Experiencing an artwork or film in a cinema not only establishes a communal activity but also provides each viewer with a unique pleasure and experience. In the cinema, the screen acts as a mirror, allowing the audience, who enter the hall with unfulfilled desires, to immerse themselves in the turbulent sea of the film to attain their dreams. The psychological motivations of an artwork and the characters in a film that drive its dramatic structure penetrate the refined minds of the audience, creating a connection with the film’s viewers. In cinema, the psychological function of the mirror is defined by the reciprocal relationship between the subject and itself, having a dual impact on both the work and the audience.

Apart from its physical role of merely reflecting objects, a mirror can have other psychoanalytic functions such as identifying the self from its reflection (mirror image) while simultaneously distinguishing itself from this reflection, multiplying the subject in the mirror and the self, the rebirth and renewal of the character, the conscious reflection of the subject, the display of the subject’s unconscious as the other, the projection of the subject onto the world and into the future, the importance of reflection in the formation of self and self-awareness, the dialectic of the self with its reflection in the mirror or with the other, the alienation of the self from its reflection in the mirror, drawing the audience’s attention to details within the mirror, narcissism, and the feeling of unity and wholeness of the subject with its image.

In cinema, besides these roles, the mirror can be used to frame part of the image, create a visual form to establish a specific aesthetic, manipulate reality, and show augmented reality. One of the primary functions of unrealistic or deformed reflections is their use in horror films. Therefore, the use of a mirror and the display of the subject in it, which initially appears natural and then starts to change its state without the original subject changing, creates a suspension of reality. These are only some of the concepts that can be derived from the presence and function of the mirror. This scientific and artistic research thus explores the function of the mirror in the arts and aims to examine the work from the perspectives of both the artist and the audience.

Rahim Sadr
2019