black swan (2010) video essay script

 Introduction: 

Black Swan is a 2010 drama-psychological film, directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz but predominantly Andres Heinz based on a story he wrote long before the screenplay was produced. The film stars Natalie Portman (as Nina), Vincent Cassel (as Thomas), Mila Kunis (as Lily), Barbara Hershey (As Nina’s mom, Erica), and Winona Ryder (as the original swan queen) the entire layout of the film is about the production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by the New York City Ballet company but really it focuses on Nina, the protagonist and her journey conforming into the Swan Queen, a role she’s wanted all her life. But can she handle this role? Or did she set herself up to fail? Let’s talk about it. Before we get started, this video essay will obviously have spoilers and pretty difficult topics such as bulimia, anorexia, sexual harrasment, rape, self-harm behaviors, sucidal tendancies, schizophrenia hallucinations, panic attacks and suicide. If any of these may be a threat to you, I would suggest you stop watching now. Please make the best choice for yourself. I’ll be breaking this video essay down into 4 sociology concepts that are presented throughout the film, and then making a final conclusion at the end. 

-The Infantilization of Women 

Nina (the protagonist) is purposely presented to the audience to act and seem younger than her real age which is expected to be between 22 to 26 years old, she’s very shy, innocent and easily swayed by her emotions. She lives in a very traditionally girly room with her mother in a small new york city apartment. Because Nina is presented to be a very fragile and vulnerable character, it makes her a target immediately by her peers and by her dancing instructor that eventually casts Nina to be the Swan Queen. She fits the role of the Swan Queen well, but he's not entirely her if she has the courage and ability to be the black swan too. The Concept of female infantilization is a tricky slope to go down, especially considering how normalized it is everyday and everywhere we go. According to https://www.theverdictonline.org/post/the-infantilization-of-women-in-mainstream-media-and-society “A women’s physique in this day and age is steeped in the infantilization of femininity, with one of the seminal examples being that of the adornment of a hairless body. The association of femininity with docility and dependence relays the infantilization of women and the hair removal plays on this conception of women as childish and/or immature. The idea of a hairless body being feminine is inherently infantilizing since it imitates the body of a prepubescent girl and directly ties femininity to physical appearance.” it gets weirder the more you think about it. Let’s talk just about Nina’s relationship with her Mother, Erika. In the perspective of Nina, she seems to be overprotective, precarious and restrictive. Nina doesn't feel comfortable sharing most of her struggles with her mother, because she knows Erika will remind her that the Swan Queen role was always a bad idea. Although Erika makes some poor decisions too, I think she’s actually very misunderstood. According to Interesting Movie Theory: What Is Going on Between Nina and Her Mom In 'Black Swan'? (slashfilm.com) Nina is believed to suffer from paranoid Schizophrenia, hence why she’s still taken care of by her mother as an adult. “Let's assume for the moment that Erica always knew that Nina was a mentally unstable paranoid schizophrenic since the time when Nina was quite young. Sometimes in these situations, where a mother is caring for a mentally ill child the child's life needs to be strictly regimented and controlled in order to maintain stability. This could be the reason why Erica feels the need to restrict Nina's movements and social interactions. It explains why Erica is so protective over Nina as she receives her new, intense role as the white/black swan. It also explains the stuffed animals and other infantilizing elements that are peppered throughout Nina's room and apartment.” 

-Shame in Competition/ The Arch Enemy trope 

The dark side of competition: How competitive behavior and striving to avoid inferiority are linked to depression, anxiety, stress and self-harm | Request PDF (researchgate.net) 

Modern Adult Ballet is without a doubt without fierce competition from Regional to National Level so it’s well known, Nina’s role will play with enormous pressure. In the biggest most famous city of the country. She’s expected to be the best version of a dancer he has ever been in her life. As the climax builds up, the closer we get to the big debut of Swan Lake. It’s more than a production, it's the biggest event in Nina’s life. She’s dedicated too much of herself to a role, we never are really confident she was ready for in the first place. Nina’s mental deterioration is

mainly caused and prolonged from the tight and brutal pressure she’s under. But most of all, she’s afraid of being replaced. She’s constantly consumed in the worry that she’s not good enough. She knows she’s unfit for the demand of the role but she wants it so much, anyone that challenges her, will be her worst nightmare. That’s why Lily is the antagonist, making an accurate depiction of the Arc-Enemy trope in Cinema Arts. Because Nina is not confident in the place she won fairly with her talent she’s willing to do anything it takes to preserve her title. Lily attempts to befriend Nina, whether her intentions are authentic or not is up for debate, but when Nina accepts the request to go out with her to the club, Lily takes advantage of Nina. Nina is in the perfect place to be taken control of because she’s overwhelmed, confused, naive and on the brink of a soon to be psychotic break. Lily waits for Nina to go to the bathroom for her to slip sedatives in Nina’s drink. Nina comes back and watches as she does this, and proceeds to drink the spiked alcohol, and gets taken advantage of all night. Nina is an unreliable narrator because it is shown to us as an audience that she sleeps with Lily and the night ends with a horrible argument with her mother and schizophrenia induced hallucinations that Lily is transformed into a dark and evil version of herself. She wakes up with her mother beside her bed asleep as if she’s been up all night suffering from episodes. 

-Perfection is imperfect 

The biggest moral presented to the audience is the reiteration that perfection is all a girl wants. Though it’s unachievable, it somehow must always be expected. 

Nina herself says “i just want to be perfect’ and fatally, at the end of the film when she drops onto the mattress after a jaw-dropping performance she admits “i was perfect” before ultimately dying. From refusing to eat the celebration cake that her mother buys her and purging to maintain her ballerina weight, we're a witness to her food guilt as well as her bulimic tendencies. Combined with her performance anxiety, stress from living with an overprotective mother, and hints at self-harm, her mental health struggles have a large hand in contributing to Nina's psychosis that she experiences throughout the movie. This movie is basically the rough proof that there is essentially nothing more dangerous than the price of perfection. It gets tragic when the audience realizes that Nina really did dance perfectly, but not without a grueling exposition and horrible downfall of complicated drama. She was groomed, she was abused and she was isolated within herself. One question is raised when Nina hallucinates about killing Lily, when we realize if she didn't really kill Lily, who did she kill? She killed herself. The price of perfection is life itself. According to PsychologyToday- “Perfectionism is driven primarily by internal pressures, such as the desire to avoid failure or harsh judgment. There is likely a social component as well, because perfectionistic tendencies have increased substantially among young people over the past 30 years, regardless of gender or culture. Greater academic and professional competition is thought to play a role, along with the pervasive presence of social media and the harmful social comparisons it elicits.” 

-The “good girl/bad girl” complex 

In a patriarchy or any suppressive societal standard, there exists a black and white concept making it both very hard and very easy to disobey (take that as you will). The Black Swan, specifically, is constructed to portray the effects a patriarchy has on young, vulnerable women already suffering from mental illnesses and other complications. According to bethany webster.com- “A common mask is the mask of the “good girl”. The one who is focused on pleasing others, getting approval, over-functioning in relationships, and performing emotional labor for those in their families. For these little girls, external approval meets survival. Their basic sense of safety is linked to being liked. This ideology sets them up for low self-esteem, poor boundaries and a deep sense of shame. In dysfunctional families, “good girls'' are praised for being invisible, staying quiet and for their willingness to tolerate poor treatment. They are often rejected or abandoned when they say no and their desire for autonomy is shamed.” I couldn't agree more with this article. Nina is a character, yes but there are many Nina’s out there, some of their stories nown and some of their stories unknown.