Editing Mirror (section)

== Applications ==
[[File:Jekyll.and.Hyde.Ch10.Drawing2.jpg|thumb|upright|A cheval glass]]
[[File:mirror.globe.arp.500pix.jpg|thumb|upright|Reflections in a spherical convex mirror. The photographer is seen at top right.]]
[[File:In Car Micheal Fitzgerald Cork Racing.jpg|thumb|A side-mirror on a [[racing car]]]]
[[File:Memphis in Front of Me, Arkansas in Back of Me.jpg|thumb|Rear-view mirror]]


=== Personal grooming ===
Mirrors are commonly used as aids to [[personal grooming]].<ref name=schr1969/> They may range from small sizes (portable), to full body sized; they may be handheld, mobile, fixed or adjustable. A classic example of an adjustable mirror is the [[cheval glass]], which the user can tilt.

=== Safety and easier viewing ===
;Convex mirrors
[[File:-94wiki.jpg|thumb|A convex mirror in a [[parking garage]]]]
Convex mirrors provide a wider [[field of view]] than flat mirrors,<ref name=king2000/> and are often used on vehicles,<ref name=ushw1979/> especially large trucks, to minimize [[Blind spot (automobile)|blind spots]]. They are sometimes placed at [[road junction]]s, and at corners of sites such as [[parking lot]]s to allow people to see around corners to avoid crashing into other vehicles or [[shopping cart]]s. They are also sometimes used as part of security systems, so that a single [[video camera]] can show more than one [[angle]] at a time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why are Convex Mirrors Used in Shops  |url=https://www.insight-security.com/why-are-convex-mirrors-used-in-shops |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=insight-security.com}}</ref> Convex mirrors as decoration are used in interior design to provide a predominantly experiential effect.<ref name=charm2016/>

;[[Mouth mirror]]s or "dental mirrors"
:Dentists use mouth mirrors or "dental mirrors" to allow indirect vision and lighting within the mouth. Their reflective surfaces may be either flat or curved.<ref name=ande2000/> Mouth mirrors are also commonly used by [[mechanic]]s to allow vision in tight spaces and around corners in equipment.
;[[Rear-view mirror]]s
:Rear-view mirrors are widely used in and on vehicles (such as automobiles, or bicycles), to allow drivers to see other vehicles coming up behind them.<ref name=kali/> On rear-view sunglasses, the left end of the left glass and the right end of the right glass work as mirrors.

=== One-way mirrors and windows ===
{{Main|One-way mirror}}
;One-way mirrors
:One-way mirrors (also called two-way mirrors) work by overwhelming dim transmitted light with bright reflected light.<ref name=twow2012/> A true one-way mirror that actually allows light to be transmitted in one direction only without requiring external energy is not possible as it violates the [[second law of thermodynamics]].{{Citation needed|reason=A common-sense explanation is not sufficient. A source that discusses this more in depth is needed.|date=November 2015}}
;One-way windows
:One-way windows can be made to work with polarized light in the laboratory without violating the second law. This is an apparent paradox that stumped some great physicists, although it does not allow a practical one-way mirror for use in the real world.<ref name=mung1999/><ref name=rayle1901/> [[Faraday isolator|Optical isolators]] are one-way devices that are commonly used with lasers.

=== Signalling ===
{{Main|Heliograph}}
With the sun as the light source, a mirror can be used to signal by variations in the orientation of the mirror. The signal can be used over long distances, possibly up to {{convert|60|km}} on a clear day. [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] tribes and numerous [[military|militaries]] used this technique to transmit information between distant outposts.

Mirrors can also be used to attract the attention of [[search-and-rescue]] parties. Specialized types of mirrors are available and are often included in military [[survival kit]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fears|first=J. Wayne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tF2CDwAAQBAJ|title=The Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Short-Term Survival|date=14 February 2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-62636-680-0|language=en|quote=Most survival experts consider the signal mirror to be one of the best signal devices available.|access-date=25 August 2020|archive-date=18 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118083411/https://books.google.com/books?id=tF2CDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Technology ===

==== Televisions and projectors ====

Microscopic mirrors are a core element of many of the largest [[HDTV|high-definition]] televisions and [[video projector]]s. A common technology of this type is [[Texas Instruments]]' [[digital light processing|DLP]]. A DLP chip is a postage stamp-sized microchip whose surface is an array of millions of microscopic mirrors. The picture is created as the individual mirrors move to either reflect light toward the projection surface ([[pixel]] on), or toward a light-absorbing surface (pixel off).

