Freud & Lacan
Lacan himself emphasized, “A return to Freud.”
At this stage, I have deeply considered Lacan’s theory of the three realms and Freud’s theory of the triadic personality, and I believe my direction of thought is correct. Therefore, I feel it is necessary to integrate their theories and project them into my work.
Id and the Real: Both represent that primal, chaotic realm, full of instinctual drives. It is the source of all psychological energy, following the pleasure principle and pursuing immediate gratification. The “impossible” quality of the Real corresponds to the predicament of the id’s impulses not being directly and fully satisfied in the real world. For Freud, the id focuses more on the biological levels of the sexual and death drives. For Lacan, the Real is more of a philosophical and linguistic concept. It is not merely a drive, but the “reality” lost before symbolization, the traumatic core. The Real is the “debiogenic” and “philosophical” transformation of the id concept.
Ego and the Imaginary: The core of both lies in “identification.” Freud’s ego is the executor of personality, regulating the id and the external world through the reality principle. Part of it is formed through identification with parents, etc. Lacan’s imaginary order, on the other hand, originates directly from the mirror stage, where the infant, through identification with the image in the mirror, forms a unified but essentially alienated “self.” This self is fundamentally a misidentification.
Superego and the Symbolic: The symbolic is the source of superlaw, but not only the superego; it is the order of language, law, culture, and social structures. It encompasses all explicit, objective rules (such as “you shouldn’t kill”). At this level, it corresponds to the ideal, moral, and conscience aspects of the superego. Lacan argues that the superego is actually the “perverted residue” or “corrupted backside” of the symbolic order’s law.
These theories laid the foundation for the core concept of my graduation project: to rediscover and understand the ego.
The two authors’ differing definitions of the ego prompted me to reflect on my work. Freud defined the ego as the physiological self-awareness generated by external stimuli, while Lacan defined it as acquired, alienated, and not authentic. In my graduation project, the ego is the protagonist—real, existing, controllable, and changeable. As the ego changes, it also influences the other two personalities, a process of instilling the subconscious. While this might seem to suggest idealism in my work, at this stage, I adhere to my own ideas, as I am the creator of this animation.
Character modeling
At this stage, I created the character’s hair and glasses. Regarding the glasses, I felt they could reflect some of the character’s personality and create a contrast with other elements in the animation. For the hair, I used Maya to create a modeled hairstyle, composed of individual polygons. I also conceived the character’s clothing. Adhering to my initial goal, I tried to use as little of the character’s appearance as possible to express her inner emotions. Considering the protagonist’s social status, I felt that a very ordinary set of home pajamas could encompass what I wanted to convey. Furthermore, ordinary pajamas would minimize the symbolism surrounding the protagonist, allowing the audience to better understand her inner feelings.