Parisian psychiatrist Jacques Lacan was a student and original interpreter of Freud's psychotherapy/psychoanalytic theory and was renowned for his ideas on relationships and how we view ourselves. He believed in the three orders of our reality: The Imaginary, The Symbolic and The Real. This classification system was his way of translating Freud's work for those confused by Psychotherapy's original idea's and how these relate with the self and others.
Overall Lacan believed that we are alone in our minds unable to express the feelings and emotions that make us what we are. To be forever misunderstood as individuals from our peers and loved ones much like Freud, Lacan saw our unconscious as being "structured like a language” within the essay "The Insistence of the Letter in the Unconscious" as our individual selves are coded and undecipherable to others as he linked this theory to Ferdinand de Saussure (linguist and philosopher) who identifies as the brain as being constructed by individual experiences.
Which explains how during our development our opinions on Identity, Relationships, Politics are constructed as we get older through our environment as we come to terms with The Imaginary, The Symbolic and The Real.
The Lack of Being as Lacan states relate to these foundations of Freud's work, the relation of lack however isn't the lack of something it is a fundamental emptiness within all of us as we are all unable to fill this void with distractions and false desires which we want for the sake of it.
PSYCHOTHERAPY - Jacques Lacan
The Imaginary Order
The Imaginary order is a narcissistic part of ourselves as humans as we create a fantasy image of ourselves and their object of desire and are intertwined with The Symbolic as they both are battling forces against The Reality. This relates to our Lack of Being as it creates a false goal and image for ourselves to occupy the innate emptiness within us.
500 Days of Summer (2009)
A common example in films of this is the romantic comedy meet-cute where two characters meet for the first time and fall in love/become attracted if not obsessed with each other.
As the film creates a fantasy of the protagonists love interest and makes the protagonist seem interesting to that character as they become an avatar for the audience.
Examples of Meet-Cutes:
Meeting Joe Black (1998)
In Meeting Joe Black we see these two characters meet in a coffee shop, we see the woman is curious about the man as she looks over at him as she overhears his conversation on the phone. The man seems charming as he approaches the woman and sits with her the chemistry between them is instantaneous as it showcases The Imaginary. The man seems perfect as he is a lawyer working for local charities as the object of her and our affection which is further enforced by the actor playing the man being Brad Pitt who is looked at as one of the most good looking male actors in Hollywood.
Big Fish (2003)
In Big Fish, we see in this scene the protagonist feel all time stop as he sees his perfect woman in the crowd the grandiose use of set design and special effects as time stops and starts again makes it a clear example of The Imaginary Order as she glows like an angel due to the use of digital added lighting and high key dream lighting as this is a fantasy invented by the character towards their object of affection which we also take on as an audience person.
Technical Analysis of The Imaginary in Big Fish (2003):
Mise en Scene:
Performance Ewan McGregor as Edward Bloom displays the Imaginary Order with his unearthly obsession as we see him stare at Sandra played by Alison Lohman as he looks sand narrates her as his dream woman as he embodies the Imaginary Order perfectly by projecting this image of himself and as her as perfect soul mates. Despite the fact, he doesn't even know who she is.
High-Key Lighting is also used to get this point across as it makes the image seem dreamlike, as this Lighting Technique is often used in films like Gladiator (2000) when Maximus dreams of his former farm home and its field where he imagines his dead loved ones. This symbolises the Imaginary Order as it once again showcases this illusion of the object of the desire for Edward for a character's dream/paradise which in this case is his self proclaimed destiny with Sandra.
The use of Costume in this seen with Edwards red shirt embodying the passion/desire he feel s before his object Sandra who also wears a blue dress symbolising her projected perfect innocent as the perfect woman in Edwards mind. This use of colour theory and bright colours in this scene also portray the Imaginary Order as it once again puts these characters in an almost fairy tale aesthetic as it is the Imaginary viewpoint from the onlooker (Edward) and the object of desire (Sandra).
The Non-Diegetic Sound of the Musical Score classical romantic music with its use of the Piano a classic romantic instrument showcased in films like Singing in the Rain (1952) and more recently La La Land (2016). Giving this the Imaginary effect depicted in a romance movie and especially in musicals furthers this idea of the Imaginary in these characters as we see them in the true fantasy of true love which does not exist the Lacan and this theory.
