If you’re interested in Lacanian ‘drives’, the philosophical aspects of skin, and Austin Powers, then you can do no better than consult chapter two of ‘Skin, Culture and Psychoanalysis’ (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) which explores connections between all three. The chapter, entitled ‘Comedic skin eruptions: A Psychoanalytic reading of Austin Powers’ is authored by Sheila Kunkle, who is an assistant professor at the College of Individualized Studies of Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota, US.
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[…] in this paper I propose that a psychoanalytic reading of the films of the comedian Mike Myers (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery [1997], The Spy Who Shagged Me [1999] and Austin Powers in Goldmember [2002]) can uncover a certain contemporary manifestation of the [Lacanian] drives, especially as they appear as exaggerated skin anomalies in almost every main character (played by Myers himself): the large facial scar on Dr. Evil, and his clone Mini-me (Verne Troyer), Power’s overly-hirsute chest, Fat Bastard’s bulging then sagging skin (before and after extreme weight loss), Goldmember’s eczema and the giant mole on the face of Number Three (played by Fred Savage).”
Substantial excerpts from the chapter may be found here: or, alternatively, here:
BONUS VIDEO Ig Nobel prize winner (Physics, 1998) Dr. Deepak Chopra M.D. and Mike Myers (Dr. Evil) discuss enlightenment, consciousness and humour.