Black Swan - A Cautionary Tale about Perfectionism

[@thetake]

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[@kittykittybangbang9367]

Please do a video on the quiet kid trope, angsty teen trope, the dominatrix trope, how BDSM is represented in fiction, and how whenever there is a LGBT+ character in fiction it's almost always a female and never a male.

[@KkKk-oy6rn]

Can you please tell me what is the name of the soundtrack you used in the beginning of the video?

[@sandavijithminirathnayake7033]

I would prefer if you could do a video about a male character who's a perfectionist as it's the female perfectionists like Nina or Monica Gellar are often viewed as " crazy " .

[@transformers_quotes5738]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9 "for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" Romans 10:13

[@mr.herbszt7749]

@@KkKk-oy6rnthats my question too

[@nmejiag5030]

Natalie Portman said it isn't confirmed that Nina dies in the end as the script said it just fades to white, she even believes that Nina doesn't dies and that the fading indicates how Nina becomes free and a woman. I find interesting her interpretation as it makes it a happy end.

[@alicedubois1348]

That is her point of view, but maybe not the screenwriters or the directors who actually created the film. They said it was up to the viewer to decide.

[@AveGoddess]

Immaculate. ⚪

[@---wq9xp]

Idk if it makes it a happy ending. She's likely scarred her abdomen to the point that she'll likely never be able to dance again. Someone whose whole life was dedicated to dance would struggle to function outside if the field

[@Claire18Hi]

Exactly!!

[@iloveprivacy8167]

It's plausible, as she couldn't have danced so perfectly while truly bleeding to death. But also agreed: she'll never dance again. Would she embrace that transformation in her new post-dance life? Or become the bitter fallen star, forever telling everyone about her moment in the sun?

[@TheLeah2344]

The problem with perfection is that people overwork themselves to DEATH to obtain perfection. I know because it happened to me. I neglected myself so that I can dedicate long hours to my work and ended up in the hospital due to the stress that caused me chest pains.

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

What’s the point of overworking to death if you are no longer alive to enjoy whatever accomplishment you reach? Why do one big lethal accomplishment that will be eventually forgotten, when you can do small but memorizable harmless ones? If you don’t change strategy sooner, you are going to waste your life for literally no good reasons. Admit it, darling. You’re sweating fear.

[@Lumeriadeborel]

I did the same with my artwork and my grades in college. I was used to being the valedictorian in high school and always getting awards for my art work, but that all came crashing down when I went to college and found out the hard way that I wasn’t all that great and that there were better artists than me. I would sleep awful hours, increased my migraines and developed carpal tunnel. I ended up with anxiety, depression and isolated myself. 14 years later I’m in a better place thankfully, but I always look back to those dark years to remind myself to not fall into that pit again.

[@MinkytheMinkY]

Burnout and/or recovering perfectionist would be a great topic to explore next.

[@joannamyers1268]

@@veronicapiccinini7956 You've definitely got a good point. I think perfectionists have an all-or-nothing mindset. As in, if they're not the absolute best, they're completely worthless. For people who've been shaped by this mindset, overworking is necessary to maintain any sense of self-worth.

[@Sarah-eh7bw]

@@veronicapiccinini7956 for many, it becomes a kind of OCD esque compulsion that has nothing to do with enjoyment. It needs treatment like any other addiction.

[@ashleightompkins3200]

A take I always took from this movie is how women are forced to be sexual creatures but are punished for it which is represented by the instructor's comments about the difference between Nina and Lily.

[@carla6485]

Yeah, it's like what happens to all those young disney girls. They expect them to be grown up but also child like and I feel this pushes them to being sexualized very young because they get told indirectly that they can only be a women if they are sexual. It's difficult to be taken seriously as a women sometimes cause of these mixed messages

[@PoeticProse7]

That's what the film it was based on, Perfect Blue, was mostly about.

[@thrawncaedusl717]

I agree with this, but would also expand it beyond sexuality. People (especially women) are expected by society to be “good”. However, society also wants us to be “bad” at certain times and in certain ways (ie crude jokes). The problem is “society” is not a monolith, so both of these forces can be present at the same time, making accomplishing them (perfection) impossible. I saw the black swan persona as just as fake and controlling of Nina as the white swan persona. She does not escape society’s pressure to become something, instead she is torn apart by contradictory messages. Through an insane amount of work and effort, she manages to be “perfect” for one night (both “good” and “bad” enough). She then kills herself because she knows perfection cannot be maintained, and she cannot stand failing by society’s standards (which all people inevitably do; that is what society’s standards are designed for. Those of us, I am someone who really identifies with this struggle, who do desire to be perfect are being set up for failure, and we need to get past this tendency asap for our own good).

[@ashleightompkins3200]

@@PoeticProse7 Perfect Blue is what they took inspiration from, not something that they adapted. Otherwise, you're pretty dead on.

[@ashleightompkins3200]

@@thrawncaedusl717 I completely agree. I used to dance in College and I achieved what I believed to be perfection once during a rehearsal but I then spent forever chasing that feeling again but it never felt right. Even my final performance didn't feel right compared to that single moment and I'm still suffering from that feeling now.

[@notmadjustdisappointedscie282]

I like too how it’s implied that nina’s mom infantilizes her to both exert control over what she was forced to give up her career for (having a baby) and as a way of discouraging her from ever exploring her sexuality and potentially getting pregnant too. The movie does a really good job of showing how perfectionism can be a generational “curse” passed down.

