Slavoj Žižek Analyzes Lacanian Thing in Cinema Through Tarkovsky and Science Fiction

In his exploration of Jacques Lacan's notion of the Thing in art, Slavoj Žižek delves into its representations in cinema. He analyzes the 1956 film The Forbidden Planet by Fred Wilcox, which showcases an Id-Machine that brings forth destructive urges. Additionally, Žižek discusses Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris, inspired by Stanislaw Lem's 1961 novel, where psychologist Kelvin encounters his deceased wife, Harey, on a planet that manifests human desires. Unlike the novel, Tarkovsky's adaptation introduces a fantastical resolution. Žižek also compares Solaris to Tarkovsky's Stalker, based on the 1972 work by the Strugatsky brothers, where a forbidden Zone nurtures desire. The article, published on April 1, 1999, by ARTMargins Online, critiques Tarkovsky's idealist mystification and references Judith Butler's insights on Hegelian dialectics.