\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Motherhood<\/span><\/p>\n The mother’s\u00a0lack of\u00a0career did not escape us, particularly because she was supposedly destined to the life that Nina has gained.\u00a0\u00a0Two things are suggested here: the mother as self-sacrificing (she\u00a0gave up her career to have Nina)\u00a0for the advancement of future women. Or, the continuous replacement of younger women in the entertainment industry. Nina informs us that her mother was already 28, thus past her expiry date. The mother viewed in this sense is a tragic character because she lacks a career, (because of age and children) and is also losing her daughter to the strain of an industry, one that she is acutely aware of.<\/p>\n Another odd occurrence: the moment of\u00a0Nina’s\u00a0first sexual experience. Did she imagine her mother in the room during masturbation, or was the mother by her bedside?\u00a0\u00a0If the first interpretation is correct\u00a0then what does this mean? One option could be part of a guilt complex, but\u00a0should we be more psychoanalytic?<\/p>\n Yet another confusing mother moment occurs when Nina’s mother attempts to throw away the celebration cake. What are we to make of this over-blown reaction? It was noted that Nina is a ballerina and thus most likely on a strict diet so\u00a0cake would be out-of-bounds, and Nina suggests this very idea to her mother.<\/p>\n Let’s break this down:<\/p>\n In this scene\u00a0we can see a guilt complex working in favour of the\u00a0mother, and\u00a0if we then connect this to the masturbation scene we could surmise: the mother keeps her in a virginal room made for a young\u00a0girl, complete with the habitual tucking into bed and brushing of the hair. Nina moves away from the mother’s “ideal” (good little girl)\u00a0and is struck by an imaginative view of her mother, caused by an inherent guilt complex. These are merely speculations, but what is important to note is how the\u00a0power boundaries\u00a0<\/span>change\u00a0and evolve.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Female performers\/ All About Eve<\/em> syndrome\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The performer is presented to us as\u00a0a fragmented person (Nina, Erica, Beth). The best example of this can be found in:<\/span><\/p>\n We also noted\u00a0similar connections to this film and The Red Shoes <\/em>(Powell and Pressburger, UK, 1948). The film shows a\u00a0performer that\u00a0lives her role\u00a0to such an extent that it becomes her literal destruction.<\/p>\n \u00a0The uncanny and the double\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These are just a few examples, but the message is clear: duality is inherent, and it’s everywhere.\u00a0Interestingly, the duality causes fear and paranoia at first and then destruction by its acceptance.<\/p>\n Sexuality and gender roles<\/span><\/p>\n Another comment\u00a0in regards to women and sexuality\u00a0was\u00a0the intriguing fact that women fear each other.\u00a0\u00a0This fear seems to derive from the opposing woman’s\u00a0bodily power. The fear results in jealousy and paranoia, reminding the group \u00a0of hysteria as a woman’s problem. Note that Thomas finds the notion of another woman trying to steal Nina’s\u00a0part as ridiculous and\u00a0he is almost unaware of the pain and stress caused by the decline of Beth’s\u00a0career.<\/p>\n \u00a0Please comment further to continue the discussion on this interesting film.<\/p>\n \u00a0You can log in to do so, or email me on\u00a0 sp458@kent.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n Many thanks to Ann-Marie for choosing such a\u00a0 thought-provoking film, providing an interesting introduction and the above excellent summary of our discussion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah Ann-Marie has very kindly provided the following: We had a varied and\u00a0detailed discussion about Black Swan\u00a0(Darren Aronofsky, 2010). Please find our discussion under theme\/subject: \u00a0 Motherhood Each member found the relationship\u00a0between mother and daughter disturbing. Firstly, we … Continue reading ![\"Black](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2014\/02\/Black-Swan.jpg\")
<\/a>Each member found the relationship\u00a0between mother and daughter disturbing. Firstly, we were unsure whether the mother was a villain or whether we see her\u00a0through Nina’s interpretation. The film is not always explicit in its depiction of reality (part of its power) but this also leaves for questionable gaps in its reading. A question was raised if\u00a0\u200bwe should cast blame on the mother?\u00a0It seems like a “chicken and egg” scenario and is open to either interpretation.\u00a0Option A: Mother is to blame, showing the danger of the matriarch. Option B: Nina’s illness has caused an over-protective mother, showing the responsibility placed on the role of matriarch.<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>A possible fear that is shown through Nina’s\u00a0<\/span>character\u00a0is the dissolution of self. Nina’s submersion into the two roles that she plays begs the question: is a personality lost when one becomes a performer, and\u00a0if one can lose the self in a part then what is\u00a0the self, is\u00a0it something we continually construct? If this Is the case it is no wonder that Nina would fear others, but more importantly the particular danger of other performers.\u00a0Alternately, we could also consider Nina (or indeed any\u00a0performer) as an example of the role picked for us and the person we are.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/a>The use of the double was the reason for the\u00a0initial interest in the film. In many melodramas we have seen the clear distinctions between good and bad (The Wicked Lady, <\/em>Leslie Arliss, UK,\u00a01945) and the nature of disguise\/hiding true self\u00a0(Gaslight<\/em>, Thorold Dickinson, UK, 1940 and George Cukor, US,\u00a01945). Black Swan<\/em> is no exception, in fact, its use of double and its cause for female stress is explicit. Here are just some of the ways the film shows us that the duality of self is at its\u00a0core:\u200b<\/p>\n\n
<\/a>Purity is seen as a form of weakness. Thomas tells Nina at various intervals to stop being weak and\u00a0that she seems too reserved, thus, has an inability to lose herself in a good performance. Perhaps most fascinating is Thomas’ mention of Beth. He tells Nina that it is the dark impulses of Beth that makes her perfect, albeit destructive. It seems that the film suggests that a woman finds perfection in accepting her\u00a0inherent dichotomy. Often the stereotyped woman is the virgin or the whore, and this film challenges those preconceptions as well as challenging the idea of a defined\u00a0sexuality. Nina experiments with men and has fantasises\u00a0about women, thus showing the possibility\u00a0of both a fluid <\/a>sexuality as well as a rejection of gender roles. However, the “perfection” that Nina feels she achieves by the end of her performance suggests that it is still not possible for a woman to reach the “ideal fluidity,” instead these women will be destroyed by the pressures put upon them.<\/p>\n