[@lakshita1408]

Wow! Didn't think about the latter part.

[@arontesfay2520]

I think it goes deeper than that if you see it from the perspective of Freudian psychology. Nina's mother likely has an unconscious resentment for her daughter because she had to give up her dancing career to raise her. It remains unconscious because as a mother, she would find the idea of resenting her own daughter so morally unpalatable so she represses the feeling. If she had acknowledged the feeling no matter how unpleasant it would have been, she could have dealt with it in a healthy way and most likely would eventually get over it. I'm not saying that what you said about her daughter's sexuality or not wanting her to get pregnant is not true. Those things are absolutely true but in the process of doing any of those things which any caring parent does, the dark elements of her unconscious manage to slip out e.g. giving her a large portion of the cake could have been her unconsciously trying to sabotage her daughter's career. Her irritation when Nina insists on a smaller portion only gives more credence to that idea. The extreme control could have also been a way of clipping her daughter's wings i.e. not wanting to see her daughter surpass her own success.

[@didhiti20]

Uhhh why is literally NOONE talking about how deeply this movie was inspired by the 90's Satoshi Ken film 'Perfect Blue',especially the part of dual image of self!!! That one was brilliant and terrifying too.

[@akhilsainayudu794]

Ikr

[@absolutelynotellen]

TRUE! Even some scenes in Black Swan is inspired from Perfect Blue

[@softevilkitten]

Was looking for this comment. It's a shame Satoshi Kon passed away so young and remains mostly unknown to general audiences, when he was (and in a way still is) one of the best directors of recent times.

[@didhiti20]

@@softevilkitten so true.

[@Kamila-ey5vi]

IVE NEVER NOTICED THAT OH MY GOD THIS IS PERFECT

[@MissBlueEyeliner]

This hits way too close to home. Perfectionism was a survival technique for me in a very volatile environment and it has absolutely ruined my life.

[@saanasalonen8684]

same. and i didnt realize it until i saw ur comment.. maby i need to give myself a break...

[@alim.9801]

I feel you man. I hope that you can get to a good place, hang in there 💜

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

Me too. I was going to share the exact same comment.

[@lorebalder]

Same here 🙌🏻

[@nadjakari1752]

Same with me. I’m sorry you went ( or are going) through this as well.

[@wickedamoeba8719]

I think this was Nina’s happy ending. She got to die believing her performance was perfect. The idea of perfection is fleeting. Artists will think their work is perfect or great for a half second before picking it apart. By dying, that feeling of the performance being perfect will last forever.

[@thrawncaedusl717]

She viewed it as a happy ending. And that is what makes it so sad. She has been led to value exterior standards of perfection more than she values herself to the point of self-destruction. As someone who struggled (fit the definition of suicidal for a while, though I personally don’t think I was ever really at risk) with a very similar outlook, her experience terrifies me (why I love this movie so much).

[@WhitneyDahlin]

@@thrawncaedusl717 ‼️BUT if you look at Winona Ryder's character she was the best too and the second she got old she was forced to retire and she ended herself. And that's what would have happened to Natalie Portman if she had lived as well. The ballet industry eats women up. They have the most beautiful perfect performance of their lives, the second they are at the top of their game and then it's a slow descent into mediocrity. A slow descent on the way down until they are forced to retire. All the while fading into obscurity and being thought of as washed up. With Nina dying right at the height of her career, right at the height of her talent, this dance was her Magnum opus, she became immortal. She immortalized herself everyone will think of her and how perfect and beautiful she was and how tragic it was taken she was so young. And I think that's what she wanted.

[@Portia620]

@@WhitneyDahlin truths! Either die at the top of the game in the bottom of your game

[@jov9028]

I agree. I think the fear of becoming like Beth (old, forgotten, unuseful (also shown trough her hallucinations: Beth saying "I'm not perfect"; "I'm nothing" and then turning into Nina)) plays also a big part of it.

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

One of my life motto is: “Do well, but not perfect”.

[@alienboy1322]

One hell of a motto.

[@ariannamyrie9520]

It's similar to mine, "If you are perfect, there would be nothing left to strive for within yourself."

[@iloveprivacy8167]

Perfect is the enemy of the good!

[@Hairspraygoblin]

Aim for a 6

[@PoeticProse7]

There are actually native religions who teach that aspiring for and achieving perfection are an insult to the great spirit. Some will include purposeful 'mistakes' in woven clothing and dishes for that reason. I kind of like that attitude despite being a humanist; it's not noble or great to reach for perfection.

[@solveigelisabethhenne1739]

This movie is so well-made! Natalie Portman gives an outstanding performance as Nina.

[@SlapstickGenius23]

And it’s partly inspired by both the book and anime film versions of Perfect blue.

[@thrawncaedusl717]

Literally my favorite performance in any movie ever.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Those who have little control in their lives control whatever little they have in their lives. Helena Bonham Carter, referring to Princess Margaret.

[@ThatgirlINTP]

Woah...thats a really great way to Put it.

[@slouberiee]

Perfectionism is very often caused by over-ambitious parents who install "you must be perfect to be loved, to be acknowledged" in their children. It's sad. Parents should be kind, supporting and forgiving "imperfections" of their children.

[@Sunshine-yk2eg]

I feel attacked

[@pawanthakur-df2yk]

Bhai yaha bhi. You are really Omnipresent

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@pawanthakur-df2yk All of us are. You just know my name now 😂

[@Piccadally]

I loved how, over the course of the movie, Nina's wardrobe and outfits included more and more black pieces of clothing instead of white to showcase how she gradually transforms into the Black Swan. Really great movie and you guys did a great job analysing it!

