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Jacques Lacan is a psychoanalyst who focuses on this concept of 'lack'. Lack is the area in our lives that we try to substitute and fill with objects, people, or activities. Lacan explains that we are born into a state of lack, because it begins when we are separated from the mother at birth. When we are in the womb we feel complete and after birth we miss that feeling of completeness and try to substitute it for the rest of our lives. Lacan explains that when we are young and see ourselves in the mirror for the first time we see a fantasy of ourselves that is able to have control over ourselves and we form a new area of lack in our lives where we strive to be the fantasy in the mirror. This is called the mirror stage. Misidentification is an important part of the mirror stage, it's the process of trying to use substitutes to create the identity we see in the mirror. This whole process never ends either, throughout life there will always be something that we are lacking and will try to substitute. Lacan also discusses how Language can be used to reinforce our misidentification. By having others talk about what they identify themselves with makes the fantasy feel real.The Oedipus complex is an idea from Freud that Lacan transforms into a more general idea. This complex is when a child wants to be the mother’s center of attention, but it is the “imaginary phallus” that interrupts the mother’s attention and the child starts to try and become the imaginary phallus, which is the mother’s desire. This way the child can be the mother’s center of attention once more.
References:
Jacques Lacan by Sean Homer
Jacques Lacan by Johnathan Scott Lee
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture an Introduction by John Storey
References:
Jacques Lacan by Sean Homer
Jacques Lacan by Johnathan Scott Lee
Cultural Theory and Popular Culture an Introduction by John Storey