This book brings together two of the most influential thinkers in critical theory. By unmasking reality as contingent symbolic fiction, the authors argue, Foucauldian criticism has only deconstructed the world in different ways; the point, however, is 'to recognize the Real in what appears to be mere symbolic fiction' (Zizek) and to change it.

What can film tell us about enjoyment and sexual difference? Can cinematic fiction be more Real than reality? Fabio Vighi looks at Jacques Lacans theory of sexuality alongside some of the best-known works of European cinema, including films by Fellini, Truffaut, Antonioni and Bergman.

This book brings together two of the most influential thinkers in critical theory. By unmasking reality as contingent symbolic fiction, the authors argue, Foucauldian criticism has only deconstructed the world in different ways; the point, however, is 'to recognize the Real in what appears to be mere symbolic fiction' (Zizek) and to change it.

What can film tell us about enjoyment and sexual difference? Can cinematic fiction be more Real than reality? Fabio Vighi looks at Jacques Lacan's theory of sexuality alongside some of the best-known works of European cinema, including films by Fellini, Truffaut, Antonioni and Bergman.