[@stoplisteningtothestatic7078]

This movie scared me so bad when i was 10… i thought it was just about ballerinas😭

[@Junooo79]

Black Swan is def not for 10-year olds :((

[@trinaq]

Me too, I was about 13 at the time, and just from watching clips online scarred me for life! 😱

[@jessstaxx1864]

I saw it with. My grandma! 😖

[@clairewillow6475]

Lol I saw it as a young tween with my friend and I liked it but she didn’t 😆

[@tylert271]

The hallucinations scared the f**k out of me. But I still loved the film and the message

[@fabiolasmith624]

Perfectionism is self-destructive simply because there is no such thing as perfect. Perfection is an unattainable goal. Additionally, perfectionism is more about perception - we want to be perceived as perfect. Again, this is unattainable - there is no way to control perception, regardless of how much time and energy we spend trying.

[@andreajuarez7109]

That’s such a good point, I also think that the search for perfection is a message that we don’t feel like we’re enough.

[@fabiolasmith624]

@@andreajuarez7109 Yeah, I think that we as people, are constantly looking at ourselves through the eyes of others and constantly looking for validation. We'll go to extreme lengths just to feel like we belong, and I think that was Nina's problem, she felt like she didn't belong.

[@Komnenit]

Dichotomy of control

[@violethatchell3796]

Can we talk about the sexual harrassment Nina endures over the course of the movie tho?

[@welikelethabo]

!!!!!

[@maplewhatever5581]

It was terrible, I wanted to help her out

[@anthonyd9844]

Sadly thats not uncommon in the performing arts. you can hate the character but hate what he represents instead, the dozens of instructors around the world who act just like him.

[@dariuscleary1354]

She liked the teacher tho….

[@j3891]

@@dariuscleary1354 there was such a power dynamic between them both. she was most likely manipulated into it. plus, in the very beginning of the film, she made it plentifully clear she didn't want to do That with him 😭

[@GenerationNextNextNext]

I grew up in a very high-stress home, with a single mother, in an alternative religion. My mother received a lot of attention from being a "perfect family" in public, along with having twin daughters (my sister and me), when behind the scenes it was everything but. When my father passed away, the need to maintain a perfect image intensified. I felt this pressure to dress a certain way. My mother told me I had to straighten my hair (African American hair was considered "unkempt" back in the day) and wear heels to every dressy event (though I hated it). I had to be neat as a kid at all times. I couldn't really play too hard. I wasn't allowed to talk "too much" or ask too many questions, otherwise I'd be punished. It was my responsibility to clean the whole house, a four-story home, everyday, despite homework. Sometimes, I would only get my chores done and not my homework; other times the other way around. Eventually, I gave up on both. And I suffered for it through severe punishments and blows to my self-esteem. That hell house made me a nervous anxious wreck. I became quite the perfectionist, worried that I was disappointing my bosses on my job or my clients or customers. I am still always afraid of being incompetent and fired for not being good enough. I get overwhelmed with anxiety when I think of working. That's what perfectionism will do to you.

[@sparklyunicorn5431]

I'm sorry that happened to you. Children deserve to be loved and happy.

[@theorderofthebees7308]

I am so sorry! i hope that you are seeking therapy to work through all of that. :)

[@tiendang7531]

this is awfully accurate. the way our parents and family set us up, and the way we unconsciously continue the momentum, is pure toxic.

[@qthedancer4711]

I hear you and I feel for you. I had some similar experiences, but I was also a ballet dancer...

[@yemio1005]

I’m so sorry that happened to u, I can relate a lot too. I wish you nothing but healing ❤️

[@theprousteffect9717]

This is a phenomenal film - great depiction of the "tortured artist," and the way perfectionism and overworking oneself can lead to mental and physical breakdown. Not only that, but it was also a dark foray into the conflicting pressures of womanhood - on the one hand, pressure to be demure, modest, remain innocent, and being shamed for your sexuality, but on the other hand being told to just let go, embrace it, and not be a "prude" (while of course making yourself sexually enticing to men).

[@alim.9801]

Perfectly worded yes!!!

[@alim.9801]

Do you do film analysis bc based off this you should 😌

[@MsMusicalBeans]

I find it uncomfortable how people want to interpret the black swan as her true self and the sexual content as her awakening. Really, she's neither the white swan nor the black swan. She's being groomed into two conflicting extremes. Her boundaries are violated continuously throughout the movie. She is a violated girl who is never permissed to have a real identity.

[@PapillonBleuNoir]

One of my favorite movies of all times. Natalie Portman is incredible here

[@trinaq]

Agreed, Natalie absolutely deserved her Oscar win for that role! 😍💞

[@akirebara]

@@trinaq That scene at the end when she's falling apart but touching her make-up on the mirror? Amazing.

[@maggiemcfly5267]

She was also incredible in Jackie, I'm still salty that she didn't get the Oscar for that one, ugh!

[@jennyrodriguez8323]

@@maggiemcfly5267 Yes, she definitely deserved over Emma Stone in La La Land, that movie robbed many artists of their oscars!

[@luckyspurs]

@@trinaq She deserved an Oscar for Closer. Won the Golden Globe against a weirdly salty Meryl Streep, but absolutely should have taken the Oscar too.

