The experience of the Yugoslav war and the rise of “irrational” violence in contemporary societies provides the theoretical and political context of this book, which uses Lacanian psychoanalysis as the basis for a renewal of the Marxist theory of ideology. The author’s analysis leads into a study of the figure of woman in modern art and ideology, including studies of
The Crying Game
and the films of David Lynch, and the links between violence and power/gender relations.