Other projection technologies involving mirrors include [[LCoS]]. Like a DLP chip, LCoS is a microchip of similar size, but rather than millions of individual mirrors, there is a single mirror that is actively shielded by a [[liquid crystal]] matrix with up to millions of [[pixels]]. The picture, formed as light, is either reflected toward the projection surface (pixel on), or absorbed by the activated [[LCD]] pixels (pixel off). LCoS-based televisions and projectors often use 3 chips, one for each primary color.

Large mirrors are used in rear-projection televisions. Light (for example from a DLP as discussed above) is "folded" by one or more mirrors so that the television set is compact.

==== Optical discs ====
[[Optical disc]]s are modified mirrors which encode binary data as a series of physical pits and lands on an inner layer between the metal backing and outer plastic surface. The data is read and decoded by observing distortions in a reflected laser beam caused by the physical variations in the inner layer. Optical discs typically use aluminum backing like conventional mirrors, though ones with silver and [[Gold compact disc|gold]] backings also exist.

==== Solar power ====
[[File:Parabolic trough near Harper Lake in California front and back.jpg|thumb|Parabolic troughs near [[Harper Lake]] in [[California]]]]
Mirrors are integral parts of a [[solar power]] plant. The one shown in the adjacent picture uses [[concentrated solar power]] from an array of [[parabolic trough]]s.<ref name=pale2015/>

==== Instruments ====
{{See also|Mirror support cell}}
[[File:E-ELT mirror segments under test.jpg|thumb|[[E-ELT]] mirror segments under test]]
[[Telescope]]s and other precision instruments use ''front silvered'' or [[first surface mirrors]], where the reflecting surface is placed on the front (or first) surface of the glass (this eliminates reflection from glass surface ordinary back mirrors have). Some of them use silver, but most are aluminium, which is more reflective at short wavelengths than silver.
All of these coatings are easily damaged and require special handling.
They reflect 90% to 95% of the incident light when new.
The coatings are typically applied by [[vacuum deposition]].
A protective overcoat is usually applied before the mirror is removed from the vacuum, because the coating otherwise begins to corrode as soon as it is exposed to oxygen and humidity in air. ''Front silvered'' mirrors have to be resurfaced occasionally to maintain their quality. There are optical mirrors such as [[mangin mirror]]s that are ''second surface mirrors'' (reflective coating on the rear surface) as part of their optical designs, usually to correct [[optical aberration]]s.<ref name=boba2014/>

[[File:Super-thin Mirror Under Test at ESO.jpg|thumb|left|Deformable thin-shell mirror. It is 1120 millimetres across but just 2 millimetres thick, making it much thinner than most glass windows.<ref name=eso2013/>]]

The reflectivity of the mirror coating can be measured using a [[Spectrophotometer|reflectometer]] and for a particular metal it will be different for different wavelengths of light. This is exploited in some [[optical]] work to make [[cold mirror]]s and [[hot mirror]]s. A cold mirror is made by using a transparent substrate and choosing a coating material that is more reflective to visible light and more transmissive to [[infrared]] light.

A hot mirror is the opposite, the coating preferentially reflects infrared. Mirror surfaces are sometimes given thin film overcoatings both to retard degradation of the surface and to increase their reflectivity in parts of the spectrum where they will be used. For instance, aluminium mirrors are commonly coated with silicon dioxide or magnesium fluoride. The reflectivity as a function of wavelength depends on both the thickness of the coating and on how it is applied.

[[File:Dielectric laser mirror from a dye laser.JPG|thumb|A dielectric coated mirror used in a [[dye laser]]. The mirror is over 99% reflective at 550 [[nanometer]]s, (yellow), but will allow most other colors to pass through.]]
[[File:Laserr mirror from a dye laser for use with rhodamine.jpg|thumb |A dielectric mirror used in [[tunable laser]]s. With a center wavelength of 600 nm and bandwidth of 100 nm, the coating is totally reflective to the orange construction paper, but only reflects the reddish hues from the blue paper.]]
For scientific [[optics|optical]] work, [[dielectric mirror]]s are often used. These are glass (or sometimes other material) substrates on which one or more layers of dielectric material are deposited, to form an optical coating. By careful choice of the type and thickness of the dielectric layers, the range of wavelengths and amount of light reflected from the mirror can be specified. The best mirrors of this type can reflect &gt;99.999% of the light (in a narrow range of wavelengths) which is incident on the mirror. Such mirrors are often used in [[laser]]s.

In astronomy, [[adaptive optics]] is a technique to measure variable image distortions and adapt a [[deformable mirror]] accordingly on a timescale of milliseconds, to compensate for the distortions.

