies Lacan’s theories, such as objet petit a and the gaze, to literature and film, emphasizing how desires are structured by symbolic and imaginary frameworks (Žižek, 1989, p. 34-36).
• Interplay Between the Symbolic, Imaginary, and Real: The text demonstrates how the Real intrudes into symbolic narratives, disrupting fantasy and creating meaning through gaps, applicable to the analysis of texts like Richard II (Žižek, 1989, p. 50).
• Traversing the Fantasy: Introduces the concept of “traversing the fantasy” to interpret characters confronting the void of the Real, a crucial method for analyzing character development and narrative resolutions (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).

2. Narrative Theory

• Fantasy Space and Narrative Structure: Žižek identifies how narratives use “empty spaces” like the “black house” to project desires and build tension, illustrating the psychological underpinnings of narrative drive (Žižek, 1989, p. 32-33).
• Montage as a Narrative Device: Highlights montage’s role in creating “cinematic reality,” providing a model for examining disjointed or nonlinear narrative structures in texts and films (Žižek, 1989, p. 46-47).

3. Film Theory and Visual Culture

• Anamorphosis and Perspective: Uses visual techniques like anamorphosis to explore how perspective shifts in films and literature reveal hidden meanings, influencing analyses of visual culture and narrative perspective (Žižek, 1989, p. 34-36).
• The Gaze and Spectatorship: Introduces the dynamic of the gaze, where the object looks back at the subject, revolutionizing the study of spectatorship and character-object relationships in films and texts (Žižek, 1989, p. 45-47).
• Pornography and Desublimation: Examines the “showing all” approach in pornography as a critical tool to discuss the limits of representation in texts and films (Žižek, 1989, p. 36-38).

4. Postmodernism and Cultural Critique

• Nostalgia and Postmodern Texts: Discusses nostalgia as a structural element in postmodern culture, connecting past and present to critique modern textual interpretations (Žižek, 1989, p. 40-41).
• The Subject and Fragmentation: Examines fragmented identities and masks (e.g., femme fatale in noir films), aligning with postmodern critiques of stable subjectivity (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).

5. Feminist Theory and Gender Studies

• Deconstruction of the Femme Fatale: Reframes the femme fatale not as a simple threat to male stability but as a site of feminine subjectivity and the death drive, offering nuanced feminist readings (Žižek, 1989, p. 53-54).
• Gender and Desire: Explores gendered dynamics of desire through Lacanian terms, challenging traditional representations of male and female agency in literature and film (Žižek, 1989, p. 52-54).

6. Marxist Literary Criticism

• Desire and Capitalism: Links the Lacanian concept of surplus enjoyment (jouissance) with Marxist surplus value, framing desire as a driving force in both literary and economic structures (Žižek, 1989, p. 35).
• Ideology and the Real: Žižek examines how ideology operates within narratives by masking the traumatic Real, a critical lens for understanding power dynamics in texts (Žižek, 1989, p. 50).

7. Interdisciplinary Contributions

• Blending Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Art Theory: Integrates Lacanian psychoanalysis, Hegelian dialectics, and cultural criticism to provide a rich interdisciplinary approach to literary theory (Žižek, 1989, throughout the text).
• New Approach to Classical Texts: Reinterprets canonical works, such as Shakespeare’s Richard II and King Lear, through psychoanalytic and philosophical lenses, offering fresh insights into classical literature (Žižek, 1989, p. 34-35).

Examples of Critiques Through “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

Literary Work	Žižekian Framework	Key Analysis
Shakespeare’s Richard II	Anamorphosis and the Gaze	Explores the “second body” of the king as the symbolic locus of authority; Richard’s fall reveals the void of his symbolic identity (Žižek, 1989, p. 34).
Patricia Highsmith’s “Black House”	Fantasy Space and Desire	The mysterious house serves as a screen for collective projections of desire and nostalgia. When exposed as ordinary, the fantasy collapses (Žižek, 1989, p. 32-33).
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby	Desire and the Lacanian Real	Gatsby’s longing for Daisy represents the objet petit a, the unattainable cause of desire that drives his life yet collapses into void upon confrontation (Žižek, 1989, p. 35).
Shakespeare’s King Lear	Surplus Enjoyment and the Real	The division of the kingdom unveils the traumatic Real of human relationships, with Lear’s suffering illustrating the collapse of symbolic structure (Žižek, 1989, p. 36).

