Black Swan is a legendary film by Darren Aronofsky, shot in 2010. Starring legends of cinema like Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel, the film won several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Drama. The film was shot based on a scenario by Mark Heyman in the psychological horror film genre. This paper argues that the film is a masterpiece that appeals to the viewer with sophisticated psychological drama.
The film leaves the viewer with an intense feeling of enjoyment of Nina’s victory over her weaknesses, which borders on drug intoxication. The heat of passion makes the viewer hold their breath while watching the twists and turns of the plot. The film ends with the image of the black swan Odile, who jumps off a cliff and is injured (“Black Swan,” 2020). She is listening to the wild applause of a large gathering of a sophisticated and festive audience. The blood on Nina’s stomach from an imaginary (or real?) blow with a piece of mirror from the ballerina’s dressing room symbolizes the sacrifice that Nina makes to free herself from the pressure.
Release from Pressure is the leitmotif of the storyline featuring Nina, a talented ballerina who gets the roles of the white and black swans in the new play. She must free herself from the despair and pressure of the superego to win the swan duel and fulfill her professional dream. Nina’s problem is the physical and emotional exhaustion complicated by severe neurosis that arose from her relationship with her mother. Nina’s mother is also a ballerina, perhaps a little less talented. She devoted her life to raising Nina as a future dancer. Nina hardly feels her subjectivity, fully associating herself with her professional success. Getting the role enables such subjectivity, and the new human relationship with Lily allows Nina to free herself from the burdensome relationship with her mother.
After a party with Lily, she experiences a severe inner conflict when her superego, symbolically represented as a white swan, is forced to give up the power to her ID, a black swan. Nina, who spent her life diligently following the rules imposed by the duties of a professional dancer, feels panic, desolation, and confusion. She is used to the fact that she should not and cannot decide anything, but now she must give control of her personality to a symbolic black swan.
The habit of channeling all the strength of character into subduing desires, as well as not knowing the limits of her dark side, is the cause of panic and confusion. Unable to admit her weakness – because that would mean admitting her subjectivity in an absolute vacuum, Nina chooses a very natural way of liberation through creativity and public performance, which promises recognition of her subjectivity, talent, and the victory she has been pursuing for years. Perhaps the collision of these elements, their convergence at one point makes the film so exciting. Nina reveals herself in front of the public and does it dramatically, desperately, gracefully, and beautifully.
Thus, it was argued how the Black Swan movie appeals to the viewer with sophisticated psychological drama. Nina experiences an identity crisis and severe neurosis with episodes of hallucinations. She experiences panic attacks and episodes of persecutory mania, exhibits auto-aggression, and dreams of aggression towards an imaginary rival. Nina frees herself from the obsessive state, but the film ends with a sense of desolation, as, having taken the desired height, Nina realizes that she is the only one who has reached the top. She still cannot recognize her subjectivity in groups of people where she could provide support to others that would enrich her emotionally. The film leaves a feeling of pride for Nina’s victory and emotional completion.
Reference
Black Swan. (2020). [Video file].