Lacan, Zizek and Foucault Watch “Prison Break”: (Psycho)Analysis of a Series
Abstract
Why is Prison Break so popular? This essay attempts to answer the question by referring to the ideas of Michel Foucault and Slavoj Zizek’s philosophy of film. Prison Break is analyzed accordingly to the Zizek’s motto, that fiction is more real than reality. The acceptance of this premise allows the author to see the structure of the storyline of the series as an illustration of Lacanian mechanisms of the subconscious. The author also juxtaposes the psychoanalytic recognitions with the history of prison as described by Foucault in Discipline and Punish. In this context Prison Break is seen as a fantasy on the possibility of escape of an individual from a panoptic power structure to the impossible freedom. Kozłowski finds Lacanian and Foucaultian approaches to be complimentary. Thanks to them the cause of the popularity of the series are recognized both at a micro (mechanism ruling the subconscious) and macro level (mechanisms that govern culture).
Keywords:
psychoanalysis, series, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, Slavoj ZizekReferences
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Authors
Jacek Kozłowskikwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
University of Warsaw Poland
Student w Instytucie Kultury Polskiej UW. Scenarzysta kabaretu politycznego Rozmowy w tłoku. Laureat drugiego miejsca w konkursie Kultura popularna w Polsce za esej antropologiczny „Matka Loska działająca”. Zajmuje siej interpretowaniem zjawisk kultury popularnej przez pryzmat psychoanalizy.
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Copyright (c) 2008 Jacek Kozłowski
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