Alexandre Dumas, père

Jacques Lacan’s theory of development explains how infants mature psychologically. The stages of his concept include the Imaginary, the Mirror, and the Symbolic. The first is where children begin to understand control. Babies learn to manipulate their environment as an extension of their own base needs and desires. There is no separation between the baby and the outside world. Following the discovery of control, infants undergo the Mirror stage, where they learn to recognize their own image…

Lacanian theory is controversial almost everywhere it goes. Agree or disagree, there is no shortage of discussion on the validity of Lacan’s work. His concept of the “mirror stage” (or phase) is one of the most significant theories in film study. However, the theory itself opens some interesting doors in terms of its definition. In an age where self-definition has become more important than ever, it must be discussed that Lacan’s mirror phase is no longer just one moment in the development of…