Although most mirrors are designed to reflect visible light, surfaces reflecting other forms of electromagnetic radiation are also called "mirrors". The mirrors for other ranges of [[electromagnetic waves]] are used in
optics and [[astronomy]]. Mirrors for radio waves (sometimes known as reflectors) are important elements of [[radio telescope]]s.

Simple [[periscope]]s use mirrors.

==== Face-to-face mirrors ====
Two or more mirrors aligned exactly parallel and facing each other can give an infinite regress of reflections, called an [[infinity mirror]] effect. Some devices use this to generate multiple reflections:
* [[Fabry–Pérot interferometer]]
* [[Laser]] (which contains an [[optical cavity]])
* 3D [[kaleidoscope]] to concentrate light<ref name=more2010/>
* momentum-enhanced [[solar sail]]<ref name=meyer1987/>

==== Military applications ====
Tradition states that [[Archimedes]] used a large array of mirrors to burn [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] ships during an attack on Syracuse. This has never been proven or disproved. On the TV show ''[[MythBusters]]'', a team from [[MIT]] tried to recreate the famous "Archimedes Death Ray". They were unsuccessful at starting a fire on a ship.<ref name=myth2019/> Previous attempts to set a boat on fire using only the bronze mirrors available in Archimedes' time were unsuccessful, and the time taken to ignite the craft would have made its use impractical, resulting in the ''MythBusters'' team deeming the myth "busted". It was however found that the mirrors made it very difficult for the passengers of the targeted boat to see; such a scenario could have impeded attackers and have provided the origin of the legend. (See [[solar power tower]] for a practical use of this technique.)

Periscopes were used to great effect in war, especially during the World Wars where they were used to peer over the parapet of trenches to ensure that the soldier using the periscope could see safely without the risk of incoming direct fire from other small arms.

==== Seasonal lighting ====
[[File:Kibble Palace Mirror.JPG|left|thumb|A multi-facet mirror in the [[Kibble Palace]] conservatory, [[Glasgow]], Scotland]]

<!-- If this technique becomes popular, don't let this section grow into a vast list of examples. -->
Due to its location in a steep-sided valley, the Italian town of [[Viganella]] gets no direct sunlight for seven weeks each winter. In 2006 a €100,000 computer-controlled mirror, 8×5&nbsp;m, was installed to reflect sunlight into the town's piazza. In early 2007 the similarly situated village of [[Bondo, Switzerland]], was considering applying this solution as well.<ref name=bbcn2007/><ref name=apsw207/> In 2013, mirrors were installed to reflect sunlight into the town square in the Norwegian town of [[Rjukan]].<ref name=bbcn2013/> Mirrors can be used to produce enhanced lighting effects in greenhouses or conservatories.

=== Architecture ===
[[File:Mirrored building in Manhattan, 2008.tif|thumb|Mirrored building in Manhattan - 2008]]
[[File:Trump International Hotel and Tower, Chicago, Illinois, Estados Unidos, 2012-10-20, DD 05.jpg|thumb|[[Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago)|401 N. Wabash Ave.]] reflects the skyline along the [[Chicago River]] in downtown Chicago]]
{{See also|Architectural glass}}
Mirrors are a popular design-theme in architecture, particularly with [[Modern architecture|late modern]] and [[Post-modern architecture|post-modernist]] high-rise buildings in major cities. Early examples include the Campbell Center in [[Dallas]], which opened in 1972,<ref name=brown2012/> and the [[John Hancock Tower]] (completed in 1976) in Boston.

More recently, two skyscrapers designed by architect [[Rafael Viñoly]], the [[Vdara]] in Las Vegas and [[20 Fenchurch Street]] in London, have experienced unusual problems due to their concave curved-glass exteriors acting as respectively cylindrical and spherical reflectors for sunlight. In 2010, the ''Las Vegas Review Journal'' reported that sunlight reflected off the Vdara's south-facing tower could singe swimmers in the hotel pool, as well as melting plastic cups and shopping bags; employees of the hotel referred to the phenomenon as the "Vdara death ray",<ref name=vdara2010/> aka the "[[fryscraper]]." In 2013, sunlight reflecting off 20 Fenchurch Street melted parts of a [[Jaguar Cars|Jaguar car]] parked nearby and scorching or igniting the carpet of a nearby barber-shop.<ref name=fench2013/> This building had been nicknamed the "walkie-talkie" because its shape was supposedly similar to a certain model of two-way radio; but after its tendency to overheat surrounding objects became known, the nickname changed to the "walkie-scorchie".

