JACQUES DERRIDA ON VCR
Jacques Derrida. Films for the Humanities and Sciences. Derrida Interviewed
at the Oxford Union on Amnesty International. About an hour. In English.
1996. Ursinus College Myrin Library Media Services.
CONTENTS
NOTE FROM THE JACKET OF THE VCR CASSETTE: "Jacques Derrida, the French
philosopher credited with launching the Deconstructionist movement, argues his
theories in this program. Derrida begins with a frank discussion on the
ethical problems of Deconstruction, especially in relation to human rights. He
argues that Deconstruction is not a dissolution of the subject; it is first
and foremost a historical or genealogical analysis of that subject and an
attempt to focus on a universal translation of it. Derrida points out that
Deconstruction is mainly an affirmation--it goes further and changes the nature
of the subject--and is neither 'reconstruction' nor 'destruction.'"
SELECTED SUMMARY NOTES ON THE TEXT
Derrida spoke before an audience of several hundred at Oxford. He was
interviewed by a major scholar (whose name has to be retrieved). Derrida joked
that he felt unprotected by a text and a lectern: he had agreed that the
format would be an informal question-and-answer, and he now somewhat regretted
that. He was robust and engaging in manner.
Derrida talked about the definition of nationalism. To speak in a national
tongue is to begin to assert power over others. It is necessary to speak in
several languages to maintain equilibrium. This is difficult.
He affirmed the legitimacy of Amnesty International, his hosts. That meant he
was affirming the importance of a nationalism which is linked to
internationalism.
He said Deconstruction is not intended to destroy the "subject." The subject
has a linguistic genealogy. It is not a permanent given; it evolves. We can
get at the subject by deconstructing the linguistic artifacts that make it up.
That is not to destroy it but to expand it, to bring it along.
He would not agree that he meant "reconstruction" rather than "deconstruction."
That was to say that he did not see himself putting something back together
again. Rather, he saw himself in a continuous process of examining the
subject linguistically and thereby continuing to develop it.
SIGNIFICANCE, EVALUATION, AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER WORK
What a jolly fellow. We will always remember the trembling with which a
colleague from another college once asked: "Do you have any--deconstructionists
on your campus?" He used the word as if it were synonymous with witches. If
he could see the benign demeanor and hear the reassuring tone of Derrida in
this film, he would perhaps feel better about deconstructionists. In a session
supporting Amnesty International, Derrida appeared to be a stout supporter of
liberal western values, not the devilish destroyer of popular repute.
He thus illustrated the potential for postmodernist thought to contribute
positively to the cultural critique of the contemporary situation. In THE
PROGRAMME, we see postmodernists diagnosing the negative consequences of
modernist culture and practice. We do not see the application of such insights as
deconstruction to be a nihilistic attack on civilization. It appears, rather,
as an attempt to find an accurate diagnosis of the problems. From an accurate
diagnosis can come the possibility of some initiatives for change. That is the
impression reinforced by Derrida in this film. He underscores the futility of
an attempt merely to "restore" "traditional values" as a solution to
contemporary panic, fragmentation, and incoherence. To find a solution, it is
necessary to know how we entered these conditions; we need to keep on
inscripting, looking to an ever-new definition of the subject. We have the
means to continue. There, ahead, lies whatever hope there is.
29 November 1996
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