Criticism Against “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

• Over-reliance on Lacanian Psychoanalysis
  Critics argue that Žižek’s reliance on Lacanian psychoanalysis can sometimes limit the scope of interpretation, as it filters diverse phenomena through a singular theoretical lens.
• Abstract and Esoteric Style
  Žižek’s dense and abstract writing style has been criticized as inaccessible to readers unfamiliar with Lacan, Freud, or Hegel, potentially alienating broader audiences.
• Lack of Engagement with Non-Western Texts
  The focus on Western literature, philosophy, and culture in Looking Awry has been critiqued for neglecting non-Western perspectives and contributions to similar discussions of fantasy, desire, and the gaze.
• Ambiguity in Concepts
  Some of Žižek’s key terms, such as objet petit a and anamorphosis, are considered underexplained in their specific applications, leaving readers to infer connections without sufficient clarity.
• Selective Application of Examples
  Critics note that Žižek often chooses examples that conveniently fit his theories, potentially ignoring counterexamples or alternative readings that might challenge his framework.
• Ideological Presuppositions
  Žižek’s Marxist-psychoanalytic underpinning has been critiqued for embedding ideological assumptions into his analyses, potentially limiting objective engagement with texts.
• Fragmentary Approach
  The text has been criticized for its fragmentary structure, as Žižek weaves together diverse topics without always achieving a cohesive or systematic argument.
• Dismissal of Alternative Theories
  Some scholars critique Žižek for not sufficiently engaging with alternative theoretical frameworks, such as phenomenology or cognitive literary theory, which might provide richer interpretations.

Representative Quotations from “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek with Explanation

Quotation	Explanation
“Looking awry upon your lord’s departure, finds shapes of grief more than himself to wail; which, looked on as it is, is nought but shadows of what is not.”	Žižek explains how perspective changes perception, using this quote to emphasize the difference between the literal view and the symbolic fantasy constructed through sorrow and desire.
“Desire ‘takes off’ when ‘something’ (its object-cause) embodies, gives positive existence to its ‘nothing,’ to its void.”	The paradox of desire, central to Lacanian psychoanalysis, is illustrated here. Žižek highlights how desire creates its own object, a “nothing” that is retroactively perceived as “something.”
“Pornography is thus just another variation on the paradox of Achilles and the tortoise.”	Žižek critiques the directness of pornography, arguing that by “showing all,” it misses the elusive and sublime qualities that remain concealed in non-explicit forms. This exemplifies the impossibility of fully attaining the object of desire.
“The unattainable/forbidden object approached but never reached by the ‘normal’ love story—the sexual act—exists only as concealed.”	Žižek critiques the narrative limits of representation, explaining how explicit portrayal (e.g., in pornography) loses the mystery and allure that concealed desire provides.
“The gaze qua object functions like a blot that blurs the transparency of the viewed image.”	This underscores the Lacanian concept of the gaze as disrupting subjective perception, emphasizing that vision is never purely objective but shaped by unconscious desires and the “real.”
“Montage is usually conceptualized as a way of producing from fragments of the real… an effect of ‘cinematic space.'”	Žižek discusses montage in cinema as a technique that generates a new reality from disparate fragments, producing a “surplus” that can reveal the unconscious dimensions of the cinematic experience.
“By purely formal manipulation, it succeeds in bestowing on an ordinary object the aura of anxiety and uneasiness.”	He highlights Hitchcock’s ability to transform mundane objects into symbols of tension and the uncanny, demonstrating how form can surpass content in creating meaning.
“The fantasy ideal of a perfect work of pornography would be precisely to preserve this impossible harmony.”	This reflects Žižek’s analysis of pornography’s failure to reconcile explicit depiction with narrative coherence, as achieving this balance undermines the essence of desire.
“The moment at which Oscar accepts her desire as his own, or… the moment at which Oscar is hysterized.”	Here, Žižek elaborates on the Lacanian notion of the hysteric’s desire, illustrating a dramatic scene where mutual recognition of desire leads to fatal consequences, a key moment in Hitchcockian narrative.
“Language redoubles ‘reality’ into itself and the void of the Thing that can be filled out only by an anamorphic gaze from aside.”	This sentence encapsulates Žižek’s understanding of how language and fantasy create a dual reality, one grounded in the symbolic and another distorted by the desiring gaze.

Suggested Readings: “Looking Awry” By Slavoj Žižek

1. Cohen, Tom. “Beyond ‘The Gaze’: Žižek, Hitchcock, and the American Sublime.” American Literary History, vol. 7, no. 2, 1995, pp. 350–78. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/489842. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
2. Žižek, Slavoj. “Looking Awry.” October, vol. 50, 1989, pp. 31–55. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/778856. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
3. Kurzweil, Edith. American Journal of Sociology, vol. 97, no. 6, 1992, pp. 1786–88. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2781574. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.
4. Elsaesser, Thomas. “Under Western Eyes: What Does Žižek Want? [1995].” European Cinema: Face to Face with Hollywood, Amsterdam University Press, 2005, pp. 342–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n11c.24. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.