Camera:
The Composition in this scene of our two romantic love interests furthers the idea of The Imaginary with the framing of them in the Centre Frame they are the only interest of both characters as they are in the mind of the male protagonist Edward they only ones that matter in the scene so despite the chaotic surrounding by having them in the Centre Frame at Eye Level the audience also belives this idea of the ideal as we can't help but also just concentrate on these two lovers and belive the false illusion Lecan belives.
Closeups in the scene look intently at both Edward and Sandra as the use of these make us more invested as we see how Edward looks at her and it highlights the emotion/love within his eyes we cannot help but also fall under the guise of The Imaginary Order.
Editing:
C.G.I (Computer Generated Images) In the clip with the glow of Sandra added to the image in Post-Production makes her seem celestial as her bright contrast once again makes her the ideal object of desire that the onlooker, in this case, Edward sees in her as the "love of his life" as the Narration states.
Use of digital stilled objects added in Post-Production makes the whole seen stop in time other than Edward and Sandra conveying the idea of love at first sight which is another example of The Imaginary in our media and culture as the object of desire is first revealed to the individual.
Breakdown of The Imaginary in Film
If you want to breakdown the meet-cute and its many different structures check out this video by Studiobinder. Overall the Rom-Com movie represents The Imaginary perfectly as it shows the fake perfect selves of the protagonists with the ideal significant other we wish for and searches for as the object of our desire that does not exist in real life.
Writing a Meet Cute — From Eternal Sunshine to La La Land, Romeo to Scott Pilgrim by Studiobinder
The Rom-Com Formula, Explained by The Take
The Mirror Stage
The mirror stage is heavily linked with The Imaginary as it is when a young child between 6 to 18 months old who identify there own image or the ideal ego (part of ourselves that imposes concepts/ideal behaviours developed from parents and environments) by identifying themself in a reflection most commonly a mirror.
Lacan thought that this stage of childhood established the relationship between one's Ego and one's Imaginary Order as places of isolation, as he states "alienation is constitutive of the Imaginary order" this narcissistic as the Ego which keeps balance with ourselves and sustains our image of self-worth as we trick ourselves into believing a fantasy of what we are as individuals, once again linking back to Lack of Being as this false reflection created by our Ego and Imaginary Order makes us more comfortable and fulfilled.
In films, the Mirror Stage is heavily linked with ideas of self-identification as commonly we see characters look at themselves in the mirror. This can be for moments of change like when a character sees the horrible state they are in and makes an active change in their life like in Gone Girl (2014) cool girl monologue as she comes to terms with the despair/unhappiness of her life. Or it can be when a character looks into the inner demons of themselves like in Nightcrawler (2014) as he shatters the mirror of his own reflection we see how his carefully constructed persona comes apart with the slightest failure. The mirror in movies has and will continue to show us what the characters are if they are monsters or lost souls. Unlike the mirror stage reflections in films are true as we see the faults of our characters unfiltered including there inner lack of something which we can all relate to.
Black Swan (2010)
Throughout the film of Black Swan, we see the metaphorical Black Swan of the main character begin to invade and terrorise her as we see it represents her darkest self as her passion and obsession to perform her role in the ballet to the greatest of her ability becomes dangerous to her self and others. The mirror image represents the anxieties and fears of her as a ballerina and the body issues and negative hostile parts of the dance world came through the mirror to show the viewer the inner suffering of the character in the work field. Which also shows how she lacks the ability to be seen which is confirmed in the ending as by the time they notice she is suffering it is too late as The Imaginary fantasy self causes the real self to collapse.
Nightcrawler (2014)
The main character suffers a loss when a rival Nightcrawler steals a crime scene exclusive we see the protagonists carefully mannered professional shell collapse and shatter with the mirror as the inner damage and anti-social (sociopathic) behaviour of the character comes to the surface as we begin to see how dangerous this character is as after this point he starts committing the crimes he reports. Conveys the construction of this character's fantasy self from The Imaginary order and the lie that is this fake image.