[@111111444444444]

As the "good girl" myself, I was just like Nina in the sense that I sought for perfection all the time, I tried to be a church girl even though I didn't like it because that's what parents wanted from me. I tried to be the best student always, and my projects had to be the absolute best, THE most amazing ones. But the emotional toll it has on you, it's unbearable. One day I had to be honest with myself and leave everything I was "supposed to do" and just tried to do my best. My anxiety decreased a lot but sometimes that little bug comes by from time to time

[@alim.9801]

Yup. Going thru a similar experience where I was doing great at everything in high school and myself and my family made the bar really high and now I'm out of college feeling like I can't even compare with my old self. It really cuts you deep. I hope you're hanging in there ok im sending a hug 💜

[@jevaarora9546]

@@alim.9801 hey hope you are fine

[@elananova]

This movie means so much to me as someone who grew up as a perfectionist. It hurts so bad to not live up to your own standards, but it hurts even more to almost destroy yourself to reach those standards.

[@ariannamyrie9520]

As a dancer, I highly resonated with this story. I practise(d) until I cried, until I felt sore all over, until I was harder on myself than any dance instructor could be on me.

[@roguejester4986]

They are not wrong on this. Trying to be perfect during middle school led me to a downward spiral of depression for a few years.

[@charmedprince]

Shame im insane i mean SAME!

[@covu5699]

Same

[@IzzysTravelDiaries]

Try being a perfectionist and also having ADHD, making sure that you want to be perfect in many things, but never being able to reach your own standards. Also have anxiety attacks in high pressure situations, and therefore further get away from your own standards. I can totally relate to the two swans.

[@alexman378]

ADHD is a problem, but only because we allowed it to be defined as one by our borderline illiterate teachers in an early age. That’s been what I realized at least. While in college, I started seeing it more as a blessing, being able to do multiple things nearly at the same time while my peers were cracking down from the pressure.

[@maplewhatever5581]

That's me

[@ariespharaoh747]

This movie is a masterpiece, always notice something new everytime I watch it

[@anyssamoya1559]

There'a another video essay on the same topic, but I never get tired of the "obsessed artist" trope. Black Swan, Whiplash, I, Tonya, all amazing depictions of obsession and how something so admirable as dedication can turn dark. I can only speak for myself, but I feel like society at large (at least/especially in the US) places such importance on professional success, taking part in "hustle culture," and having massive ambitions, that when we as an audience see that go completely awry, it helps us justify to ourselves that having a life beyond what you do is okay. We don't have to be obsessed. It's good, and necessary, even.

[@TabooTalz]

I'd recommend the sports documentary Over The Limit! It follows the same themes

[@alim.9801]

I'm with you. I think about it a lot bc I don't have like shoot for the stars dreams, I just want to do carpentry bc it makes me happy, and it seems like ppl always think I'm settling or something or that I should dream bigger. I just want to be content and afford to live and make things bc it makes me happy.

[@luckyspurs]

Never seen I, Tonya, but I remember watching the 30 for 30 on Harding and it really standing out the hours she spent practicing on shopping centre ice rinks, constantly risking injury because of all the nicks and imperfections in the overused ice. Plus the constant pressure to make her performance more sexualised and elegant, rather than power based; which given her small size, her actual routine needed a ton of to work.

[@insertsomethingcreativeher7949]

night crawler as well

[@_stillborn]

Its you, not your enviroment. It never is.

[@konraddygudaj257]

'Perfection is not just about control. It's also about letting go.' - Thomas Leroy (Black Swan)

[@luisalucia1758]

Black Swan took significant inspiration from the Japanese animated thriller Perfect Blue. It would be interesting to see you guys do a video on it!

[@Teenidle13]

i would say the piano teacher too

[@passiveagressive4983]

Damn NP deserved that Oscar. She gave a phenomenal performance

[@beatrixsky]

Pretty sure she won the oscar for this

[@alexeyborodavkin3809]

I've always wondered why people ignore this masterpiece 💥

[@dontsettle4243]

5:00 "Both performers go through an identity crisis without their craft. Because they don't know who they are without it" -- The Take. Brilliant. Brilliantly Said!!!

[@nickpoenisch4563]

This is why I stepped away from art as work. I couldn't handle the toxic pressure, it was sapping everything I loved about it. Escaping from that world let me embrace my art and writing again in a more satisfying way

[@wizzzer1337]

the great irony of it is that Darren Aronofsky is himself an obsessive perfectionist, not quite on Kubrick's level, but up there.

[@luckyspurs]

Which he absolutely knows himself or he wouldn't be so obsessesd with the subject.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Javed Akhtar, a famous writer and poet, once said that art is a unique paradox: One part of you is free flowing in creativity but there’s another side, the craft, which treats art like a series of calculations or moves which stay precise.

[@XanderShiller]

Love that scene where she reveals the black wings. Aronofsky films are so powerful that it makes you anxious about a re-watch like Requim for a Dream.

[@isawhat8712]

Interesting point. I saw Requiem For a Dream and I'll never go there again. I haven't watched Black Swan since I saw it in theaters. I think I told someone I was happy to see it once and once was enough for me. But this video is making me reconsider that opinion.

[@XanderShiller]

@@isawhat8712 as long as you can stomach a "real horror movie" which requiem imo is.. I'm a film buff and have seen sooo many different types of movies and there are a few that really hit you hard.. a recent one imo was Midsommar, seen it?

