Black swan: dancing with psychosis

Black Swan It was one of the most acclaimed films of 2010. This is the film that won Natalie Portman the Oscar for best actress and that caused strong controversy with her double. Portman’s double argued that the Oscar was not deserved because she was the one who danced most of the time; The director, Darren Aronofsky, applauded Portman’s work and said that she was only replaced in the most difficult scenes.

Leaving aside this controversy, whether the Oscar is deserved or not, Black Swan gives us a ballet on the big screen, a thriller psychological hand in hand Swan Lake. Natalie Portman dazzles in all aspects, because her role is much more than a dancer, she is a complex character with mental disorders that will become more visible as the ballet’s release date approaches.

Portman achieves a truly convincing character, who captivates us from the first moments; Let’s not forget that the actress graduated in Psychology from Harvard University and, probably, this knowledge helped her prepare for her role. That said, let’s delve into the plot of this great production and analyze its psychological aspects.

Discovering Nina

The plot revolves around Nina, a young dancer who lives with her mother and works for a ballet company; which wants to open the season with a renewed version of the Swan Lake.

Nina wants to get the main role and she achieves it, since she is a very disciplined, methodical and demanding dancer. However, the character requires a crazier and wilder side. The film will go hand in hand with the ballet and, in a masterful way, will immerse us in the personality and disorders of the protagonist.

Nina’s personality is revealed to us as the film progresses. She lives alone with her mother, who had also been a dancer but did not achieve the success of her daughter and left everything to take care of her. We don’t know anything about her father, so her mother has raised her alone and is extremely protective of her.

Nina doesn’t have any friends either, she simply hangs out with her ballet classmates.. When we enter her room, we find a very childish space, in pale tones and decorated with countless stuffed animals, it looks like the room of a girl, of someone who has not yet grown up.

A young woman overprotected by her mother

This room is a reflection of Nina’s world, a very dependent young woman, controlled by her mother who has not yet reached maturity.

Her mother is the one who instilled in her a passion for ballet and, possibly, also projected all her frustrations onto her. Thus, Nina makes him see that she never went as far as her daughter, something that becomes a cause of conflict between the two.

Likewise, Nina has never disobeyed her mother, she has always lived extremely controlled and has never had the ability to decide for herself. Furthermore, she is obsessed with perfection and she will do everything possible to achieve it, even if it costs her her health. Consequently, The protagonist develops a complex personality, characterized by hallucinations, delusions and self-harm..

His mother knows these problems well, so she checks him for scratches on his back, cuts his nails so he doesn’t hurt himself, and watches if he spends too much time in the bathroom.

In short, Nina has not been a happy girl, has not had a healthy development; Her mother has been overprotective of her, but has also projected her frustrations onto her. All of this has made Nina an emotionally unstable person. Therefore, when the company offers her the lead role in the play, her personality begins to falter and dissociate.

Black Swan, a dangerous dance

Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess who was turned into a white swan by a spell, in order to break it, she needs the love of a prince; love that she finally does not achieve because her rival intervenes: the black swan.

Nina’s company decides to reinvent the story a little and decides that the role of both swans falls on the same person. Now, N. Ina seems to fit perfectly in the role of the white swan, but not in the black one, Because she lacks spontaneity and is too disciplined.

Then, Nina has a rival, another of the company’s dancers: Lily; who an undisciplined and carefree young woman who fits perfectly into the role of the black swan. From there, Nina’s personality will destabilize, she will begin to become obsessed with her rival and reveal her most unstable and dark side.

As we get deeper into the ballet and meet the main characters, Nina’s personality will gradually dissociate, to the point where she won’t even be able to recognize herself.nor to differentiate what is real from what is dreamed.

In this film, The mirrors will play an important role in the film, as they present us with the distortions that Nina appreciates, the confusions and the most critical moments of the film. For her part, Nina lacks a father figure and her mother is absolutely controlling, which has contributed to the development of a personality disorder.

The arrival of rivalry and the search for that dark side that the role requires will cause Nina to begin to show the first symptoms of psychosis. Nina will engage in an internal struggle with the two swans that live inside her, while her relationship with her mother and her environment will become increasingly difficult.

The other side of ballet

In addition to the demands of the role and the rivalry with Lily, Nina will have to face a less friendly side of ballet and the world. She had never had a role as important as this and, as a result, she was unaware of the darkness that surrounded her.

On her night out with Lily, we see that Nina has a total lack of knowledge of the nightlife and drugs. Having never been exposed to these situations and having always been under the protection of her mother, Nina is unable to control herself, to decide for herself and to know what is best for her.

On the other hand, Within the company itself, we see that relationships are not entirely healthy either. The dancers are replaced when they reach a certain age, rivalry is present in each of them and they are capable of anything to get a role.

Additionally, more powerful men, such as the company director, can abuse and pressure the dancers. Something that reminds us of movement Me Too that is taking place in the world of cinema currently.

The character of Nina also presents a great similarity to Norman Bates, protagonist of Psychosisespecially in his relationship with his mother. The overprotection and darkness of show business lead Nina to imbalance, instability and self-destruction..

What mental disorder does Nina suffer from?

A possible diagnosis for Nina would be Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).), a type of psychosis formerly known as multiple personality.

This disorder is characterized by the presence of two or more different personalities, where each one can have a name, history and personal characteristics of their own. It usually occurs as a reaction to traumatic situations, as a mechanism that prevents the person from reliving bad memories.

At the TID one or more aspects of the personality, which are disruptive for the I, They are split from consciousness. In this way, two personalities can coexist and act independently within the same person.

In Nina’s case, A part of your personality usually has a greater degree of elaboration and autonomy (the white swan); while the other remains in the shadows (black swan), but emerges unexpectedly. In other words, the film reflects the duality of the protagonist in the following way:

The white swan is the seemingly normal personality. That is, a functional, obedient and disciplined young woman who does ballet and chats with her mother. On the other hand, The black swan represents the personality that has been removed from consciousness because it is dangerous. and be loaded with painful emotions such as anger, sadness or terror (all associated with trauma). Normally this personality occurs in an explosive and sudden way.

That said, we can assume that Nina’s trauma is associated with her family history. Whose mother places her frustrations on her and prevents Nina from displaying her own personality.

Therefore, Nina has had to split in her psyche aspects of her personality that she considers negative, such as disobedience, rage and sexuality. Thus repressing a large part of their emotions and way of being.

Unfortunately, These repressed elements are not eliminated from the mind. On the contrary, they remain trapped in the unconscious, waiting to do their thing when there is a strong stressful situation, which destabilizes the person’s psychic system. In Nina’s case, that moment was when she received the lead role in the play.

In sum, Black Swan It is a reflection of psychosis; where a young woman becomes trapped in a delirious search for perfection. A perfection that spectators admire, but of which they are unaware of its nature. The result is perfect, but the path was full of thorns.

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