Black swan does an exceptional job relaying elements of psychosis and the psychosocial implications of untreated mental illness. Natalie portman had to do a whole lot to prepare her body for the rigors of playing a ballerina in darren aronofskys upcoming psychological thriller black swan including hours of grueling. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side a recklessness that threatens to destroy her. This paper is a visual analysis of the first 6 minutes of the movie. This process is slow and painful, giving her severe psychic problems.
What does nina sayers say at the end of black swan. It centers on a performance by natalie portman that is nothing short of heroic, and mirrors the conflict of good and evil in tchaikovskys ballet swan lake. This story in this film is told from the perspective of nina, a young and very committed ballerina determined to succeed in the world of dance. Black swan is about a ballet dancer who wins the lead role of the swan queen that requires to dance as both the sweet white and evil black swans. But the nuances missed me entirely because i had no clue about the swan lake ballet which they are rehearsing for in the film. Even though the film begins with a dream which is important to keep in mind at all times. The director of the company, thomas leroy vincent cassel, is determined to. Thomas leroy has now begun looking for a fresh face to play the dual role of the white swan and the black swan. It simply says realize you desires in life much much before you lay on your death bed. The first step to becoming the black swan is giving up control. Throughout the movie, nina develops into the black swan, leaving her childness behind and maturing.
Trader and author nassim nicholas taleb created the black swan theory of events as a metaphor to name an event that happens far outside the normal distribution of deviations from the mean and looks like a fat tail outside a normal bell curve. Black swan screened in competition and is the third consecutive film directed by aronofsky to premiere at the festival, following the fountain and the wrestler. In black swan, when nina visits the previous main dancer, beth, in hospital, she stabs her face with the nail file, but then nina sees herself in her. The film begins with a prestigious ballet company in new york city preparing for a production of swan lake. Lust, here, is symbolized as positive desires which is what the teacher tries to. And third, after it happens everyone comes up with some explanation for it that makes it seem like it actually wasnt random and could have been predicted. If you disagree with my interpretation please be polite and state your. So ive just been to see the new film the black swan starring natalie portman. Aronofsky first discussed with portman the possibility of a ballet film in 2000, and he found she was interested in playing a ballet dancer.
Nina fits the white swan role perfectly but lily is the personification of the black swan. Black swan ending, explained meaning, plot, theory. Behind the movie s freaky facade lies a profound commentary on the cost of fame, the sacrifice of artists and the hidden forces behind the shady world of highstakes entertainment. A fascinating analysis unpacking the meaning of the final scenes of black swan, starring natalie portman.
Black swan is an intense psychological thriller describing a ballet dancers metamorphosis into the black swan. Whats the messagemeaning behind black swan the movie. Contextually, while presently ninas dark appearance is suggestive of her personification of the black swan, previously throughout in the film, she often dresses in. Surely its time to go back to staging swan lake as it used to be before the 1940s, with no black swan at all, but with the antiheroine odile dressed in strong colors, as a woman of the world. The idea of a doppelganger also extends to the end of the film, providing plot twists and psychological tension. Decoding symbols in black swan the film experience journal. The film concludes when nina has fatally wounded herself with a shard of mirror, believing that she had stabbed lily while fighting over who would dance the last act of swan lake. The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalised after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.
First of all id like to say that i absolutely loved this film. When artistic director thomas leroy vincent cassel decides to replace prima. Black swan explained the central theme is around two character types a gentle, innocent person. The movie opens as nina sayers natalie portman, a young ballerina in her mid twenties, is dancing the prologue to swan lake. Like the symbolism of scratching herself, clipping her nails, stabbing herself. Black swan was presented in a sneak screening at the telluride film festival on september 5, 2010. Now its time for the black swan movie explanation that youve all been waiting for. The daringly original new film black swan, from director darren aronofsky requiem for a dream, the fountain, and the wrestler, is the cinematic embodiment of answering that figurative expression and that twist of choosing what you see in the mirror. This is basically the white swan and black swan respectively. Movie plot ending explained when i first saw darren aronofskys film black swan, natalie portmans acting shined, and the movie was terrific. This was my first film visual analysis, written for my visual communication class under the late ms. With this understanding of the external context, we can now dive into explaining what happened in the movie. Darren aronofskys black swan is a fullbore melodrama, told with passionate intensity, gloriously and darkly absurd.