[@alim.9801]

Requiem for a Dream is such a good movie with great acting and writing and it blew me away but also...I'm not sure i can put myself through that ever again 😅😅

[@alim.9801]

@@XanderShiller wanna talk about a horror movie that cuts deep, you ever seen Hereditary?? Bc JEEZ

[@XanderShiller]

@@alim.9801 oh yeah.. I rarely watch horror anymore bc of tropes and jump scares but the last few years were badass..hereditary (I like his 2nd film " midsommar " it's similar to the original Wicher Man 1972 and all are awesome n diff, no clichés. Burning man was invented via Wicker Man 😁). Check those out if u already haven't..other boo-vies were obv. Get Out , nice when non horror film include horror samples like in David Lynch films and somehow I forgot the last few on the list. Old boo-views used to torture me- exorcist, pet cemetery (can't believe they used the same intro in the Many Saints of Newark). Any recommendations? Doesn't have to be horror

[@DwRockett]

Literally just watched Black Swan for the first time two days ago, so stellar timing on this one!

[@didhiti20]

Same me too wired coincidence

[@gingertea123]

this movie was so disturbing - i remember going to see it on valentine's day, and was messed upp after

[@taiyabazaheer9492]

I watched as I was recovering from depression. Was a really bad idea. ☹️

[@AlextheENTP]

I watched it on my birthday, and couldn't eat my bday lunch afterward.

[@alim.9801]

Oh no not a great valentines day pick 😭😭💀💀

[@absolutelynotellen]

Until today, this movie scares me. Including the movie poster itself. I thought this is about a ballerina documentary, but *i was wrong.*

[@briela5441]

perfectionism = emotional immaturity. I think it's a good think to be acknowledge 🌻

[@trinaq]

Precisely, it's almost impossible to reach high standards of perfection, and you'll only end up wearing yourself out in the process.

[@TheAngelinahuang]

How so?

[@TheAngelinahuang]

@@trinaq so we could only accept that we are all mediocre?

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

Perfect is the enemy of the good

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

@@TheAngelinahuang for instance, if you do jogging without stopping once to make yourself faster and resistant, you’re going to hurt yourself. That was just a stupid example

[@nigelasipa4150]

As a self oriented perfectionist, this spoke to me. The films moral this analysis interprets made me vocally co-sign that sentiment in a way that made me actively think on my own means of control. I always liked Black Swan, now when I next see I’ll allow it to teach me about me.

[@lettylunasical4766]

As a black woman I get very wound up and stressed about perfectionism in my academic studies because I feel like I have to prove my worth and justify my place all the time.

[@_stillborn]

'Otta make it about racism somehow🥰 fucking blacks jc

[@oliviamackenzie9725]

i love this movie so much because i'm a classical musician and i know exactly the kind of toxic perfectionism aranofsky is portraying. i've seen musicians crying after concerts because they got one note wrong and i've felt that frustration because when you perform, you're the one closest to the stage so you see all the mistakes. but for me, my best performances aren't the ones where i make no mistakes but the ones where i truly lose myself in the music and commit not to the playing but to the sound.

[@pagusmusic6254]

Such a powerful movie with such a strong message, perfectionism is boring and being obsessed with being perfect isn’t sustainable or realistic. I love the transformation that Nina goes through from being a child like ‘good girl’ to learning a darker side of herself.

[@PapillonBleuNoir]

Also, the movie mimics the Swan lake story too - Nina falls in love with Thomas and he becomes her prince, but fears he will be taken away by someone else. This is another catalyst of her change and awakening. Edit: watch the movie carefully. In his directions, he tells Nina to look at her prince, then the Black Swan, and then she dies. That’s exactly what she does. Also she is not rebuffed or traumatized by his advances, she’s intrigued and does exactly as he says.

[@icedoatmilklatte910]

I wouldn’t say it was “love” - if anything, it was lust. Especially from Thomas’ side of it.

[@maggiemcfly5267]

No

[@kimberleywilliams7802]

interesting point, may not be the truth but it's an intriguing analysis.

[@miamama9886]

Thomas is more like the evil sorcerer, you know, he picks Nina for the role of Swan Queen, it's like cast a spell on her, turning her to a swan.

[@alondraperez-ramirez8363]

Personally I thought it took more from this 1948 movie 'The Red Shoes'.

[@Tripperroni]

Damn that's probably why Heath Ledger died after his iconic "perfect" performance as the Joker.

[@luckyspurs]

You do wonder how many young actors of that era Heath Ledger served as a big reminder to, not to get too obsessed with career and challenge. He was only 2 years older than Natalie.

[@andreblackaller3560]

I spent 730 days going to the GYM nonstop, It began as a challenge to become healthier and be more comfortable in my own skin, but it turned into an extreme obsession… I measured every single gram of food that went into my mouth and I would take measurements of my entire body at least twice a week. I think some people have a tendency of going overboard when it comes to perfection because I have the same behavior when it comes to school.

[@ajc94]

Not to be an armchair psychologist but bro that's bordering on eating disorder territory

[@alim.9801]

I hope you're feeling better and healthier these days 💜

[@loiracitr]

I hope you feel better now!

[@hiyetu34]

Red flag when her mother totally flipped out in a rage just because Nina was too stressed at that time to have any cake. Then she had to force herself to eat it just to please her crazy controlling mother.

[@healthibons]

I loved this take. As a person who went through depression and suicidal ideation, this is truly relatable. Being compassionate and kind to yourself and being forgiving your errors is the first step towards loving yourself too.

