So, you’ve probably seen the Iniesta-Casillas commercial. The two of them pretend to be fans of random strangers and ask for autographs and photographs. On a basic level, it’s a tongue & cheek look at the roles we as fans play as compared to players. In following the academic trend of “gutchecks,” the immediate emotional response is a wry smile and perhaps a laugh. It’s nice to see these Spanish footballers off the pedestal. However, I’m not about to let this work of art escape the rigorous academic critique it deserves.

As a starting point, please have a copy of Zizek’s “The Sublime Object of  Ideology” handy. Why? Well, only Hegel and psychoanalysis can shed light on the deeper meanings and reaches of this “advertisement.” This film, ahem, actually reveals a fissure point that divides the idealistic concept of the “All” from the materialist notion of the “apparent All.” We derive pleasure from seeing it, but ultimately it revolves around the Freudian death drive’s attempt to grasp the totality of reality. Here’s how. Continue reading “Casillas, Iniesta, & A Transcendental Materialist Theory of Subjectivity” »