Swan lake black swan 2010 movie plot ending explained i personally think nina died but natalie portman said herself that she thinks nina lives and finally becomes a woman. Regardless, the parentchild relationship dramatized in black swan illustrates the potential damage inflicted on both child and parent by the most destructive forces of favoritism that can be experienced in some parentchild relationships a child robbed of psychological maturity and sentenced to a life of selfdestructive expression in the interest of maintaining favorite child status. The term is based on an ancient saying that presumed black swans did not exist a saying that became reinterpreted to teach a different lesson after black swans were. The statement all swans are white isnt proven by spotting white swans, as much as it. Black swan is a 2010 american psychological thriller film directed by darren aronofsky. Black swan is danse macabre personified, a grueling, tragic, obsessive and gripping film about a ballerinas quest for perfection at the expense of personality and sanity. There are three characteristics that define a black swan.
An evil sorcerer, rothbart, turns a princess, by the name odette, into a swan. Black swan deconstructed, films many faces the new. The term comes from how people thought all swans were white until they saw their first black swan. Abstract this research paper will reflect on the film black swan. After rewatching black swan several times i was startled by several things i noticed. I found the whole film pretty confusing and i dont think i really got what it was trying to do or say or any of the deeper meaning in the film, which spoiled my enjoyment of it. Swan lake is a ballet in which a princess is turned into the white swan and can only be turned back if a man swears eternal fidelity to her.
A truly exciting, beautiful and mesmerising movie, it was directed by darren aronofsky and starring natalie portman, vincent cassel, mila kunis and winona ryder. And when nina runs out, she sees the file in her own bloody hands. Dont look for the precise and local, dont be narrow minded, dont try to predict, just move in the right direction. Black swan is an astounding psychological horror film that chronicles the life of nina sayers, a 28yearold dancer who is preparing for a show, swan lake.
Black swan deconstructed, films many faces the new york times. In my opinion, the movie is full of personified characters. In order to provide a black swan movie explanation, its important to first provide a summary of the plot. When i first watched darren aronofskys 2011 film black swan. Yes, black swan is the latest example of what the film critic jeanine basinger has called the my god, theres two of her. Black swan is an interesting film for many reasons, not the least of which is that this story is told through the eyes of an unreliable narrator. Once you understand this black swan concept youll be able to. Psychiatrists diagnose ballerinas descent abc news. A black swan is an event or occurrence that deviates beyond what is normally expected of a situation and is extremely difficult to predict. The occult interpretation of the movie black swan and. Black swan follows the story of nina portman, a ballerina in a new york city ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance.
Black swan is a dense and layered film, with so much to focus on. Like my facebook page for the same and some terrible film memes. Black swan is an artistic psychological thriller film directed by darren aronofsky in 2010, starring natalia portman and mila kunis. After this scene, she is able to perform the black swan because she has become the sexualized, noholdsbarred person that she and thomas wanted her to be. Different scenes will be broken down to the physiological and biological level. She killed her opponent as black swan, then as a white swan she is scared and feels regret, until the moment. She is cursed to remain like that until she finds true. In this video, youll learn about black swan theory, which the famous author and quant trader nassim taleb made popular. Nassim talebs black swan theory explained seeking alpha. Black swan offers just enough imagery to show us why pointwork in ballet can seem as extreme and punitive as the old chinese custom of binding womens feet.
First, it introduces and promises a surreal tone to the film. The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. Its a fantastic book for helping you get to know each other better and prevent you from falling into rational pitfalls in which we find ourselves. Natalie portman says her black swan masturbation scene. A psychological thriller set in the world of new york city ballet, black swan stars natalie portman as nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new. Behind the movies freaky facade lies a profound commentary on the cost of fame, the sacrifice of artists and the hidden. Nassim nicholas taleb explores in the black swan the problems of perception caused in people by random, unexpected events such as 911, which have an enormous impact on humanity and which people try to explain to no avail. She dances as the white swan in the swan lake ballet, and the next day discovers that. Its not so much a theory, its more of a metaphor for the idea that a theory or a statement can never be proven. Black swan explained follow me on twitter to hear my thoughts on.
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