While I was visiting Youtube the other day, I came across a clip from a Family Guy episode that relates to Lacan’s theory of drive and desire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzK1aq5P6yw
Lacan suggested that there is a distinction between the goal and the aim, the former referring to the final destination, and the latter being what we intend to do in order to reach that goal. The purpose of drive is not to arrive at its goal, but to endlessly reproduce its aim; and the real sense of enjoyment lies in this constant repetition. Therefore, when we come too close to our goal (to the object of desire), our sense of enjoyment is reduced and we fall into a state of anxiety and confusion.
In this clip from Family Guy, the coyote finally manages to catch the roadrunner after trying for twenty years; his goal is ultimately reached, and the continuous reproduction of his aim comes to an end. Because he structured his life around capturing the roadrunner, this basically became his reality. Thus, when he finally reaches his goal his sense of enjoyment is lost, and reality as he knows it comes to an end. To cope with this loss of reality, he searches for new means of fulfillment, ultimately resorting to religious preaching.
Perhaps Seth Macfarlane was not thinking of Lacan when he wrote this parody, but I believe it is an example of the way human beings structure their reality around a particular aim whose ultimate purpose is to arrive at a goal; but once that goal is attained, the aim loses its function and reality –being shaped by the aim –disintegrates. This creates a dilemma: how can we possibly avoid a loss of reality if our reality is founded upon an aim that will ultimate result in this loss?
No comments:
Post a Comment