i. Synopsis

Black Swan is a psychological thriller directed by Darren Aronofsky in which the main character Nina Sayers, portrayed by Natalie Portman, struggles with the preservation of her image, the pressure of being a great ballet dancer, and the temptation to embrace the darkness surrounding her as she tries to embody the characteristics of both the White and Black Swan in a new production of Swan Lake. Nina, often fragile and malleable, lives with her overbearing mother Erica, portrayed by Barbara Hershey, whose physical intimacy and imposition of will on Nina hint at a darker history of sexual and mental abuse. On a subway train to the dance studio, she spots a girl similar in appearance to herself in the other car, clad in black like the others on the train while Nina wears a fluffy white scarf herself. This the first of many uses of black and white symbolism by Aronofsky in the film and Lily’s importance becomes clearer in the events following her arrival at the studio. After she is cast as the Swan Queen, she begins to practice the dance sequences. She has no difficulty performing as the White Swan, as she is already fearful and fragile. However, when the time comes to prepare for her performance as the Black Swan, Nina struggles and is unable to produce the seductive and dark, sultry characteristics of the Black Swan. Embodying the Black Swan goes directly against who Nina is as a person, causing her the tumult and turmoil evident in her hallucinations of bodily transmogrification involving skin peeling and the appearance of an evil doppelganger. With each action she takes in internalizing the characteristics of the Black Swan, she has more intense hallucinations of developing swanlike features. In the midst of Nina’s struggle with her own psychosis, she is tempted by Lily to indulge in a night of drinking and drug use, to her mother’s discontent. Through her rebellion against her mother’s wishes, Nina is able to complete her transformation into the black swan, later visualizing herself stabbing Lily and developing swan limbs, crimson eyes, and dark feathers. Nina’s psychosis and obsession with becoming the perfect performer is evident when it is revealed that Nina has stabbed herself and not Lily, as she hallucinated. Nina is able to manifest herself as the Swan Queen, but at the cost of her mental stability and her life.

ii. Analysis of Nina Sayers’s Mental Health
Alongside being portrayed as a frail framed and fragile young woman, Nina also hosts a variety of psychological issues, mainly revolving around bulimia, delusion/hallucination, an obsession with perfection and an unhealthy dynamic in the relationship between herself and her overbearing mother, hinting at possible physical or mental abuse. Nina’s frailty does more than accentuate her mental instability. Her observable anxiety and tension in stress inducing times convey important information about what she values and holds dear. For example, when practicing at the studio under the critical eye of a dance instructor, the camera often offers us Nina’s point of view. This is key in that by seeing the world of the film through Nina’s eyes, one is able to make several deductions about the character. At the entrance of the Thomas, remarkably portrayed by Vincent Cassel, Nina is visibly tenser and carefully takes note of his movements as he selects specific dancers to place into two different groups. Her eye movements become erratic as he comes closer, so one could infer that she is trying her hardest to put on a perfect display of ability. Throughout the film, this becomes increasingly problematic for Nina as she tries invariably to produce a perfect encompassment of the characteristics of both the Black and White Swan, driving her into psychosis and breeding her delusion and hallucination; although, this is only an early precursor to a mental health issue that exacerbates throughout the development of the film.

Nina’s eating disorder and her volatile relationship with her mother is most prominently displayed in the celebratory cake scene after Nina acquires the leading role in the Swan Lake reproduction. In the beginning of the scene, wee see Nina walk in on a collection of her mother’s artwork, the canvasses portraying Nina in her dancer’s uniform. The ubiquity, repetition, and number of the artwork shown in this instance point to Nina’s mother’s obsession with creating the perfect ballerina daughter. This, however, sets the stage for a larger display of volatility in their relationship. As the scene progresses, Erica Sayers, expertly portrayed by Barbara Hershey, surprises Nina with cake, to which Nina responds that she does not desire a large portion. This infuriates Erica and she threatens to trash the entire cake. Nina is able to diffuse the situation, and Erica responds feebly that her actions are out of pride. However, from the viewer’s perspective, one can see that her volatile nature is due to her obsession with Nina’s development as a dancer. One could further infer that this is due to Erica’s failed history as a ballerina and that she has spent her parenting duties attempting to live vicariously through the formation of Nina’s success. Evidence of this relationship is seen in the fact that Nina is a grown adult with a decent profession who still lives under the authority of her mother. In contradiction to social standards, this deviation from the societal norm could hint at a deeper issue, one of overbearing and toxic parenthood that has inspired fragility and weakness in Nina Sayers.  Nina’s mental state is almost completely a direct result of her domestic environment. Since she has an overbearing mother who constantly stresses the importance of becoming an accomplished dancer, Nina becomes obsessed with her craft and becomes a victim of her mother’s parental malpractice.

iii. Black Swan’s Cultural Impact
Though Black Swan has been critically acclaimed and highly favored by viewers, its representation of the world of ballet has proven to be a controversial topic. The portrayal of the harshness and demoralization caused by the pressures of the ballet world has caused discomfort in some viewers. The question remains, is this how we want our daughters to see ballet?  The character of Nina Sayers represents all the possible negative impacts of becoming involved with the world of ballet. Her eating disorders parallel those of dancers who endure the daily struggle of crafting the perfect dancer’s body. This also poses an issue as the portrayal of these ballerinas causes controversy in terms of body image. The issue of how women are portrayed in film and in the media in general has been a controversial topic in the minds of mothers and daughters across the nation. Nina’s obsession with her appearance, accompanied and worsened by her preoccupation with becoming a perfect dancer, proves to be an exemplar of how discriminative institutions utilized by the dance industry systematically poison the minds of young girls who are fooled into believing that a “perfect” body is achievable. Natalie Portman was quoted in the Huffington Post saying that she was “barely eating” during the filming of Black Swan. If the actress portraying the ballerina is being pressured by the requirements of the role to nearly starve herself, one can only imagine how tortuous it must be for women in the industry. Nina Sayers proves to be a shockingly accurate representation of how the pressures of the discrimination inherent in the world of dance affect the minds and bodies of women and serves to promote awareness of the dark truths behind an artistic façade.

iv. Conclusion
Black Swan is a tremendously filmed and excellently crafted product of Darren Aronofsky. The complexity of the characters provides a visceral element of portrayal that is able to effectively convey emotion on a high level. Nina’s realistic character and the portrayal of her point of view draw viewers in and the audience at once becomes immersed in the film. By masterfully juxtaposing the beauty of the art with the darkness of the issues underneath, Aronofsky adds meaning to his use of black-and-white symbolism and allows viewers to interpret it for themselves. As a whole, Black Swan is a masterfully entertaining psychological thriller that also serves as a catalyst for discussion and analysis of the effects of the pressures of the dance industry on the minds of the women subjected to them.