What is a mirror? The dictionary defines a mirror in its noun form as being a reflective surface, typically of glass coated with metal amalgam that reflects a clear image. In its verb form it means the action of a reflective surface to show the reflection of something. Let’s take a step back and unpack this definition. At its core, a mirror is simply a reflective surface, something that reflects an image, object, or person. This means that really anything that reflects, could be a mirror, from a spoon you’re eating with to a puddle you see when walking down the street. What really makes a mirror a mirror is really all in a name.
Mirrors were not always the large pieces of glass that you look at in the bathroom and say, “Damn, I Look Good” or where you have personal struggles to accept the body you see when you look at this glorified piece of glass. They took many other forms as the first mirrors were made from polished stones in ancient civilizations. The mirror has evolved since; in the Renaissance, mirrors were produced in places like Venice and Paris and were considered a luxury. Seeing mirrors in almost every public bathroom around now, it is hard to consider them as an exotic luxury. And jumping many years, with technological advances mirrors have become a part of our current society that often go unnoticed.
Now we have the question of how we both literally and figuratively build mirrors. Literally, the mirror is made by a process of spraying a thin layer of silver or aluminum on top of glass. Then it goes through the process of making a frame and other manufacturing and ultimately being sold to fuel the capitalist machine. Figuratively, we create the idea of a mirror. As a society, we construct the idea of a mirror, as glass amalgamated (amalgamation is a super long word to describe the process of combining two metals with mercury), ultimately framed and placed on walls. The last part of the definition is quite interesting to consider. The idea of reflecting a clear image is one that has many facets to unload. For some people, when they look in the mirror, they see a clear image of themselves and who they are. For others however, the image they see in the mirror does not express who they truly are, and can be cause for many problems with self and identity. Mirrors, in essence are a societal lie that create a culture of self-interest which, in turn, brings self-deprecation.