Black Swan

Black Swan is easily one of my top three favorite films, if not number one. I’ve never really been into ballet, but it is such a beautiful story, and I’ve had an interest in the concept of doppelgangers since I was very young.

If I had to pick a single movie I relate to the most, it would be Black Swan. A lot of the time, I feel like the Nina/White Swan. For those who don’t know the story, the film is about a production of Swan Lake. A princess is turned into a swan and true love will break the curse, however her prince falls for the black swan, thinking it is her, and she kills herself to find freedom.

In the film, Nina, is meek and rather child-like, her dancing is all about precision and perfection. She is perfect for the White Swan, but the dancer must also be the Black Swan, who is more about passion and seduction.  Nina wins the role of the White/Black Swan, and the film is basically her descent into madness due to the stress of the role and trying to find her inner Black Swan.

Lily, a new girl, is Nina’s Black Swan. She is perfect for the role of the Black Swan because she embodies traits Nina doesn’t. Where Nina has precision, Lily has passion. Where Nina is rigid, Lily is relaxed. Though never explicitly stated in the film, I think Nina envies Lily and wishes she were her, or at least more like her.

It’s funny, I don’t remember having any interest in the film, at least none I can remember. I saw it in theaters with a dear friend of mine, and I think I just went because he’d invited me, and now I love it.

I relate to Nina because I have a hard time letting go and relaxing. I liken my idea of perfection to hers. My idea of perfection is to master technique and be emotionless, but for one needs passion and emotional vulnerability.

I’ve recently watched several videos analyzing the film, and one felt it was a film about growing up, which I liked. Nina is the young and innocent one and Lily is the mature one. The theory was that once you grow up, you can never go back to being the innocent White Swan you once were.

I think I prefer the idea of Nina failing because she wasn’t able to successfully combine the attributes of the White and Black Swan. By attempting to destroy one, she destroys herself.