[@blackguyofthesouth2161]

Havent seen this movie in 10 years. I need to rewatch it.

[@khalilurtrahman]

If you loved Black Swan then you should definitely check out Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue which heavily inspired Black Swan. Satoshi was really ahead of his time with works like Paprika (again a big inspiration for Inception) JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, Millenium Actress etc

[@khalilurtrahman]

@@PeterNumber9 yes but that doesn't mean it's not great

[@jennyrodriguez8323]

Thank you for this take, it's my favorite Natalie Portman movie, I tend to sympathize with Nina due to her overbearing mother, she was so smothering yet so detached at the same time, always being controlling about the wrong things (her scratching ticks, her social life) and I interpreted Nina's last look at her mother as a defiant moment, she looked angelic and powerful. Other than that the movie felt scary and thrilling.

[@mintiestfreshness]

It's similar to the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy.

[@EricGraham94]

I see you’re well read on Nietzsche’s philosophy

[@oc4025]

@@EricGraham94 that or they've watches contrapoints, maybe both

[@slouberiee]

Perfectionism is very often caused by over-ambitious parents who install "you must be perfect to be loved, to be acknowledged" in their children. It's sad. Parents should be kind, supporting and forgiving "imperfections" of their children. People who truly love themselves for who they are and not for how good they do things are much less likely to fall in the self-destructive always-must-be-perfect path.

[@luckyspurs]

The bit when Nina's just got the part (and is basically feeling grown up and capable as a woman for the first time in her life) and suddenly her mum finds scratch marks and starts taking her clothes off and treating her like a 4 year old really struck home.

[@Victrola66]

The most dangerous this about perfectionism is the fine line between doing something to perfection "by the books" and to perfection as per someone's own ego. In dancing it is just that, you can have true genius artists who will train someone to a breakdown point because they can not do something perfect in their own understanding of the word. Meaning dancing like he or she did. The same in other aspects of life, one parent can be proud of having a child with good grades, but excelling in something else while others may not accept that their child can not be perfect in everything - from school to the way a cup is washed for instance. I am having difficulty with accepting even a tiny failure because I was brought up thinking that an A is perfect, a B is bad.

[@hinnyu7748]

This movie is heavily inspired by Perfect Blue (the Black Swan director is a fan of Satoshi Kon).. it's an animated movie though but just leaving it here for anyone interested.

[@goldenesei8127]

I agree with most of what you analyzed, but i think it's simplifying to see her sexual development only as an awakening. The Ballet Director might think that he 'seduces' her to help her in her creativity but at the same time it's also abuse and harassment from his side. This should not be glossed over.

[@MsMusicalBeans]

Yes, her boundaries are violated repeatedly. By Thomas, her mom, Lily, that rando at a bar. Even her art objectifies her. She did not awaken into her true, authentic desires. She was gaslit into becoming a new person. I think this was intentional in the movie. The tension causes her such a psychosis because none of it is her true, authentic way of being.

[@goldenesei8127]

@@MsMusicalBeans Agree! I also think it was intentional in the movie, but that the interpretation of The Take didn't make it clear enough.

[@jia6649]

This movie means a lot to me, as I grew up in a family where you had to be perfect to be loved. My parents expected so much of me that I just stopped enjoying everything and my life turned into a daily competition only to satisfy my parents (especially my mother). My older sister always ''dissapointed'' my parents so they decided to put all their attention on me. I never had a good relationship with my mother but for some reason I had to feel her approval and to this day is hard to let go of that perfectionism

[@raveenasavadi655]

That was a stunning video essay, the best one I have seen about the Black Swan.

[@geniehossain3738]

So glad you mentioned The Red Shoes! it’s my all time favorite film and I loved the parallels between it and Black Swan.

[@vesperrose333]

I put my heart and my soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process. Vincent Van Gogh

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I have dealt with this in how I did my assignments or the work I wanted to put it in. All it did was make me a mess, increased anxiety, burnout was frequent which culminated in a panic attack. I think one makes more mistakes in the quest to make none at all.

[@loverrlee]

This came at a perfect time! I was just journaling about this and had drawn a red circle cross through the word perfectionism. “Perfect is the enemy of the good.” I love it. Thank you. 💗

[@victoriagr8938]

Perfection is the language of machines; we react to emotion. If you make something perfect for humans, it is right, when it should be good. Or would you ever have wanted Munch to draw the perfect proportions of a screaming face?

[@davidbjacobs3598]

Watching this video makes me realize just how complex the movie is, because I feel like there's a lot you don't even go into. Like how Nina's desire to strive for IMperfection becomes part of her drive for perfection. She's obsessed with pleasing everybody and is so torn, but mixes all of it together. IIRC, the final line of the movie has her declaring her performance was "perfect." She's looking for precision in imprecision. But it also talks largely about abuse, not only from her mother but also from her director. I mean, literally every clip of him in this video is abusive. He assaults Nina (forcing himself on her), he harasses her (suggesting she should "touch herself" and asking another guy if he would f*** her -- by the way, that guy is Portman's real-life husband, which is the funniest trivia ever), he gaslights her into forming a rivalry with Lily. His abuse directly contradicts her mother's abuse, as he tries to drive away from perfection while her mother drives her toward it, thus tearing Nina between two extremes, yet neither of them represent a goal she has for herself. Then there's also this LGBT narrative, where she's obviously attracted to Lily. At the time, I recall a lot of this feeling exploitative, but I wonder if it still will whenever I inevitably get around to rewatching. IIRC, though Lily enjoys their rivalry, she's only the one to truly level with Nina and treat her like another person. Nina wants to be Lily not because the director is forcing it on her, but because Lily is truly free from this abuse and doesn't much care what anyone else thinks of her. She's independent. Damn, I've really gotta watch this again sometime... I saw several times when it came out, but don't think I've revisited since.

