Applying Lacan's Theory: Bad Mom's Scene

Applying Lacan's theory to Bad Mom's: The PTA Meeting

Bad Mom's is a 2016 Comedy genre film directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, which focuses upon the plot "When three overworked and under-appreciated moms are pushed beyond their limits, they ditch their conventional responsibilities for a jolt of long overdue freedom, fun and comedic self-indulgence." (IMDB, 2018). In this particular scene, we see the characters of Gwendolyn James (the current PTA president) upholding an emergency PTA meeting to parents and carers of the school. We also see the other character of Amy Mitchell who has arrived late from a long day of work. I feel we can apply Lacan's theory significantly to this scene, whilst also arguing an opposing conformity of the theory. I will also be referring to Freudian's theory of 'the Self'.

The scene starts with an establishing shot of the school, followed by a shot of Gwendolyn James introducing the meeting. We can immediately see that within the mise-en scene, Gwendolyn is dressed professionally, wearing a full suit, with good posture and public speaker manerisms, she is also placed on a platform above the audience of other mothers. Her name is written in Gold, with the text shining behind her - the directors Lucas and Moore has evidently done this to portray how Gwendolyn is the 'perfect' mum, an ideal figure for other mums to look up to, this is further pushed forward in the next shot where we see the audience of mothers wearing casual clothing, looking substantially less professional than Gwendolyn. This can be also reinforced by the camera and lighting techniques, as Gwendolyn is well lit and considered in the 'spotlight', where as the other mothers are in the dark. Applying Lacan's theory into this, I believe the directors are portraying Gwendolyn as the perfect reflection of a mother, where as all of the other mums in the audience are the Ego, listening and engaging in how to become like her. The scene following this portrays the arrival of Amy Mitchell, who is portrayed to be distressed, due to her suit - similar to Gwendolyn's, being damaged, cut up & not worn in the professional manner. This creates a distinctive binary opposition between the two characters (arguably, including the other mothers on Amy's side) trying to reach up to the goal of the Super-ego (Gwendolyn) ). 

As the film is a comedy, we do have some comedic references and an exaggerative perception to the mothers stereotype "Farce is a type of comedy that uses absurd and highly improbable events in the plot. Situations are humorous because of their ludicrous and often ridiculous nature"(The Drama Teacher, 2018). The emergency meeting is held due to the annual bake sale, with banned ingredients being highlighted (and exaggerated). We hear Amy's character sigh with the line "you've got to be kidding me". This displays how the character is worn out with trying to conform with the super-ego, and the Id is becoming overpowering, as she sees the reflection to be unreachable. The other mothers in the audience are listening still as they are fixated on achieving the role of a perfect mother. The id eventually overpowers Amy's mind after she tells Gwendolyn that she will not be partaking in the bake sale 'police force' - although comedical, we see that Gwendolyn's social stance is much higher than Amy's due to the other mothers being shocked (with audible diegetic gasps, heard from the other mothers). I believe the directors focused upon this in order to portray Lacan's theory is supported in all ranges of adulthood, that relevantly, woman with children try to compete to be the perfect mum, they are shocked when Amy goes against this.

The technical codes help reinforce the application of Lacan in this scene, The angles in particularly and the lighting. The mum's aspiring to be Gwendolyn James are constantly in the dark and shot at a high angle, reinforcing they are lacking the 'perfection' and power Gwendolyn holds. Gwendolyn is also dressed in a suit where as the other mum's are wearing everyday casual wear, reinforcing my point of lack.

Bibliography:

IMDB, Accessed 6th December 2018, [online] - Bad Moms (2016) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651520/

The Drama Teacher, Accessed 6th December 2018, [online], - Farce - The Drama Teacher, https://thedramateacher.com/farce/

A Lacan Approach in Film - Theory

A Lacan Approach To Film: Theory

"Jacques-Marie-Émile Lacan was born in Paris on April 13 1901 to a family of solid catholic tradition". After studying psychiatry and medicine, he began to study and use his practices in psychiatric institutes. His work explores the perception upon how we see ourselves, crossing over with our ego (discussed in Freud's theory of 'The Self') and how we identify the perception up on ourself. "The idea of the "mirror stage" is an important early component in Lacan’s critical reinterpretation of the work of Freud. Drawing on work in physiology and animal psychology, Lacan proposes that human infants pass through a stage in which an external image of the body (reflected in a mirror, or represented to the infant through the mother or primary caregiver) produces a psychic response that gives rise to the mental representation of an 'I'." (Easthope, 1993).

The ideology of Lacan's theory represents the idea that we will never be fully satisfied with how we perceive ourselves. "But the important point is that this form situates the agency of the ego, before its social determination, in a fictional direction, which will always remain irreducible for the individual alone, or rather, which will only rejoin the coming-into-being dialectical synthesis by which he must resolve as I his discordance with his own reality." (CriticaLink, 2018). This, combined with further studies of both Lacan and Freud's theories can depict the stages in which we identify ourselves in. Before linguistics, a child is mainly focused upon their own desires compared to others (identifiable to the ID, in Freudian's theory). When a child looks at themselves for the first time in the mirror - that is when they will see the 'perfect' vision of themselves. This is developed in Lacan's theory as throughout their lifespan as they try to live up to the perfect image of what they saw from that very first stage. The idea of Lacan's theory to put it short is the 'lack of' / 'missing' aspect of their lifestyle, one of which depicts that someone will never be truly happy with the way they are. When a person may hit the elderly age, Lacan states that the need for perfection will start to fade, therefore the elderly are known to be calm and collected, often referred to narcissistic behaviour.

We see Lacan's theory in many cinematic genres, from drama's - examples being: body image, wealth etc. to Horror's, using a mirror to portray the isolation of a person - a reflection on who they are and where they come from. Lacan finds that within adulthood, part of our ego is influenced by the nature of Hollywood and success, having aspiration for the perfect lifestyle and expectations we are unable to hit.

Although relevant to some degree, Lacan's theory can be counter-argued. It can be said that self-desire, described by Freud is possible with no further lack. The lack is purely based upon our decisions on whether you do or don't but the ego will satisfy said 'lack' with a justification/compromise.

Bibliography:
Antony Easthope, 1993, Contemporary Film Theory - A Pearson Education Print on Demand Edition, Pearsons Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2JE, England

CriticaLink, Accessed 4th December 2018, [online] Lacan: The Mirror Stage, http://www.english.hawaii.edu/criticalink/lacan/