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.
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/
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