=== Fine art ===

==== Paintings ====
[[File:Titian - Venus with a Mirror - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Titian]]'s ''[[Venus with a Mirror]]'']]
Painters depicting someone gazing into a mirror often also show the person's reflection. This is a kind of abstraction—in most cases the angle of view is such that the person's reflection should not be visible. Similarly, in movies and [[Photography|still photography]] an actor or actress is often shown ostensibly looking at him- or herself in a mirror, and yet the reflection faces the camera. In reality, the actor or actress sees only the camera and its operator in this case, not their own reflection. In the psychology of perception, this is known as the [[Venus effect]].

The mirror is the central device in some of the greatest of European paintings:
* [[Édouard Manet]]'s ''[[A Bar at the Folies-Bergère]]'' (1882)
* [[Titian]]'s ''[[Venus effect|Venus with a Mirror]]''
* [[Jan van Eyck]]'s ''[[Arnolfini Portrait]]''
* [[Pablo Picasso]]'s ''[[Girl before a Mirror]]'' (1932)
* [[Diego Velázquez]]'s ''[[Rokeby Venus]]''
* [[Diego Velázquez]]'s ''[[Las Meninas]]'' (wherein the viewer is both the watcher - of a self-portrait in progress - and the watched) and the many adaptations of that painting in various media
* [[Paolo Veronese|Veronese]]'s ''Venus with a Mirror''

Artists have used mirrors to create works and to hone their craft:
* [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] discovered linear perspective with the help of the mirror.<ref name=camp2014/>
* [[Leonardo da Vinci]] called the mirror the "master of painters". He recommended, "When you wish to see whether your whole picture accords with what you have portrayed from nature take a mirror and reflect the actual object in it. Compare what is reflected with your painting and carefully consider whether both likenesses of the subject correspond, particularly in regard to the mirror."<ref name=mccur1938/>
* Many [[self-portraits]] are made possible through the use of mirrors, such as great self-portraits by [[Dürer]], [[Frida Kahlo]], [[Rembrandt]], and [[Van Gogh]]. [[M. C. Escher]] used special shapes of mirrors in order to achieve a much more complete view of his surroundings than by direct observation in ''[[Hand with Reflecting Sphere]]'' (1935; also known as ''Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror'').

Mirrors are sometimes necessary to fully appreciate art work:
* [[István Orosz]]'s [[anamorphosis|anamorphic]] works are images distorted such that they only become clearly visible when reflected in a suitably shaped and positioned mirror.<ref name=orosz2015/>

==== Sculpture ====
[[File:Arnaldo Dell'Ira (1903-1943) Sala d'aspetto per la casa di M.me B.,1939.jpg|thumb|Mirrors in interior design:
"Waiting room in the house of M.me B.", [[Art Deco]] project by Italian architect [[Arnaldo dell'Ira]], Rome, 1939.]]
* [[Anamorphosis]] projecting sculpture into mirrors
Contemporary anamorphic artist [[Jonty Hurwitz]] uses [[cylindrical]] mirrors to project distorted sculptures.<ref name=hurw2013/>
* Sculptures comprised entirely or in part of mirrors include:
** ''[[:File:Infinity wulsin.jpg|Infinity Also Hurts]]'', a mirror, glass and [[silicone]] sculpture by artist [[Seth Wulsin]]
** ''[[Sky Mirror]]'', a [[public art|public sculpture]] by artist [[Anish Kapoor]]

==== Other artistic mediums ====
[[File:130 - Grove Of Mirrors, Hilary Arnold Baker (4655892606).jpg|thumb|''Grove Of Mirrors'' by [[Hilary Arnold Baker]], [[Romsey]]]]

Some other contemporary artists use mirrors as the [[List of artistic mediums|material of art]]:
* A [[Chinese magic mirror]] is a device in which the face of the bronze mirror projects the same image that was cast on its back. This is due to minute curvatures on its front.<ref name=unesco-courrier/>
* [[Specular holography]] uses a large number of curved mirrors embedded in a surface to produce three-dimensional imagery.
* Paintings on mirror surfaces (such as silkscreen printed glass mirrors)
* Special mirror installations:
** ''Follow Me'', a mirror labyrinth by artist [[Jeppe Hein]] (see also, Entertainment: Mirror mazes, below)
** ''Mirror Neon Cube'' by artist Jeppe Hein

