Darren Aronofsky: Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky: Black Swan
Director  - Darren Aronofsky
Writers – Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin

Cast                              Character
Natalie Portman  …   Nina Sayers/The Swan Queen
Mila Kunis          …      Lily/The Black Swan
Vincent Cassel     …    Thomas Leroy/The Gentleman
Barbara Hershey   …   Erica Sayers/The Queen
Winona Ryder        …    Beth Macintyre/The Dying Swan
Benjamin Millepied  … David/The Prince

Plot
A committed dancer wins the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky’s
“Swan Lake” only to find herself struggling to maintain her sanity.  –
IMDB.com

Thoughts

First of all as much as I would like to be original and insightful
most of the time I am not. So with that being said I am going to quote
and cite heavily from the VigilantCitizen website.
Nina Sayers opens up the film saying she had the craziest dream last
night she was dancing the white swan. Something she will indeed
obtain. On the subway she notices another woman who looks like her
perhaps an alter persona. She is wearing black and could be the dark
side to Nina’s innocent side.

In the changing room the other dancers trash Beth Macintyre but Nina
lifts her up. She is surrounded by mirrors. “The director’s use of
mirrors and reflections in numerous scenes are a constant reminder of
Nina’s altered perception of reality.” (Vigilant Citizen) In a
following scene Beth goes crazy destroying her dressing room. After
she leaves Nina goes in and steals her lipstick.

Now why does she steal her lipstick? I am sure there is an esoteric
meaning to this. A good contrast between Lily and Nina is that when
they first see each other Nina asks Thomas if she should go again
(practice again). She is fiercely disciplined whereas Lily when asked
to warm up says she’s fine. Lily has that inner confidence where Nina
does not.  Thomas says if she was just playing the white swan she,
Nina, would get the part. Thomas is seen as her handler. Someone who
breaks her down into a disassociate state.

“A promotional poster for Black Swan. Nina (played by Natalie Portman)
is shown with a crack in her face, representing the fracturing of her
personality, an important concept, and symbol of mind control.”
(Vigilant Citizen)

Now I am not an expert on Illuminati symbols and their meanings so I
will let the following citation do the explaining.

“Nina’s bedroom. Notice the butterflies on the wall, a reference to
Monarch programming. Next to the window is a big white rabbit, a
symbol of mind control originating from Alice in Wonderland – a fairy
tale used in the programming of MK slaves.  By following the White
Rabbit Alice is lead to an alternate world, Wonderland, which, in mind
control terms, refers to a slave’s dissociative state.“(Vigilant
Citizen)

Thomas wants her to lose herself and not fight him, the handler. It is
evident he wants to put unimaginable pressure to break her psyche.  He
wants results. After a lame attempt to flirt with him he sees her as a
bit corrupt and realizes she does have the black swan within her. He
picks her to be The Swan Queen. She is emotional and thrilled to have
gotten the part. She tells her “mommy” as she refers her accentuating
her innocence and naivety.
If you watch carefully when she gets back to her apartment in her
mom’s room a painting with eyes follows her and this begins her
psychosis.

A boundary and disturbingly sexual shot is when her mom Erica feed
some cake from her finger to Nina’s mouth. Thomas says he wants more
of that bite referring to the bitten kiss she gives him. He is trying
to seduce her to loosen her up for the role and of course for the
pleasure of sex. It seems as though everyone in the film, her mother,
Thomas, Lily and the old pervert in the subway sees Nina in a sexual
way perhaps because of her innocence they want to corrupt.

Her transformation is not just psychological but also physical as she
bleeds randomly on her body. On her back, fingernail and toenail. Lily
and Nina officially meet in the bathroom. Nina is wearing white,
virginal and pure and Lily is wearing black. Not to say she is evil
but let’s say more enlightened and experienced in the ways of the
world
.
Thomas asks Nina if she’s had many boyfriends and if she enjoys having
sex. He is trying to bring out the Black Swan she is having trouble
conveying. He gives her homework: to touch herself. He wants her live
a little. There is “sexual familiarity” when Erica, Nina’s mom,
undresses her with no hesitation. (Vigilant Citizen). Nina comes
around to masturbating herself as suggested by Thomas. Nina later puts
a rod to block the door so no one can get in. It is hinted that her
mother might be sexually abusive.

Thomas and Nina practice together in the dance hall. He touches her
all over, vagina and breasts. He tells her that is he seducing her and
that it should be the other way around.
“An old pervert makes obscene gestures to Nina while riding the train.
This disturbing scene tells a lot about Nina’s relation to sexuality.
Sexual predators sometimes have the sick ability to sniff out and prey
on sex-abuse victims.” (Vigilant Citizen)

It is interesting when she comes home with “Lily” you can see her
reflection in many mirrors which may symbolize her mental fracturing
is taking place. Just a thought. I’m not an expert on that sort of
work. She and “Lily” go home and have sex. This means that she is
becoming the black swan. At the theatre she watches Lily practice. She
is really watching her idealized self.

Nina grows paranoid that she thinks Lily is after her role when she
learns she has become Nina’s alternate. Nina still practices too hard
without letting go. At home she starts physically changing – her eyes
become red, growths coming from her skin and her toes sticking
together.

At opening night she gives a great performance as she inhabits both
the white and black swan.

“The Black Swan is the artistically brilliant yet spiritually
destructive force Thomas wants to see born in Nina. He obviously knows
about the Black Swan’s devastating powers, but he doesn’t care and
never did: he is after the ultimate performance. Once Nina has been
“used” up by the Swan, he will find another dancer to replace her. He
is a representation of the entertainment industry, which manipulates
artists into becoming Black Swans,  ultimately trashing them when the
Swan’s effects have faded.” (Vigilant Citizen)

Works Cited

https://vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/the-occult-interpretation-of-the-movie-black-swan-and-its-message-on-show-business/

IMDB.com