• American Studies
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.181-202
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• 2011

The purpose of this paper is to examine Paul Auster's Leviathan according to Slavoj Žižek's theory. Analyzing the characters in Leviathan, this paper chiefly discusses the postmodern subject's anxiety and obsessive repetition that the lack of the big Other led to. Section II explains the disintegration of the big Other and the subject's anxiety and obsessive repetition by the interpretation of the characters: Peter Aaron, Maria Turner, and Benjamin Sachs. Aaron wants to write on Sachs's life to overcome his uneasy subject's condition, and to establish the consistent and whole world. But his writing fails to meet his desire, owing to uncertainty of his understanding, and the incompleteness of his writing. In case of Maria, her uneasy subject's condition led to her obsessively repetitive picture-shooting herself and others, which proved to be a meaningless struggle for filling the void of the big Other and herself. Although Sachs already knows the lack and inconsistency of the big Other, he also repetitively tries to establish the consistent and whole Other. In Section III, this paper examines Sachs's terror as he struggles for the preservation of the big Other. His extreme striving also fails to reestablish the big Other as it loses its symbolic effectiveness in the postmodern era because he does not grasp the big Other as an empty Symbolic order, and rejects the premise of the big Other itself.

• Journal of English Language & Literature
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.565-588
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• 2012

This paper aims at reconsidering 'suture,' a key concept in early Lacanian film criticism, with a view to narrowing a supposed gap between early Lacanian and later Lacanian film criticism. Early Lacanian film theorists, among whom Jean-Pierre Oudart, Jean-Louis Baudry, Laura Mulvey and Daniel Dayan, to name a few, are prominent, focus on cinematic signifying system as well as its ideological effects on shaping subjectivity of the audience. Initiated by Jacques-Alain Miller's article on suture as the logic of signifier and grafted into film as the logic of the cinematic by Oudart's writing, the concept of suture was established as a key word in early Lacanian film criticism. In their taxonomy, suture refers to the processes by which the audience are stitched into the story-world of a film. The audience are drawn into the film and take up positions as subjects-within-the-film such that they make sense of and respond to what the film represents as they are encouraged to do so by the film itself. On the other hand, later Lacanian film critics, who are much influenced by Lacan's later emphasis on the Real, focus on concepts such as gaze, petit objet a, fantasy, rather than suture. They are more concerned with the failure of suture and the disruption of the Symbolic than the ideological effects of suture and the consolidation of the Symbolic. They require a break from the previous approach of Lacanian film theory which centers around the Imaginary and the Symbolic. However, early Lacanian and later Lacanian film theory do not manifest as much disparity as they are supposed to do, for both are against the ideological manipulation of suture. Slavoj Žižek, a leading scholar of later Lacanian psychoanalysis, revives the concept of suture as a patch of the Symbolic which covers the gap, if not always successful.

• English & American cultural studies
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.103-137
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• 2018

Harold Pinter's One for the Road(1984) is a play about violence. Nicholas, who appears to be the manager of a place, interrogates Victor, Nicky, and Victor's wife Gila in a room for one day from morning to night. There is no direct physical violence in this play. But hints about the atrocities that took place outside the stage make the audience guess the violence and cruelty. Violence, which is not seen as such, is the central theme of the play. One for the road is worth reading as a resistance to breaking the mirror of global ideology, not as it deals with violent events confined to Turkey. The problem which Pinter had in mind, in particular, is that the United States plays a leading role in producing world-class ideologies, and that Britain is involved in collusion with the United States in cultivating such ideological fantasies, both abroad and at home. This thesis analyzes the contrasting reactions of each character in the play based on this social context. In particular, the conflicting reactions of the characters on the system are the most important conflict in the drama. Nicolas is a manager who moves on the system without seeing the truth. Victor and his family, on the other hand, do not move within the same ideology as Nicholas. This paper will take a look at what their strategies of resistance is and how they are revealed in the work. In fact, Nicholas appears split. Nicholas seemingly reacted decisively to the interpellation of the system. He expresses his belief and respect for the legitimacy of his actions. However, he has repeatedly sought the respect and love of Victor. Nicholas is now swaying. The theme that Nicholas presents consciously by grabbing at his own sway is 'Patriotism.' But this fantasy splits through Victor's silence and death demands. Therefore, the questions to be answered are: So why does Nicolas appear to be torn apart in a system that directs violence? But why is he forced to assimilate into the system? What other figures imply? To answer these questions, this thesis will take Slavoj Zizek's view of ideology. On the other hand, there are previous studies that read the system of violence in One for the road from the Althusser's perspective. Surely, this play explores the role of Ideological State Apparatus. However, from the point of view of Althusser, it is not possible to read Nicholas's division and the point of resistance seen by Victor's family. Pinter does not limit the scope of the ideological system as a closed one that regenerates ideologies, but secures the domain of main body resistance and struggle. On the other hand, there are already several domestic theses that read Pinter's work in Zizek's perspective. But these theses are mainly focused on analysis of Mountain Language. What this thesis would suggest is that there is a potential for an ethical figure of Zizek to be considered in One for the Road.