==== Religious function of the real and depicted mirror ====
[[File:Melong Dorje.jpg|thumb|Drubthob Melong Dorje (1243–1303), a lineage holder of the [[Vima Nyingtik]], depicted wearing a mirror hanging from his neck]]
In the [[Middle Ages]], mirrors existed in various shapes for multiple uses. Mostly they were used as an accessory for personal hygiene but also as tokens of courtly love, made from [[Ivory carving|ivory]] in the ivory-carving centers in Paris, Cologne and the Southern Netherlands.<ref name=court2018/> They also had their uses in religious contexts as they were integrated in a special form of [[Pilgrim badge|pilgrim badges]] or pewter/lead mirror boxes<ref name=bojm2018/> From the late 14th century. Burgundian ducal inventories show us that the dukes owned a mass of mirrors or objects with mirrors, not only with religious iconography or inscriptions, but combined with reliquaries, religious paintings or other objects that were distinctively used for personal piety.<ref name=sche2013/> Considering mirrors in paintings and book illumination as depicted artifacts and trying to draw conclusions about their functions from their setting, one of these functions is to be an aid in personal prayer to achieve self-knowledge and knowledge of God, in accord with contemporary theological sources. For example, the famous [[Arnolfini Portrait|Arnolfini Wedding]] by [[Jan van Eyck]] shows a constellation of objects that can be recognized as one which would allow a praying man to use them for his personal piety: the mirror surrounded by scenes of the Passion to reflect on it and on oneself, a [[rosary]] as a device in this process, the veiled and cushioned bench to use as a [[prie-dieu]], and the abandoned shoes that point in the direction in which the praying man kneeled.<ref name=sche2013/> The metaphorical meaning of depicted mirrors is complex and many-layered, e.g. as an attribute of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]], the "speculum sine macula" (mirror without blemish), or as attributes of scholarly and theological wisdom and knowledge as they appear in book illuminations of different [[Four Evangelists|evangelists]] and authors of theological treatises. Depicted mirrors – orientated on the physical properties of a real mirror – can be seen as metaphors of knowledge and reflection and are thus able to remind beholders to reflect and get to know themselves. The mirror may function simultaneously as a symbol and as a device of a moral appeal. That is also the case if it is shown in combination with virtues and vices, a combination which also occurs more frequently in the 15th century: the moralizing layers of mirror metaphors remind the beholder to examine themself thoroughly according to their own virtuous or vicious life. This is all the more true if the mirror is combined with iconography of death. Not only is Death as a corpse or skeleton holding the mirror for the still-living personnel of paintings, illuminations and prints, but the skull appears on the convex surfaces of depicted mirrors, showing the painted and real beholders their future face.<ref name=sche2013/>

=== Decoration ===
[[File:Overmantel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Fireplace mantel|Chimneypiece]] and overmantel mirror, c. 1750 V&A Museum no. 738:1 to 3–1897]]
[[File:Demo Day 2016 - Design Center (19).jpg|thumb|Glasses with mirrors – Prezi HQ]]
[[File:Dunville's Whisky Pub Mirror 01.jpeg|thumb|A bar mirror bearing the logo of [[Dunville & Co#Dunville's Whisky|Dunville's Whiskey]].]]
Mirrors are frequently used in [[interior decoration]] and as ornaments:
* Mirrors, typically large and unframed, are frequently used in [[interior decoration]] to create an illusion of space and to amplify the apparent size of a room.<ref name=alic2016/> They come also framed in a variety of forms, such as the [[pier glass]] and the overmantel mirror.
* Mirrors are used also in some schools of [[feng shui]], an ancient [[Culture of China|Chinese]] practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with an environment.
* The softness of old mirrors is sometimes replicated by contemporary artisans for use in [[interior design]]. These reproduction antiqued mirrors are works of art and can bring color and texture to an otherwise hard, cold reflective surface. 
* A decorative reflecting [[sphere]] of thin metal-coated glass, working as a reducing wide-angle mirror, is sold as a [[Christmas ornament]] called a ''bauble''.
* Some pubs and bars hang mirrors depicting the logo of a brand of liquor, beer or drinking establishment.

=== Entertainment ===
* Illuminated rotating [[disco ball]]s covered with small mirrors are used to cast moving spots of light around a dance floor.
* The [[house of mirrors|hall of mirrors]], commonly found in [[amusement park]]s, is an attraction in which a number of [[distorting mirror]]s produce unusual reflections of the visitor.
* Mirrors are employed in [[kaleidoscope]]s, personal entertainment devices invented in [[Scotland]] {{circa |1815}} by Sir [[David Brewster]].
* Mirrors are often used in [[Magic (illusion)|magic]] to create an [[illusion]]. One effect is called [[Pepper's ghost]].
* Mirror [[maze]]s, often found in [[amusement park]]s, contain large numbers of mirrors and sheets of glass. The idea is to navigate the disorientating array without bumping into the walls. Mirrors in attractions like this are often made of [[Plexiglas]] to prevent breakages.<ref name=samu2001/>

