La parete speculare e lo schermo del Reale

Abstract

Which is the libidinal status of the screen? How do screens involve spectator’s libidinal drives, addressing his own perception and his own desire? In the Acinema, Lyotard answers to this kind of questions, claiming that cinematographic screen follows two main and opposite operations. The first, according to representation, turns the screen into an orthopaedic mirror – as the one described by Lacan – providing insofar recognition of the subject in the projected image on the screen and consequent illusory pleasure. The second, according instead to an anti-representative principle, prevent spread drives from recognising themselves in the organic image of a subject, by showing the screen itself, as accomplishment of the desire of being disappointed. Are screen and mirror meant to be opposed in this dialectic relation? In this paper we will try to show, with Lacan and Merleau-Ponty’s thought, how relation between screen and mirror could be conceived according to the conceptual figure of the intertwining, the chiasm.

Keywords

• screen
• Acinema
• Lyotard
• Lacan
• orthopaedic mirror