Technical Analysis of Mirror Stage in Nightcrawler (2014):
Mise en Scene:
In this scene from Nightcrawler, the Performance of Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom depicts the Mirror Stage as we see him in this short clip transform from the business savvy level headed persona that Lou portrays in the film drop and as he stares into the mirror his Facial Expressions and Body Language change to almost ape-like as he angrily grabs the mirror and yells at it. Showing us the inner dangerous person hiding under the surface which showcases the mirror stage perfectly as he recognizes himself in the mirror but understands that this is the only place to keep his inner rage on the inside. But for a split moment, that persona drops and we see who he truly is.
Lous Costume of an un-done white button-up showcases the contrast between his surface-level business persona and the chaotic dangerous man underneath this with the use of Decor with the symbolic smashing of the mirror we see that Lou has now abandoned his false self and fully released the inner damaged man inside. Much like the mirror effect we don't understand the true Lou and fear of what he will do as like everybody else can never be fully understood by anyone. As Lecan explains in the mirror stage effect.
Camera:
Closeup of Lou contrasted with the false sense of Shot-Reverse-Shot due to the Composition centring on the mirror as we see him staring at his false self and growing frustrated and angry as he doesn't recognize himself as the person on the inside will never be fully known to the outside world as Lecan explains about this in the mirror effect that this scene clearly takes inspiration from.
Breakdown of The Mirror Stage in Film
This video breaks down when cinema uses mirrors and what it means in the narrative and how it affects the audience. As we see very different techniques to convey the Imaginary Order using the mirror in films.
When Movie Characters Come Face To Face With A Mirror by Fandor
This furthers Lacan's ideas of us all bing being misunderstood as we lack the ability to understand each other the mirror in films is a perfect metaphor for looking into a characters souls as it can show there guilt and sins, bear for the audience to see.
The Symbolic Order
The Symbolic is the world of communication and information about our society (law's, Taboo's, etc.). Can also be called the Big Other this is when a child learns to communicate and accepts the restrictions/rules of that society are they allowed to interact with others usually being able to communicate at 12 to 18 months and develops through varied stages through early adolescence.
However, the learning of how to communicate does not fulfil our lack and is just developed to get by in their society and allows us to talk and contact others in hopes of once again filling our emptiness with relationships which is where The Symbolic is most commonly seen in cinema.
This perfectly sums up The Symbolic and its relation to love as Lacan believed it to be a gesture from society moralities however it is false and impossible to communicate our true selves to one another much like Bjørn art piece which uses piano noises to cover the lectures audio thereby making it uncomprehensible we can not be understood by anyone and the Symbolic Order that establishes relationships is another thing to fill the Lack of Being in us all.
Love is an illusion of connection and is carried over through our lives via the process of Transference of Love (where love is decided by what that society determines it to be) and is carried over from childhood experiences like your parent's relationship causing those behaviours to repeat in that new relationship as the battle between the symbolic the imaginary causes love to never work or fill the Lack of Being.
In the film, the symbolic order is showcased through characters success or unsuccessful attempts of communicating with characters in dialogue or the movie itself narrative breaks down and analyse how we communicate.
Examples of Films about Communication/The Symbolic Order:
Arrival (2016)
The plot of Arrival is a clear example of a Symbolic Order narrative as it's plot is about figuring out how to communicate between a newly landed intelligent alien race, as our main character tries to figure out how to decipher their language as a professional in that field and how the symbols and words we use are just concerts created by our society. Despite how these creatures communicate may seem hostile in actuality are concepts are just made up ways of communication that has to be figured out just how Lacan explains the Symbolic Order.
This video by The Take breaks down how Arrival talks about how we communicate through filmmaking techniques.
Arrival Movie's Language: Talking in Circles by The Take
Adaptation (2002)
The plot of adaptation is about storytelling and this relates to The Symbolic as it analyses how we communicate through filmmaking as it breaks down the narrative structure and how writer and filmmakers create meaning about there own personal experiences and beliefs however like all work by Chalie Kaufman it ultimately showcases the pointlessness of these stories as they have only one purpose to distract us from the emptiness of ourselves from the Lack of Being that Lacan believed in.
This video breaks down the narrative structure of adaptation as it looks at the issues of being a screenwriter and how the writer struggles to write those stories through film techniques.