=== Film and television ===
Mirrors appear in many movies and TV shows: 
*''[[Black Swan (film)|Black Swan]]'' is a [[psychological horror]] film that frequently incorporates mirrors. Fractured mirrors are prominent in the film, and the character Nina stabs herself with a broken piece of mirror. 
* [[Candyman (1992 film)|''Candyman'']] is a horror film about a [[malevolent spirit]] summoned by speaking its name in front of a mirror.
* ''[[Conan the Destroyer]]'' features a mirror-embedded chamber deep within Thoth-Amon's castle. The mirrors are first used in an illusory fashion to deceive [[Conan the Barbarian|Conan]] once he is separated by his companions, and during a battle sequence it is discovered that by breaking the mirrors he is able to damage and eventually defeat the otherwise-invulnerable wizard Thoth-Amon.
*''[[Dead of Night]]'' is an [[anthology film|anthology]] horror film with one segment titled "The Haunted Mirror," in which a mirror casts a murderous spell. 
*''[[Doctor Strange (2016 film)|Doctor Strange]]'', ''[[Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]]'', and ''[[Spider-Man: No Way Home]]'' feature the fictional [[Mirror Dimension|mirror dimension]], a parallel dimension in the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe|Marvel Universe]] that reflects objects like a mirror, but in different directions.
*''[[Enter the Dragon]]'''s iconic and final fight scene occurs in a mirrored room. The mirrors create multiple reflections of the fight movements but are eventually smashed.
*''[[The Floorwalker]]'' and ''[[Duck Soup (1933 film)|Duck Soup]]'' contain a mirror scene in which one person comically pretends to be the mirror reflection of someone else. This mirror scene has been imitated in other comedy films and TV shows.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouvé |first1=Andrew |title=The Evolution of the Mirror Routine: A Supercut |url=https://slate.com/culture/2014/03/the-mirror-routine-in-movies-supercut-from-duck-soup-the-marx-brothers-and-charlie-chaplin-to-the-muppets-most-wanted-video.html |website=Slate |date=21 March 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824204011/https://slate.com/culture/2014/03/the-mirror-routine-in-movies-supercut-from-duck-soup-the-marx-brothers-and-charlie-chaplin-to-the-muppets-most-wanted-video.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=I Love Lucy: Harpo Marx |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609287/ |website=IMDb |access-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824203928/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0609287/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[[Hamlet (1996 film)|Hamlet]]'' has a throne room with mirrored walls. Hamlet, played by [[Kenneth Branagh]], gives his famous speech with the words "to be or not to be," looking into these mirrors.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ebert |first1=Roger |title=Hamlet |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-1996 |website=Rober Ebert |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825155847/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hamlet-1996 |url-status=live }}</ref> 
*[[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'']] includes the magical [[Magical objects in Harry Potter|Mirror of Erised]]. 
*''[[Inception]]'' contains mirrors created in a dream sequence. Ariadne creates two mirrors facing each other that form an infinite number of reflected mirrors. 
*''[[Lady in the Lake]]'', a 1947 [[film noir]], was shot from the [[Point-of-view shot|point of view]] of the protagonist, who is seen only when a mirror is included in the shot.
*''[[Last Night in Soho]]'' is a psychological horror movie with several mirror scenes. The character Ellie occasionally sees her mother's ghost in mirrors. 
*''[[The Matrix]]'' uses various reflections and mirrors throughout the film. Neo watches a broken mirror mend itself, and different objects create reflections.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharma |first1=Dhruv |title=The Matrix: What Neo's Mirror Moment Actually Means |url=https://screenrant.com/matrix-neo-mirror-real-world-meaning/ |website=Screenrant |date=4 June 2022 |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825183843/https://screenrant.com/matrix-neo-mirror-real-world-meaning/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''[[Mirror (1975 film)|Mirror]]'' is a drama film by [[Andrei Tarkovsky]] that includes several scenes with mirrors and several scenes shot in reflection. 
