On Saturday, I finally saw Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. In my opinion, the hype surrounding the movie was well deserved; it was an amazing film. In its aftermath, the film not only instilled a haunting sense of paranoia in many of its viewers, but also stimulated countless feminist interpretations that dig even deeper than the archetypal pursuit of perfection generally found in ballet films. Feministing.com posted a discussion of several of these interpretations last Friday (Spoiler alert!).
The contributors of Feministing discuss different aspects of the film including: body transformation, the character of Thomas, perfection, the virgin/whore dichotomy, Nina’s relationship with her mother, and the public reception of the film.
I especially enjoyed Jos’s commentary on how Nina’s character simply could not handle taking on both the virginal role and the ‘slut’ role at once. This feeling of needing to take on both roles is something that is not only understood by an actress or a dancer in regard to a particular performance, but also by everyday women who wrestle with embodying a bit of both in their everyday lives. Black Swan is an extreme metaphor for the way in which such an internal conflict can drive a woman to complete insanity.
On a lighter note, if you’ve seen the movie and also happen to be a Jim Carrey fan, I highly recommend this SNL sketch featuring him as the Black Swan. Almost as elegant as the film itself…
-Lauranium
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
Great post lauranium. I saw the film when it first came out and loved it. It was certainly creepy and intriguing, but after reading these discussions, it seems as if I must have had my Feminist-thinking-cap off. I really enjoyed the film (though couldn’t sleep that night after watching it) and thought of it more as Nina (Natalie Portman) struggling with her sexuality and personal choices. She still lives with her mom still who makes decisions for her-as the world does for all women- (the mom is why I couldn’t sleep that night). She doesn’t and it is unacceptable for her to masturbate (as every woman in the world is not allowed to do because of societies views on it, unless a man is present). Though it was frightening at times, I thought Black Swan was telling of several women’s lives for many reasons as the discussion spoke on.
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For me, looking at Black Swan as a possibly feminist film is a truly loathsome notion. Entirely a product of a white, ocularcentric and masculinist imagination, Black Swan presents Portman’s character as a vacant vessel only able to be fulfilled by the rationalist phallus of a visual patriarchy. Sure, she has trouble managing the slut/virgin dichotomy– but ultimately her trajectory is one of complete submission. Not to mention the deeply heteronormative implications of this film. Her “relationship” with her fellow dancer is embarrassing in how it so rigidly adheres to popularist tropes of lesbian desire. It is the misdirected fantasy of such a film being feminist– as is presented here– that continues to reinscribe feminist interpretations in ultimately impotent and deranged linguistic cycles. I’m horrified and depressed by these responses.
-Tina, 23
NYC
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Thank you for your interpretation, Tina. I agree that Portman’s character does become all of the things that you have described in your comment. She is, as you say, a “vacant vessel only able to be fulfilled by the rationalist phallus of a visual patriarchy” and she does indeed slip into complete submission—however, because of the fact that she spirals downward into such insanity and ultimately dies as a result of her submission, I do believe that the film should be deemed feminist. The film teaches us that upon entering a world dominated by patriarchy, a woman WILL indeed become insane and WILL eventually suffocate. I believe that the film’s tragic ending is a call for reform.
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