The “mirror stage” (also called the “mirror phase”) is a developmental stage theorized by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Occurring between six and eighteen months, Lacan’s mirror stage is the process during which we understand ourselves as individuals, whole and distinct from the people around us, and begin taking active part in sign systems (language, culture, normative behavior, etc.). The mirror stage marks our entry into the realms of the Imaginary and the Symbolic and the development of the ego and the Subject — the “I.” Wallon's ideas about mirrors in infant development were distinctly non- Freudian and little-known until revived in modified form a few years later by Lacan. As Evans [2] writes, "Lacan used this observation as a springboard to develop an account of the development of human subjectivity that was inherently, though often implicitly, comparative in nature." Lacan attempted to link Wallon's ideas to Freudian psychoanalysis, but was met with indifference from the larger community of Freudian psychoanalysts. Richard Webster [1] explains how the "complex, and at times impenetrable paper ... appears to have made little or no lasting impression on the psychoanalysts who first heard it. It was not mentioned in Ernest Jones's brief account of the congress and received no public discussion." The mirror stage is a drama whose internal thrust is precipitated from insufficiency to anticipation – and which manufactures for the subject, caught up in the lure of spatial identification, the succession of phantasies that extends from a fragmented body-image to a form of its totality that I shall call orthopaedic – and, lastly, to the assumption of the armour of an alienating identity, which will mark with its rigid structure the subject’s entire mental development. ( Écrits: A Selection, 1966, [2020]) Reading Lacan's Écrits: From 'Signification of the Phallus' to 'Metaphor of the Subject' (2018) edited by Stijn Vanheule, Derek Hook, and Calum Neill

Jean-Louis Baudry first applied the mirror stage to movies in “Ideological Effects of the Basic Cinematographic Apparatus” (1970, [1974]). Reading the screen as a mirror for the self, Baudry argues that the cinema is “a sort of psychic apparatus of substitution” (1974). Baudry writes, While the Imaginary and the Symbolic work upon us before the mirror stage — we see images, we hear language, we experience culture — the mirror stage is our true entry into these realms as it leads us to construct our core senses of self (the ego and the Subject) which exist within those registers. There are a lot of STAGE6 rearview mirror copies and other poor quality products on the market.KN Planning is the exclusive distributor of STAGE6 in Japan. By the end of his career, Lacan understood the mirror stage as a structural paradigm rather than a literal moment in human development. This understanding of the mirror stage helps explain subject formation in cases where no reflection can be seen — such as with blind children, for example. The child’s experience of seeing its reflection is exemplary of the process of subject formation but not the sole cause. Construction of the ego and the Subject will still occur even if the child does not see its reflection; the child comes to understand itself as perceived by others and part of larger systems through other sources, such as verbal cues from parental figures.By critiquing Lacan and reinterpreting his ideas from a feminist perspective, feminist scholars have created a rich tradition of feminist psychoanalytic theory. For more, see our guide to psychoanalytic feminism, Sexuality in the Field of Vision (2020), and Toward a Feminist Lacanian Left (2022). Rösing, L. M. (2015) Pixar with Lacan: The Hysteric’s Guide to Animation. Bloomsbury. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/801202/pixar-with-lacan-the-hysterics-guide-to-animation-pdf

The mirror stage is a phenomenon to which I assign a twofold value. In the first place, it has historical value as it marks a decisive turning-point in the mental development of the child. In the second place, it typifies an essential libidinal relationship with the body image. (Lacan, Some reflections on the Ego, 1953) Evans, D. (2006) An Introductory Dictionary of Lacanian Psychoanalysis. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1620555/an-introductory-dictionary-of-lacanian-psychoanalysis-pdf Lacan and other structuralists developed theories based on Saussure’s semiology, or his theory of signs. In brief, a sign is the combination of a signifier and a signified. In language, the signifier is the sound-image (the word) and the signified is what it refers to, e.g., T-R-E-E signifies a large plant with roots, a trunk, branches, etc. But signs need not be linguistic; images, gestures, sounds, clothing, and more can all contain meaning and be part of sign systems.Lacan, J. (2020) Écrits: A Selection. Translated by A. Sheridan. Routledge. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1974298/ecrits-a-selection-pdf Building on semiology, Lacan proposes a theory of three registers of existence: the Real, the Imaginary, and the Symbolic. Broadly understood, the Real is reality unmediated by signs. There is no presence or absence; it is undifferentiated, unsymbolized, all-encompassing. The Real is impossible to fully understand or describe. Bailly writes, The styling department of Stage6 has taken the popular F1 mirrors, which have been offered by many manufacturers unchanged for years, as its main focus. The result is a contemporary redesign and quality upgrade. It is equipped with a conversion adapter for various types of vehicles so that it can be used for almost all types of vehicles.

Grosz, E. (2002) Jacques Lacan: A Feminist Introduction. Taylor and Francis. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1620222/jacques-lacan-a-feminist-introduction-pdf Leader, D. and Groves, J. (2014) Introducing Lacan: A Graphic Guide. Icon Books. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/569732/introducing-lacan-a-graphic-guide-pdfBailly, L. (2012) Lacan. Oneworld Publications. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/950010/lacan-a-beginners-guide-pdf Taking on the camera’s gaze, we piece the fragmented images on screen into a version of ourselves, echoing the mirror stage. For Baudry, ideology is conveyed through films via this process of identification. Homer, S. (2004) Jacques Lacan. Taylor and Francis. Available at: https://www.perlego.com/book/1618607/jacques-lacan-pdf While the mirror stage may seem to refer to a specific moment, it is more metaphorical than literal. By the end of his career, Lacan viewed the mirror stage as a paradigm or structure of subjectivity rather than a quantifiable moment in human development.