Adaptation by Lessons from the Screenplay
Technical Analysis of The Symbolic in The Don Jon (2013):
Mise en Scene:
The Performance of Joseph Gordan-Levett as Don Jon showcases the Symbolic order as we how he acts around his friend Bobby played by Rob Brown as a prime example of a bro archetype as its clear he showcases very synthetic ideas of women and their attractiveness with Bobby. However, he changes his Tone and Dialogue/Maneursms changes in his Performance slightly when speaking to Scarlett Johansson as Barbara as he is trying to get her to go out with him again. This display the idea of The Symbolic as we see how Jon communicates is a way he navigates around those he talks to changing himself around those conveying Lecans ideas of this being a false front to navigate society.
The Lighting of the scene also displays The Symbolic with how it changes when talking to his friend vs to when talking to a love interest, Low-Key to High-Key showcasing how this aspect of the self changes to better fit with the environment as don Jon when with his friend Bobby symbolised by the Low-Key Lighting shows how he can open up about me inner desires while with Barbara the High-Key lighting showcases the false language and society transaction of language in order to get her to sleep with him.
Camera:
The use of Cinematography also demonstrates The Symbolic as we see how the Shot Composition between Jon and Bobby which utilises a simple use of Medium Shots and Closeups to convey they are close and are both friends with the amount of intimate conversation they share as Bobby gives Jon advice while the Shot Composition with Barbara that level of intimacy with Closeups as to be earned outlining how The Symbolic represents how we communicate with each other in day to day life and how these friendships have to be earned and in this scene Jon is trying to earn this intimacy with Barbra by portraying a false image of himself highlighting the fakeness that is the Symbolic and how it is an ultimately useless gesture to navigate through the day to day and nothing more. And when the Shot ends on a Close-up o Barbara we know Jon has one this game of fake intimacy to get what he really wants, sex.
The Real Order
The Real is the being of which we are severed when we learn to communicate via language. However, it also means its a state of only need a primal state of pure survival.
The state of being also known as the infinite is our state before consciousness before we develop before we exist, the counterpoint to The Symbolic which is a learned experience while The Real is unlearnt as we learn to exist. The closest we get to this stage is when we are newly born when we seek food for survival, etc.
The Real in films is represented as the horror/the darkness which can also be an allegory for death which is just returning to this previous unlearnt state. It can also be argued that chaos and the collapse/destruction of society and law for The Symbolic representing the fall communication and morality. The loss of a character's dream as they lose confidence and self-worth is clearly from The Imaginary as they are destroyed by The Real as we return to a feral animal more natural state of being. In an attempt to fill the void caused by our Lack of Being but ultimately the destruction of these illusions and laws of morality will not cause us to feel any more fulfilled.
Examples of The Real in Films:
Lights Out (2016)
In lights out The Real is represented by the darkness and the monster within it as it seeks to destroy and kill the characters by dragging them into the dark, returning them into that state before death/the infinity through the natural and artificial lighting with harsh shadows and how they need to see and experience the world through light is the ultimate way to defeat this enemy.
Fight Club (1999)
Fight Clubs enemy is returning society to The Real a primal state of existence as it destroys The Symbolic through the destruction of credit card companies meaning currency will be made inert and capitalism consumption/way of life will fall apart. This also destroys The Imaginary fantasy as the reality of Tyler Durden true form is revealed and their rebellion is shown for the horrific terrorist group that it is.
Technical Analysis of The Real Order in Fight Club (1999):
Mise en Scene:
Lighting in this scene expresses The Real Order with its use of Low-Key Lighting which conveys the void in which we see these characters want to return as we see them look down on the life the other orders The Symbolic and The Imaginary express and maintain have over there world and how they look down on it from the setting being a literal skyscraper as they literally look down on them from the Setting.
The Black Costumes of the character especially Tyler Durtons Space Monkies express there desire to return to this state as they are decorated in the Colour Black commonly associated to the void the place the real exists before are exsitence the place they wish to return by destroying the symbols of The Symbolic and The Imaginary.
The Non-Diegetic Music of Where is My Mind by The Pixies also links this scene to the void as the lyrics literally asking for what is our existence as human being and questions how the orders of The Symbolic and The Imaginary distract us from our most natural state of existence that the characters want to return, the primal state as Lacan would say.
Camera:
The Close-Up on holding hands of Marla and The Narrator/Tyler Durden expresses the want to return to this primal state of survival for our characters as the imagery of a man and a woman as the world burns represent Adam and Eve as humanity can once again start again absent of the social born Orders of The Symbolic and The Imaginary. The Composition of both of them centred in the frame as we see the buildings explode shows how they are returning to a time before the rules of society mattered, our most natural state.