[@loiracitr]

Vincent Cassel was never married to Natalie Portman. He was married to Monica Bellucci until 2013 and he is now married to a very young model. On the other hand, Natalie Portman is married to a man called Benjamin Millepied

[@davidbjacobs3598]

@@loiracitr Not Vincent Cassel, the guy who Vincent Cassel asks, "Would you f*** that woman?" An extra in the movie but also the choreographer (making his appearance really a cameo).

[@loiracitr]

@@davidbjacobs3598 that makes more sense!

[@ms.naninanita7306]

Omg near the end in the movie, it shows nina running to the the ballerina constructor and kissing him and him liking it after her (It think after act 2 where she was the black swan) and it feels like that scene wanted the audience to cheer for the both of them possibly being now a couple which is stupid because the ballerina constructor constantly abuses nina. Idk if that was the point of the scene, but it made me mad.

[@loiracitr]

@@ms.naninanita7306 I think the point of that scene is just that she finally nailed the Black Swan character though

[@IONov990]

I can relate to this video. As an aspiring writer, I obsess about creating the "perfect" character. I have spent years learning all sorts of unnecessary facts about my character's background. The majority of the notes I have taken will not show up in my book if I ever get to writing it. It does not feel very constraining feeling like I have to know every last detail of my character's family life, physical appearance, setting, and having her being incredibly relatable. There is no universally likable person.

[@T0xXx1k]

This is over of my favourite films. You aren't sure what is real or in hear head for so much of the movie, when you see her after she landed the jump bleeding thru her white swan outfit.. so very good and really makes you think pay attention. Not to mention Natalie & Mila are so perfect for these roles. I'm afraid alot of ppl saw that girl on girl scene from the trailer and thought it was gonna be something solely focused on that and we either disappointed or skipped it. I wish it would've been more marketed true to the story vs.the 'male gaze' or whatever. But love it. Glad to see you do a video on it your takes are always so interesting ✌🧡🦇

[@MinkytheMinkY]

Relatable. An extension of this to further explore is The Burnout. Not reaching greatness and recovering from it, yet have either a stifling phobia of getting close to it again or changing course ... So many ways to approach this.

[@Sarkamslot]

I've been waiting for a video about this movie from this channel! ITS FINALLY HERE

[@godnoble]

Thank you for doing an older movie this time. I know channels want to be relevant by having videos about new movies & shows, but, in so doing, you cut out those who haven't seen that yet. There are many Take videos I've skipped to avoid spoilers. In discussing a film from 10 years ago, you include a wider audience, while risking rehashing points others have made. But I, for one, was glad to be able to follow along because I've seen this movie and it made a strong impression.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

I just talked about this to my friend. Thank you for this!

[@ker9714]

It would be good to cover also the creepy way Thomas treats Nina. He has so much control over her and uses that control to use her sexually.

[@_stillborn]

Did we watch different movies? He didnt fuck her once

[@charisleighmusic]

Great analysis. To me this is also a story about how sexual harassment and assault drove a young woman to breakdown.

[@_stillborn]

The "sexual harassment" that wasn't there isn't what caused her to break

[@melissamackenzie973]

Love this analysis! Since you referenced "The Red Shoes", it would be amazing to hear your "take" on it :-)

[@fortune_roses]

Reminds me of the mother in Carrie and Bates Motel, as well as stereotypical dance/pageant moms... narcissistic, overly controlling, and often the fathers are absent

[@larasaikali2483]

I was just thinking about this film and my aspirations to be perfect when I was younger. As an adult I’m now beginning to understand that perfection isn’t real

[@El_Madroño13]

"You must be ready to burn yourself in your own flame; how could you rise a new if you have not first become ashes" Neitzsche Is what comes to my mind when she kills her white swan self

[@IcaroMorbeck]

The message of this movie will touch deeply into the heart of the true artists. Every artist can connect with the perfection obsession and the struggle to deal with the requirement coming not just from the audience, but most importantly, from himself. The feeling of anxiety getting stronger as the "Big day" keeps getting closer is perfectly portrayed in this picture. 
It is truly thrilling how the metalinguistic elements can transmit such a powerful meaning on the artist´s persona. It shows how the work result is intrinsically related to the emotional area, and that the true perfection only happens when the art is liberated from the inside out. While doing so, the movie brilliantly showcases how art is not suposed to be painful, and that it shouldn´t be an obsession, but a way to connect with yourself, and comunicate to the world. 
This film invites you not to get sufocated by your art, but to let loose in it, completely free. To perform in such a complex character study is not a job for weak actors, that´s why this work wouldn´t be as remarkable as it is with someone other than Natalie Portman. The performance of a lifetime!
Aronofsky really created a master-piece with this movie, the direction is endowed with the purest refinement.

[@finallyanime]

It’s not about perfectionism…it’s about the metamorphosis into someone she detests

[@hiitscourt]

I recently re-watched this movie and holy shit! It's so scary.

