BLACK SWAN FILM (Approach: Psychoanalytic Criticism)

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Black Swan a Psychological-drama (2010) directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin, Mark Heyman, and starred by Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers, Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy, and Mila Kunis as Lily. It was released on November 30, 2010. It was nominated for some category in Academy Awards such as Best Actress (Natalie Portman), best picture, and Best Director. However, only one category that won the film that is Best Actress. 

It is about Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman); a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her. Finally, Nina does whatever it takes to be perfect as both the white swan and the black swan, descends into madness.

The writer is interested in this film because it is a good psychological-drama. It shows us how the projection occurs and affects the person who was failed in her own life. It is also shows us how the pressure and ambition change the person behaviour in her unconsciousness. Nina is as a projection of her mother who descends into madness because she wants to be perfect as her mother always told her to be. It is also an entertaining film; we can see a good dance of ballerinas along the film. In addition it is a success box-office film which earned $ 329.000.000 worldwide.

The story of this film is by Andres Heinz. The script-writers are Mark Heyman, John J. McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz. Heyman began his career as an assistant to Darren Aronofsky before moving on as a senior vp at Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures. Currently Heyman is writing the script for Machine Man for Aronofsky. John J. McLaughlin is a script writer for both film and TV-series. He has written the movie script of Parker (2013), Hitchcock (2012), Black Swan (2010) and I Man of the House (2005)

Furthermore, the writer finds a question which leads the writer in making this analysis. The question is “How the projection affects the person who is being a projection victim?” In order to find out the answer, the writer analyzes the film by using theory of Psychoanalytic Criticism by Sigmund Freud as will be explained in the next chapter. 

CHAPTER II

ANALYSIS OF LITERARY WORK

Psychoanalytic theory was developed in Vienna, Austria, by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). He developed his theories during the end of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries when he was a practicing physician specializing in neurological disorders. Lacan was a French-psychoanalyst and psychiatrist who has been called "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Freud". Lacan's conception of desire is central to his theories and follows Freud's concept of Wunsch.

Freud believed that human personality was constructed of three parts: the Id, the ego and the superego. The id is comprised largely of instinctual drives for food and sex, for instance. These drives are essentially unconscious and result in satisfaction when they are fulfilled and frustration and anxiety when they are thwarted. The ego is linked to the id, but is the component that has undergone socialization and which recognizes that instant gratification of the id urges is not always possible. The superego acts in many ways like the ego, as a moderator of behaviour; but whereas the ego moderates urges based on social constraints, the superego operates as an arbiter of right and wrong.

There is one of Freudian defence mechanism that called as projection. Projection is when aspects of ourselves (usually negative ones) are not recognised as part of ourselves but are preceived in or attributed to another; our own desires or antagonisms, for instance mya be ‘disowned’ in this way. This kind of defence mechanism that happens to Nina Sayers.

Nina was born as a sweet girl to her mother. Her mother always controlling her, and form her as a good ballerina; what she failed to be. Her mother ambitions are turned to Nina, in her mother mind, she has to be what she herself could not; best ballerina.

In order to fulfil her mother and her own ambition Nina does whatever she could. It is shows when she met Thomas to make up his mind about the cast of Swan Queen. Thomas said that Nina is fit the white swan but she is not fit the black swan, to be a swan queen she must be able to be the two characters; angel and darksided. After she finally chosen as the swan queen she begins hallucinates; she sees herself in black clothes with ‘evil-side’, her eyes turn into red as black swan in some night, she finds some scracth mark in her back, and in one night she feels she tranform into real black swan.

  The projection start when she is getting closer to Lily, the new ballerina who fit the black swan character well. She hallucinates having a lesbian-night with her, she hallucinates that Lily is going to take her place at the show, and in the end of the film she hallucinates that Lily fight her, and then she tabbs Lily with the broken mirror. Infact, Lily is not going to take her place, she does not has that kind of lesbian-love, and she is never been stabbed. It is Nina herself, she was the person who wanted to take other person place (in this case Beth’s place), she is is also the person who has a fantation of lesbian-nigth, and she also the person who was stabbed by the broken mirrror.

This projection occurs because of her ambition of being what her mother wants her to be. In addition, as what she said at the end of the scene that she just wants to be perfect. Her mother over control her until she cannot find who she is. She does not realize that beside the right side of herself she also has the dark or evil side.