black Swan is a psychosexual thriller that depicts the unglamorous part of the Ball etworld.

It is directed by Darren Aronofsky, who is known for his wild creative imagination. The movie is inspired by Swan Lake , a famous ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. In the opera, aprincess is turned into a White Swan, falls in love with a prince but then commits suicide whenthe prince accidentally pledges his love to the Black Swan. In the movie, the ballet company thecharacters are in decides to put a modern twist on the tale. They decided to cast only oneperson for both the White Swan and Black Swan- with the challenge of being versatile enoughto play two opposite roles. In the movie, the main character (Nina, played by Natalie Portman) iscasted as the Swan Queen. She has to play both the White Swan and Black Swan. The WhiteSwan comes naturally for Nina. She is fearful, innocent and controlled. However, it is a greatchallenge for her to become the seductive, dark and mysterious Black Swan. To play the role ofthe Swan Queen, Nina struggles to become the opposite of who she is, resulting in manyhallucinatory episodes that involve bodily horror (such as the ripping of skin and constantappearance of an evil twin or +doppelganger). She starts imagining things that are nothappening- like a lesbian fling with Lily (who she is obsessed with, due to her effortlessembodiment of the Black Swan which Nina desires.) Ultimately, she has psychotic episodes where she truly becomes the Black Swan . Every time she makes a step in her transformation,she has intense hallucinations such as having black feathers come out of her skin. The turningpoint in her transformation is the night that she goes out with Lily and takes drugs. After this,she dares to negate her mothers wishes and her transformation is almost complete. At some point near the end of the film, she develops swan legs, feathers and red eyes. She evenhallucinates about killing Lily, her biggest rival-but realizes that she just stabbed herself. The ultimate symbol of Ninas obsession with perfection is her killing herself (though, basing from the horror in her face as she saw the wound, it was accidental) to truly play the role perfectly. She isso engrossed and trapped in the world of Swan Lake that she forgets about the real world. Shereally becomes both the White Swan and Black Swan, and in the end, she dies with them The film shows Ninas metamorphosis into the Swan Queen, her maddening dance with perfection

and her obsession with it.II. Nina is depicted as nave, fearful and frigid. She is pressured by her controllin g mother (Barbara Hershey) who gave up dancing to have her. Rick Instrells analysis of Black Swan mentions how we can use Jungian archetypes, or Storytelling archetypes to describe the rolesof the other characters in the film. According to Instrell, the archetypes we can find in the filmare:a.) The Bad Mother (known to hinder development)b.) The Shadow (often seen in the villain/s, shows dark, undeveloped side of personality)c.) The Wise Old Man (a mentor)d.) The Shapeshifter (symbolic of the self, always changing)*Descriptions are copied from his analysis. Ninas mother embodies both the Bad Mother and Shadow archetype. Nina is not very assertive because mother controls her by constantly monitoring her body and her life. She livesher dreams through Nina, whose passion for dancing does not show as much as her drive forperfection. Her sense of assertion and control comes in short bursts- the first instance beingwhen she asks her mentor, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) to reconsider her for the role of the Swan Queen. In the end of her metamorphosis, Nina shows her controlling side by killing Lily in her hallucination. Beth MacIntrye (Winona Ryder), the aging ballerina is also seen as a Shadow becauseof her dark, destructive personality (which Nina eventually finds in herself when she becomes the Black Swan). Nina looks up to Beth because she sees her as perfect. She even stealsBeths things, hoping to become more like her. Beths appearance in the film is short but crucial.She appears before Ninas transformation (at the party where Thomas announces Ninas role asSwan Queen) and before Ninas transformation is complete. (Nina visits her in the hospital theday before the premier of Swan Lake.) Lily can be both a Shadow and Shapeshifter character, as she represents the darker side of Ninas personality as well as the fact that it is still changing. In many instances, Nina transforms from her normal, White Swan self to her dark, Black Swan sister. In one of the firstscenes of the movie (the scene in the subway) Nina sees Lily from afar and she looks like her,

except shes wearing black. Nina is frustrated by the fact that its so easy for Lily to emulat e the Black Swan. She becomes even more frustrated when Thomas mentions how perfect Lily can be without even trying.Notice how all of the characters surrounding Nina are wearing black. The pictures below illustrate Aronofskys not -so-subtle use of Black and White symbolism. The idea is always thatNina seems to be surrounded or engulfed by dark forces that consume her. The plot supportsthis too. She is sexually exploited by her mentor, pressured and controlled by her mother, Beth(her idol) accuses he r of using sex to get her role and Lilys presence just frustrates her by effortlessly being what she (Nina) wants to be and by giving her extra competition. (James, 2010) Her doppelganger or evil twin is also seen in black