*''[[Mirror Mirror (film)|Mirror Mirror]]'' is a fantasy comedy film based on [[Snow White]] that features a Mirror House and Mirror Queen. 
* [[Mirrors (2008 film)|''Mirrors'']] is a horror film about haunted mirrors that reflect different scenes than those in front of them.
*''[[Persona (1966 film)|Persona]]'' relies on mirror sequences to show how the two women, Bibi and Liv, reflect each other and become more alike.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kennelly |first1=Kate |title=A Mindscape of Mirrors: Persona and the Cinema of Self-Perception |url=https://brightlightsfilm.com/a-mindscape-of-mirrors-persona-and-the-cinema-of-self-perception/#.Ywe1ni-caF0 |website=Bright Lights Film Journal |date=23 March 2016 |access-date=August 25, 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[Poltergeist III]]'' features mirrors that do not reflect reality and which can be used as portals to an afterlife.
*''[[Psycho (1960 film)|Psycho]]'' by [[Alfred Hitchcock|Alfred Hitchock]] has several shots with mirrors that reflect characters. 
* [[Oculus (film)|''Oculus'']] is a horror film about a haunted mirror that causes people to hallucinate and commit acts of violence.
*''[[Orpheus (film)|Orpheus]]'' includes an important theme of mirrors in connection to aging and death.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cocteau |first1=Jean |title=Orpheus |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/13-orpheus |website=The Criterion Collection |access-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=24 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824224308/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/13-orpheus |url-status=live }}</ref> 
*''[[Sailor Moon]]'' in the fourth story arc has a major theme pertaining to mirrors, which entrap several of the Sailor Senshi, the fiancée of the protagonist, and the villain in the arc.
*''[[Taxi Driver]]'' has a notable scene with a mirror in which the character Travis, played by [[Robert De Niro]], asks himself the famous line, "You talkin' to me?"
*''[[The Lady from Shanghai]]'' has a climatic hall of mirrors scene that has become a [[Trope (cinema)|trope]] in cinema narratives.<ref>{{cite web |title=Through a Glass, Darkly: 'The Lady From Shanghai' and the Legend of Orson Welles |url=https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/through-a-glass-darkly-the-lady-from-shanghai-and-the-legend-of-orson-welles/ |website=Grantland |access-date=August 24, 2022 |archive-date=1 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701192511/https://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/through-a-glass-darkly-the-lady-from-shanghai-and-the-legend-of-orson-welles/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hall of Mirrors in Movies |url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls027290183/ |website=IMDb |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825194044/https://www.imdb.com/list/ls027290183/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*''[[Raging Bull]]'' ends with the character Jake talking to himself in a mirror, a scene that was reused in ''[[Boogie Nights]]''. 
*''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'' is a horror movie that includes several scenes with mirrors. Every time the character Jack encounters a ghost, a mirror is present.
* ''[[The 10th Kingdom]]'' [[miniseries]] requires the characters to use a magic mirror to travel between New York City (the 10th Kingdom) and the Nine Kingdoms of [[fairy tale]].
*''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' episode "[[The Mirror (The Twilight Zone)|The Mirror]]" features a mirror that the character Clemente believes can provide visions and information about enemies.
*''[[Us (2019 film)|Us]]'' is a horror film that includes a girl seeing a [[doppelgänger]] of herself in a [[house of mirrors]] in a [[funhouse]]. The mirror images reflect the similarities in the clones throughout the film.
*''[[Vertigo (film)|Vertigo]]'' includes several appearances of mirrors with both Scottie and Madeleine in the frame.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mirrors in Hitchcock Movies |url=https://www.alfred-hitchcock-films.net/theme-mirrors.htm |website=Alfred Hitchcock Films |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825162331/https://www.alfred-hitchcock-films.net/theme-mirrors.htm }}</ref>

