Jaques Lacan was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who has been known as "the most controversial psychoanalyst since Freud".
Lacan talked about the idea of 'lack', and that it causes desires to arise. The lack is similar to the ego described in Freud's theory. It involves the idea that as part of our human nature, we are never satisfied. We always have desires for particular items or goals in our lives, however, as soon as we achieve these we no longer desire them and instead desire something else, creating a vicious cycle. He said that we have an "ideal ego", which is the perfected version of ourselves which the ego strives to emulate.
Lacan also proposed the 'mirror stage', which occurs in infants between 6 and 18 months. The time when they first see themselves in a mirror is the moment they perceive a sense of the self. Before this, the child doesn't think of themself as an individual, but simply exists as a unified subject. At first Lacan described the mirror stage as just being a moment in time, but later regarded the stage as a permanent part of human psychology.
One example of Lacan's theory applied in film is seen in Whiplash, directed by Damien Chazelle. The movie portrays the protagonist, Andrew Neimann, becoming obsessed with the notion of being the greatest musician he can, fuelled by his toxic and abusive teacher. Andrew never seems to be satisfied with himself, representing the idea of the "lack", as he is constantly pushing himself further and further to try and be the best, but ultimately taking it too far to where it is clearly detrimental to his emotional and physical wellbeing.
In this scene, we see Andrew practicing the song 'Whiplash' on the drums, but in a very obsessive manner. the editing at the start of the scene is very fast paced: short close up shots are used with a shallow depth of field creating an intense atmosphere, portraying Neiman's focus and obsession. In one shot, a slow zoom out is used, creating a hypnotising effect. This is interspersed with shots of Andrew emptying out his bedroom, implying that he is stripping everything out of his life and will stop at nothing to achieve the "ideal ego" he wants. In one shot, he pauses and looks at his hand which is already injured from previously. He then reaches for a plaster, puts it on his hand and plays. This shows that he is choosing to hurt himself and will stop at nothing to satisfy the lack. The blood is a literal symbol of physical suffering, but also symbolises his emotional state. This is further reinforced by his facial expressions, which suggest he is torturing himself, making it hard to watch for the viewer. As he continues drumming the beat gets faster and the music crescendos, building up the tension and making it uncomfortable for the viewer.
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