The Black Swan

In Darren Aranofsky’s Black Swan, Nina struggles with her own self-identity between what her mother wants her to be and what she needs to be in order to dance the role of the black swan. After being babied for years by her mother she needs to break off and find herself. She struggles to break away from her innocent side, which perfectly depicts the white swan, and has to explore her dark side, so she can fully take on the black swan role. When a new dancer, Lily, comes into the company Nina feels intimidated because she is everything that Nina needs to be for the part. As the two dancers turn their competitive rivalry into a disturbing friendship, Nina's image is skewed by the pressure that Lily and Thomas put on her to open up and relax. This change is what eventually destroys her.

Nina’s life revolves around making the lead role in the production The Black Swan. The pressure seems to stress her out and we begin to see things that she is hiding. It looks like Nina might have an eating disorder and other psychological issues. Nina gets a rash on her shoulder that she subconsciously scratches and her mother tends to make a big deal of it which shows to us that it is a small part to a larger problem. The movie plays her subconscious as an evil entity that controls her and makes her scratch her shoulder. Throughout the movie between the auditions and practicing for the grand performance of the new and improved Swan Lake we get a glimpse of Nina’s private life at home. There is the relationship between Nina and her mother which is questionable. The relationship between the two seems as though the mother is a bit controlling and treats Nina as a child. Her mother tries to live her life through Nina’s dancing because she failed as a dancer. This added stress causes tension at home when she begins to take on the black swan role in her life.

There is the relationship between Nina and Thomas her ballet director. Thomas knows Nina has what it takes to take the lead in the show but tries to get her to embody the black swan role by trying to get her to loosen up. He tells her the only thing standing in her way is herself. She is as Thomas describes throughout