=== Literature ===
{{see also|Category:Fiction about mirrors|l1=Fiction about mirrors}}
[[File:Snow White Mirror 4.png|thumb|upright|An illustration from page 30 of ''[[:is:Mjallhvít|Mjallhvít]]'' ([[Snow White]]) an 1852 Icelandic translation of the [[Brothers Grimm|Grimm]]-version fairytale]]
[[File:Taijitu and demon warding mirror.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Yin and yang|Taijitu]] within a frame of [[I Ching|trigrams]] and a demon-warding mirror. These charms are believed to frighten away evil spirits and to protect a dwelling from bad luck]]
Mirrors featured in literature:
* [[Christian biblical canons|Christian Bible]] passages, 1 Corinthians 13:12 ("[[Through a glass, darkly (phrase)|Through a Glass Darkly]]") and 2 Corinthians 3:18, reference a dim mirror-image or poor mirror-reflection.
* [[Narcissus (mythology)|Narcissus]] of [[Greek mythology]] wastes away while gazing, self-admiringly, at his reflection in water.
* Elsewhere in Greek Mythology, [[Perseus]] is said to have defeated the [[Gorgon]] [[Medusa]] with the aid of a mirrored shield which allowed him to avoid the petrifying effect of her visage by only viewing her reflection.
* The Song dynasty history ''[[Zizhi Tongjian]]'' ''Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance'' by Sima Guang is so titled because "mirror" (鑑, jiàn) is used metaphorically in Chinese to refer to gaining insight by reflecting on past experience or history. 
* In the late 6th century Chinese folktale ''[[The Broken Mirror Restored]]'' two lovers who are separated by war break a mirror in two so that they might find each other again by identifying the other half of the mirror. The phrase "broken mirror restored", or "broken mirror joined together" has been used as an idiom to suggests the happy reunion of a separated couple.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-02-18 |title=Chinese history and culture reflected by bronze mirrors |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2011-02/18/content_12041009.htm |access-date=2024-01-17 |website=China Daily |archive-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240117141537/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2011-02/18/content_12041009.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 
* In the European [[fairy tale]], ''[[Snow White]]'' (collected by the Brothers Grimm in 1812), the evil queen asks, "[[Magic Mirror (Snow White)|Mirror]], mirror, on the wall... who's the fairest of them all?"
* In the [[Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index]] tale type ATU 329, "Hiding from the Devil (Princess)", the protagonist must find a way to hide from a princess, who, in many variants, owns a magical mirror that can see the whole world.
* In [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson|Tennyson]]'s famous poem ''[[The Lady of Shalott]]'' (1833, revised in 1842), the titular character possesses a mirror that enables her to look out on the people of Camelot, as she is under a curse that prevents her from seeing Camelot directly.
* [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s fairy tale ''[[The Snow Queen]]'', features the devil, in a form of an evil troll,<ref name=ande1983/> who made a magic mirror that distorts the appearance of everything that it reflects.
* [[Lewis Carroll]]'s ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]] and What Alice Found There'' (1871) has become one of the best-loved exemplars of the use of mirrors in literature. The text itself utilizes a narrative that mirrors that of its predecessor, ''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]''.<ref name=carr1872/>
* In [[Oscar Wilde]]'s novel, ''[[The Picture of Dorian Gray]]'' (1890), a [[portrait]] serves as a magical mirror that reflects the true visage of the perpetually youthful protagonist, as well as the effect on his soul of each sinful act.<ref name=call2009/><ref name=wild2010/>
* [[W. H. Auden]]'s villanelle "Miranda" repeats the refrain: "My dear one is mine as mirrors are lonely".
* The short story ''[[Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius]]'' (1940) by [[Jorge Luis Borges]] begins with the phrase "I owe the discovery of Uqbar to the conjunction of a mirror and an encyclopedia" and contains other references to mirrors.
* ''The Trap'', a short story by [[H.P. Lovecraft]] and Henry S. Whitehead, centers around a mirror. "It was on a certain Thursday morning in December that the whole thing began with that unaccountable motion I thought I saw in my antique Copenhagen mirror. Something, it seemed to me, stirred—something reflected in the glass, though I was alone in my quarters."<ref name=love/>
* [[Magical objects in Harry Potter|Magical objects in the ''Harry Potter'' series]] (1997–2011) include the [[Mirror of Erised#The Mirror of Erised|Mirror of Erised]] and [[Magical objects in Harry Potter#Two-way mirrors|two-way mirrors]].
* Under ''Appendix: Variant Planes & Cosmologies'' of the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' ''[[Manual of the Planes#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition|Manual of the Planes]]'' (2000), is The Plane of Mirrors (page 204).<ref name=dung2001/> It describes the Plane of Mirrors as a space existing behind reflective surfaces, and experienced by visitors as a long corridor. The greatest danger to visitors upon entering the plane is the instant creation of a mirror-self with the opposite alignment of the original visitor.
* ''The Mirror Thief'', a novel by Martin Seay (2016),<ref name=seay2016/> includes a fictional account of industrial espionage surrounding mirror-manufacturing in 16th-century Venice.
* ''[[The Glass Floor]]'', a short story by [[Stephen King]], concerns a mysterious and deadly mirrored floor.
* ''[[The Reaper's Image]]'', a short story by [[Stephen King]], concerns a rare Elizabethan mirror that displays the Reaper's image when viewed, which symbolises the death of the viewer.
* Kilgore Trout, a protagonist of [[Kurt Vonnegut]]'s novel ''[[Breakfast of Champions]]'', believes that mirrors are windows to other universes, and refers to them as "leaks", a recurring motif in the book.
*In ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' by [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], the [[Mirror of Galadriel]] allows one to see things of the past, present and possible future. The mirror additionally appears in the [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|movie adaptation]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hedash |first1=Kara |title=Lord Of The Rings: What Frodo Saw In The Mirror of Galadriel |url=https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-frodo-vision-galadriel-mirror-explained/ |website=Screenrant |date=10 July 2019 |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-date=25 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825163841/https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-frodo-vision-galadriel-mirror-explained/ |url-status=live }}</ref>