Abstract
This article analyzes the relationship between subjectivity and ideology in a short film, Rapper Girl, produced by young women living in multiethnic Copenhagen, and develops the concept of the ‘RapX fantasy’. Through Jacques Rancière’s and Slavoj Žižek’s theoretical lenses, the article explores how the RapX fantasy produces subjectivity not only through young people’s political identity claims for ethnic, racial and gender equality, but also by offering a ‘solution’ to – by healing and concealing – the lack of equality in Western post-politics societies. In addition, the article shows how subjectivity within and in opposition to ideological hegemony in the film is driven by affects such as enjoyment and shame. The article argues that the RapX fantasy not only de-politicizes young people’s political struggle for equality across intersecting identity hierarchies, but also, through the commodification of ethnic otherness, (re)produces enjoyment in embodying a symptom of the lack of national social cohesion.
| Original language | Danish |
|---|---|
| Journal | Subjectivity: international journal of critical psychology |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 59-82 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| ISSN | 1755-6341 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2016 |