Live, From New York, It's ... Slavoj Zizek?
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Facebook was instrumental in getting Betty White a job hosting Saturday Night Live, and now at least 1,600 people are hoping it will do the same for Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek.
The Facebook group "Get Slavoj Zizek To Host SNL" was started about a week ago. Its description reads: "Let's face it: Zizek is hilarious. The man will surely shine as host of Saturday Night Live."
Zizek is perhaps best known for his explorations of the theories of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. He has taught at the University of Chicago, the New School and Princeton, among others.
The Facebook group was founded by University of Wisconsin graduate student Alexander Hanna, who told Inside Higher Ed that he came up with the idea early one morning while IMing with a friend.
Hanna said he has high hopes for Zizek's possible guest spot:
While Hanna acknowledged that Žižek probably lacks Betty White's fan base, "there's some pie-in-the-sky vision I have of enough non-academics learning of the group to dig and find out who he is, then joining the group, leading to some kind of grand introduction of public intellectualism in the U.S."
The group's wall is abuzz with excitement, some cheering on Hanna and others contemplating what a Zizek-hosted episode of SNL would look like. One poster writes, "...isn't SNL supposed to be funny? I mean, Zizeck [sic] can be ironic, but i find myself listening to him only when I'm in need for validation of my crippling depression... He isn't exactly an entertainer."
But another sees merit in the pairing, saying that "SNL could do a lot with Lacanian Marxism."
Oh, and musical act suggestions? Lady Gaga or Slovenian group Laibach.
No word from Zizek on whether or not he's up to the task.
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First Posted: 05/24/10 09:09 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 05:35 PM ET