[@MissLionRose]

Having a forgiving spirit & a humble heart are Antidotes to perfectionism ❤️

[@richardomier5501]

Very great insights here. Would just like to add that "nina" means little girl in Spanish. I definitely feel at least half the film is about nina becoming a woman and becoming a sexual being. As for the end, her dying is probably just another hallucination. Obviously we cannot trust her visions as she has hallucinated several times. But always really just felt that the "death" was that of the timid child. And the birth of the woman. The blood also represents that as menstrual blood. Aslo the blood was coming from her naval symbolizing childbirth and the full realization of womanhood. Natalie portman was spectacular.

[@Antiope1969]

Pissed me off that the actors took credit for their stunt doubles who are actually professional ballerinas.

[@katherinemorelle7115]

Yep. Sarah Lane was Natalie’s dance double- it was her movements that moved me.

[@cleardarkness888]

No one actually thinks that Natalie Portman studied ballet for a year and then danced Swan Lake. It's extremely obvious that the serious dancing was done by someone else.

[@onlystarsknow767]

Omg what? I thought that Natalie Portman did the whole dancing for Black Swan (since they all campaigned that in the posters and everything) They should credit the actual dancers smh

[@casper7319]

@@cleardarkness888 I think that's very clear based on how the scenes are cut but during Natalie's Oscar campaign she, her team, and Aronofsky claimed that she did 90% of the dancing, which a lot of Oscar voters credited in their decision to choose her as the Best Actress that year. Only Mila Kunis said that she was extensively doubled.

[@cleardarkness888]

@@onlystarsknow767 She did and to be fair, she did a beautiful job of her part of the dancing (the less complicated parts, often from the waist up) - it is incredibly hard to look convincingly like a dancer without extremely extensive (a lifetime) of training. But you absolutely cannot become a professional ballerina in one year. Ballerinas train all their lives to be able to dance swan lake. Natalie deserves the credit - but so do the women who actually did work all their lives at a grueling discipline to make her look good in the movie. I just think it's funny that anyone thinks it would be possible to dance swan lake after a year of training. Put a ballet class on youtube and try it - it's one of the most difficult disciplines on earth.

[@angelashinner]

We all want to achieve something beautiful and “perfect” before we die. Death isn’t something we can avoid. She might’ve died early but she achieved everything she wanted and was willing to sacrifice herself for it. She died happy and in her peak moment

[@DieWattefee]

I love this video -i finally understand, why Black Swan fascinated me so much. I never saw all the parallels to my life until now. Thank you for making me understand myself a little bit more ❤

[@casper7319]

I would love to see a video on Toxic Mentorship. Like if Thomas believed in Nina the whole time he should have given her even a small olive branch that she was doing alright verses sending her on stage with all her doubts that led her to fall. Or how in Whiplash the conductor says "there's nothing more dangerous than saying good job" Yes being extremely hard on people will force them to improve very quickly but it can also be extremely debilitating and while we get to see the protagonist succeed there is the implication that they have chewed up and spit out a ton of young hopeful people

[@jackjac]

Perfect timing for covering Black Swan, as I finally caught up on this wonderful movie :D

[@ネハ-m3z]

9:44 nothing is black and white everything is in the spectrum that's another reason I love rainbow

[@theunitedcommonwealth715]

No one is perfect or can get perfect so it's a false dream perfectionism is subjective anyway.

[@grapeshot]

I laughed out loud when she thought she had 🦢 legs and feathers and fell over.

[@Nightman221k]

Whenever I watch the movie with friends (and this happened with two different friend groups) people always laugh out loud when she gasps after she starts to touch herself then realizes her mother is right next to the bed in the chair.

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

Yeah and when she has a literal “Swan Song”

[@justme8841]

its not funny. how desensitized are you?! thats horrifying.

[@shadowpuppet8192]

I found this movie at random through random video edits. And I fell in *love* with this movie.

[@lancebullock9558]

Just noticed the face change at 7:59. No matter how many times I see this, there's always something new I pick up.

[@michellewidjaja4779]

Perfection is something that can only be conceived by imperfect beings who have the ability to imagine something beyond existence itself. To aspire to achieve it is the driving force that changes our world for the better but the golden rule should remain: it isn't more important than common decency. I look at someone's hard work and sacrifice and I can appreciate it even if the result is not very good. But if that hard work comes from exploitation of the weaker, self importance, arrogance, then it's just vanity and vanity is always ugly to me. A janitor in my former highschool will remain more beautiful than some ambitious ballerina because I know she works to support her family not just her own vanity.

[@theorderofthebees7308]

Everything that they discussed about the world of ballet - is absolutely true- having gone to college and lived with ballet dancers there is an infantile behavior that is encouraged . Ballet a former friend told me is do everything that feels absolutely unnatural to your body and make it seem like it isn’t.

[@taryntimms3787]

What I love about this movie is how many interpretations there are! Everyone takes something different from the movie, depending on there own life experience.

[@hollydodd9933]

I would love to see a video on the tortured royal archetype. The idea of heavy is the crown. Some examples are Zuko from atla and wilhelm from young royals

[@elisebrodeur-jacobs5215]

This is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time. I have watched it over And over again and it always gives me something new

[@yesboyjay]

My favorite movie on my favorite channel

[@sparklyunicorn5431]

Thank you for this, as someone who struggles with perfectionist tendencies it helped and brought me to tears. So true! Be free 👏

[@kyndramb7050]

"Perfectionism kills a 'sense of self'." Yes. 👏👏👏

[@AlyraLee]

perfectionism drove me to develop an eating disorder. it’s so self destructive both mentally and physically.