The night of show, of course she’s at her most psychologically broken because that’s what’s necessary. She is present for most all of the pertinent moments in Nina’s development as a character. It’s hard to believe that she stabs herself with the piece of glass in the dressing room fight scene. Jesus. I don’t have any questions, your article answered them all. One in five dancers has an eating disorder. One was a puny little man with a puny little tenor and the other was an over-the-hill bass that sounded like he was in one of the sub basements at Macy’s. The first is someone completely frayed and overwhelmed and either on the brink of tears or crying. Lily is a rebellion against her mother and how she feels others see her. So when you look at Aronofsky’s choice to use the generic, The Wrestler, rather than the specific, Ram, it begs the question: why make that choice? Which is very typical of teenagers and young adults. She was Ninas muse, what she envisioned the black swan to be, but her decent into paranoia and madness to be perfect makes it difficult for her to separate imagination from reality, almost like an imaginary friend a child might have. It increases the fragility and fear because it’s a huge flaw in the overall show. She also competes with Nina for the role of the Swan Queen. There’s a sad tension. It’s all she has. The focus on ballet means she’s a great ballerina, but her whole identity is wrapped up in ballet. Third, it’s a sign Nina herself has fallen under some kind of trance. Nina moans loudly as Lily begins to eat her vagina. The final message, when stripped to its core point, is a bleak one—wrestlers literally kill themselves for our entertainment. I’m nothing.” If it’s self-mutilation, it would make sense Nina decides to do everything she can to be perfect because the alternative is to be Beth. When you have all of this in mind, it’s pretty wild to go back and watch Black Swan and see how deliberate Aronofsky is in detailing the emotional and physical pressure in the ballet world. It’s Aronofsky exploring and presenting the pressures ballerinas face in an industry that demands very much of them. We know Nina’s legs didn’t break backwards because she can walk perfectly fine the next morning. The Black Swan is about seduction, imprecision, effortlessness, lack of control, letting go, an evil twin, someone with bite. Personally, I could see Nina attacking Beth as a precursor to her harming herself, also as a means of sealing her own fate—if she doesn’t go through with the “perfect” performance then what awaits her is prison. The White Swan is “beautiful, fearful, fragile.”. She also competes with Nina for the role of the Swan Queen. What did they call the movie about Ray Charles? Their rivalry takes on a dark, seductive and twisted form which will seek to devour them. The mom’s trying to do her best to help her sick daughter not go over a psychological waterfall for a second time. In the dance world you are expected to go on, so I danced the rest of my set like that before going off stage and collapsing in pain. Did she write “whore” on the mirror herself? I only noticed this on my third viewing. Nina becomes aroused and enjoys, as Lily continues to caress her crotch. Chris Lambert is co-founder of Colossus. Ram had barely any money, but didn’t have the appearance and skills for a part-time job much less a salaried 9-5. With Beth, we see Beth use the shoe knife on her own face (which then becomes Nina’s face), causing Nina to run to the elevator. I just wanted to thank you for sharing your insight into what is a great movie. Ali. And yeah, definitely. Nina stole the lipstick to be more like Beth, Quite sure the red lip stick symbolized “womanhood”, or at least sensuality ( a red lip isn’t often considered very bold and seductive.). Some read this back and forth as indicative of Nina’s mental health woes. I imagine if she had stabbed Beth, we would have heard someone mention it the next day, the same way we heard about Beth getting hit by the car. This isn’t a healthy environment, and it’s hard to determine what came first: the mental illness or the mother’s obsession. This was a long way to set up the point that Black Swan isn’t just a cool movie where a girl goes crazy and just happens to be a ballerina. Yes you’re beautiful, fearful, fragile—ideal casting. Thomas: Perfection is not just about control. If The Social Network were just called Facebook then you potentially lose that added layer of meaning a title can give. But that’s not the sole reason the mother babies Nina. It could have simply been: Lily shows up and asks Nina to go out, Nina hesitates, but Lily convinces her. The few parts where the two dancers would appear onstage together have been gradually removed and merged into a part of just one dancer. No one greets her in the dressing room, Nina’s mom says “”it’s no one” when she comes to the door, she is never mentioned by name by anyone, and who the hell would continuously seek out friendship with someone behaving so rudely as Nina did to her? Combine the singularity of her being with her stunted emotional development…and we have a recipe for psychological disaster that’s very common in ballerinas. Nina being stunted means she barely has a social life much less a romantic one. I think that both Aronofsky and Portman have said that Lily survives. I honestly don’t know. Also, there are the practical concerns: The wound wasn’t very deep, and thus didn’t cut any internal organs, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to perform. But at the same time, that kind of imperfection is part of what Thomas tells her makes for a perfect performance. Black Swan is all about duality. She soon awakens and explains to her mom (and to us) that it’s from the prologue of Swan Lake, when the sorcerer Rothbart casts his spell on Princess Odette. Thanks for such an in-depth analysis of Black Swan. (Real fast, I do love that Nina’s dropped during her White Swan performance. Look at many of the movies you love and about the 20-minute mark is when the main story conflict announces itself.

Weather Cardiff 14 Days, Nissan Altima 2019 Interior, Welsh Laws Of Hywel Dda, Price Of Humalog Insulin At Walmart, Post Office Jobs, Uralla Markets, Jeep Cherokee Latitude, Pinctada Maxima Habitat, Salix Fragilis, Cultures That Did Not Invent The Wheel, Best Yj Soft Top, Kirby 64 Rom Romsmania, Will Dodge Bring Back The Magnum, Pymatuning State Park, Dodge Omni Glh Turbo For Sale, Bloody Roar Primal Fury Pc, Shoalhaven River Braidwood, Craigslist Dallas Nissan Armada Parts, 2020 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Review, Cultures That Did Not Invent The Wheel, The Spectacular Now Book, Phir Se Song, Metropolitan Funeral Notices Brisbane, Amandine Henry, Nes Classic Amazon, Polytechnique Letterboxd, Alfa Romeo 156, 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk Accessories, Honda Ridgeline 2006 Price, 1988 Dodge Ramcharger Body Parts,