Editing:
C.G.I (Computer Generated Image) of the buildings falling away symbolises through images the friction between the Real and The Imaginary represented by the bank's storage records blowing up meaning the dream of capitalism is destroyed allowing America to return to the state of The Real, without the fakeness of modern-day life. The clip hides in its Editing the image of Male genitals which also expresses are more primal desires of the Real State to breed to eat to survive, and more specifically how men relate to this idea more and more as traditional rules of The Symbolic and The Imaginary for men are constantly challenged and broken down as society becomes more open to new ideas and strays further from are animal/natural state of the previous excitence.
The Expression of Lack in The Lobster (2015) Sequence
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos this sequence is from The Lobster (2015), set in a dystopian future where if you do not find a significant other and couple up with them you will be turned into an animal this scene takes place halfway through the film where our main character has decided to couple with the emotionless psychopath by pretending to exhibit similar anti-social personality behaviours. This scene showcases Lacan's Theory of Lack through Cinematic Techniques as we see him act maliciously to the woman who is screaming in pain after attempting suicide to earn the Heartless Woman's affection.
The scene showcases Lack of Being via the use of the three orders The Imaginary, The Symbolic and The Real which are broken down by the film techniques.
We see the world Lathimos creates in this scene from The Lobster is absent of The Symbolic as our characters Performances during the Dialogue between David and the Heartless Women during there interaction and even the Non-Diegetic Narration is deadpan and lacks the complexity and politeness we usually display in normal conversation as it sounds almost robotic. This is further proven by the Heartless Women's reaction to the Biscuit Woman's suicide attempt, as the Biscuit Woman screams in agony as she lays on the ground after jumping from her bedroom window. The Heartless Woman just stares from her chair as she drinks her tea, this lack of morality from her showcases the Film from Lack of Being as the woman acts more like a machine than a person with morality/moral compass.
The Imaginary in this film is showcased through the character's perception of a couple on a tennis court as he looks at them he realizes he is willing to do anything to get into a couple showcased through the use of Camera and Editing Techniques as the Camera uses a Zooming Len's to Zoom Into an Over the Shoulder Shot as he looks at them this is when he has decided to try and couple up with the Heartless Woman. This perfectly shows the Imaginary Order as it's clearly artificial and fake like Lacan said as he has constructed feeling for her as he talks about how he likes her "short hair" and invents a fake self to woe her by acting as cold as she does to the biscuit woman's suicide.
Lanthimos is committing on the fakeness of relationships and Lacan's lack of being clearly being presented as the character of David is trying to use the Heartless Woman to fill the gap within himself that he thinks a relationship will fill.
The Real is represented by the Diegetic Sound of the screams of the biscuit lady as well as the High Angle Long Shots of her face down in agony on the pathway of the hotel. The use of her screams creates an ever-present fear David has about being returned to the state before life to a primal life of only need which is what will happen if he fails to find a partner and is turned into an animal. The biscuit lady being isolated by these Longshots in the Cinematography indicates Davids fears of being alone which is why he immediately disregards her when talking to the Heartless Woman along with the grey Colour pallet the environment and tone of this scene are that of lack as the characters lack fulfilment and the symbolic Order of normal conversation forcing them to ish and hope for the Imaginary making them robotic machines that are still unfulfilled due to the lie Davids must tell about his feeling toward the Heartless Woman to become a couple with her.
Overall this scene from the Lobster clearly shows the expression of Lack with its use of the three orders of Lacan using cinematic Techniques like Mise en Scene (Sound, Performace, etc.) and Cinematography as the character of David lies to himself and others like the Imaginary Order to fill the emptiness within himself from lack of being and fears of The Natural that the biscuit lady reminds him of.
My Own Example of using Lack of Being/The Imaginary Obsession (4 Hour Film Challenge)
I think I achieved making my film a clear inspiration of obsession from The Imaginary Order by Lacan however, I feel I could have made more of an effort to use the other factors in my filmmaking techniques but overall I think my use of music and cinematographer made it seem like I was as Lacan would say using the literal object of the mask as a metaphor for The Imaginary object of affection.
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