Zizek as comedian: jokes in the service of philosophy. A serious and good philosophical work
could be written consisting entirely of jokes.”—Ludwig Wittgenstein The good news is that this
book offers an entertaining but enlightening compilation of Zizekisms. Unlike any other book by
Slavoj Zizek this compact arrangement of jokes culled from his writings provides an index to
certain philosophical political and sexual themes that preoccupy him. Zizek's Jokes contains
the set-ups and punch lines—as well as the offenses and insults—that Zizek is famous for all
in less than 200 pages. So what's the bad news? There is no bad news. There's just the
inimitable Slavoj Zizek disguised as an impossibly erudite politically incorrect uncle
beginning a sentence There is an old Jewish joke loved by Derrida... For Zizek jokes are
amusing stories that offer a shortcut to philosophical insight. He illustrates the logic of the
Hegelian triad for example with three variations of the Not tonight dear I have a headache”
classic: first the wife claims a migraine then the husband does then the wife exclaims
Darling I have a terrible migraine so let's have some sex to refresh me!” A punch line about
a beer bottle provides a Lacanian lesson about one signifier. And a truly obscene” version of
the famous aristocrats” joke has the family offering a short course in Hegelian thought rather
than a display of unspeakables. Zizek's Jokes contains every joke cited paraphrased or
narrated in Zizek's work in English (including some in unpublished manuscripts) including
different versions of the same joke that make different points in different contexts. The
larger point being that comedy is central to Zizek's seriousness.
