Black Swan: Beneath 'Goodness' Lies Repression

I've never been a fan of ballet, and I've never quite grasped its allure. "Black Swan" changed my perspective on the art form and provided me with an enlightening insight into the world of ballet. The director's choice of "Swan Lake" as the backdrop for this film was a deliberate one, using the dual personas of the black and white swans to explore the fundamental aspects of human nature.

Here's the story: The theater company decides to revamp "Swan Lake" after the departure of their lead dancer, Beth. The artistic director, Thomas, decides to hold auditions for a new lead dancer who can master both the Black Swan and the White Swan roles. Nina has been practicing ballet since childhood under her mother's meticulous guidance, making her a technically outstanding dancer. However, during the auditions, she realizes that Lily, a cunning rival, poses a significant challenge. While her performance as the White Swan is flawless, she falls short when it comes to embodying the Black Swan's sensuality. She approaches Thomas for another chance, and this leads to a tense moment where he tries to kiss her, but she firmly rebuffs his advances. Surprisingly, he selects her for the role. Her fellow dancers suspect that her looks influenced the director's choice. At a party, the former lead dancer, Beth, vents her frustrations publicly. This external pressure, coupled with injuries, continuously affects Nina's performance. Thomas encourages her to unleash her passion and embrace the seduction of the Black Swan. Under intense psychological influence, she seems to embrace the Black Swan's character.

I. The True Nature of "Good" is Suppression

The film portrays Nina as someone who has received unwavering care and grooming from her mother. She is beautiful, pure, and exceptionally skilled in ballet. However, when it comes to playing the White Swan, she did not make the cut. The director acknowledges that if the role were solely that of the White Swan, Nina would naturally be the best choice. But the uniqueness of "Swan Lake" lies in the fact that the dancer must portray both the White and the Black Swans, as they are inseparable twins. Is Nina up for the challenge? The director understands human nature well and believes that beneath Nina's seemingly "pure and flawless" exterior, there must be an untapped "dark" side. This dark side needs to be awakened, and the director's attempt to kiss Nina, despite her resistance, confirms her potential for the "dark" role. It's undoubtedly a unique audition, which Nina passed.

Nina's "goodness" is, in fact, a product of her mother's meticulous nurturing over the years. Her purity is a facade, a self-deception created by her mother. However, once this suppressed nature is set free, it will unleash immense power. In our daily lives, "goodness" can often be a source of danger. It exhibits stability on the brink of nuclear fusion, which also implies that if unleashed, it can bring about significant destruction. Those who closely observe society often notice that troublemakers rarely cause significant harm, while the perpetrators of the most violent crimes are often those who appear well-behaved. Understanding the inherent "suppression" of "good" helps explain this phenomenon.

The film includes a scene that will be remembered in cinematic history: Nina, in her quest to secure the role of the Black Swan, kills Lily in the dressing room (in reality, it's a hallucination of herself). She then takes the stage to perform as the Black Swan, executing an impressive series of 25 consecutive fouetté turns. This moment serves as the climax of both the ballet "Swan Lake" and the film. In this scene, Nina's true nature is set free. Her "pure and flawless" self fades away, and her "seductive gray" self emerges. Black feathers sprout from her body, her wings grow, and her feathers harden. She successfully embodies the "Black Swan" role, and in the process, she completes herself. While Nina may have "darkened," this moment offers a sense of liberation, not just for her but also for the audience.

II. The Dialectics of Black and White

Categorizing the world into "good" and "evil" is a simplistic and crude way of understanding. A more balanced approach involves considering "black and white," as the world is rarely purely good or evil. Objective reality lies somewhere in between and is difficult to categorize. Likewise, within ourselves, we carry both "white" and "black" aspects. We are a blend of shades, influenced by our unique life experiences, and our shades evolve over time.

So, if we are pushed into the "white" category while harboring a hidden darkness, this imbalance can be precarious and perilous. Nina, for instance, portrays her pristine image because of her mother's meticulous upbringing. However, her journey forces her to confront her true self, her desires, jealousy, violence, and rebellion. Nina, who has lived in a fairy tale world, suddenly grapples with confusion and pain, for she must face her authentic self and the discomfort it brings. Moreover, her mother's attempts to pull her back only strengthen Nina's resolve to break free.

Hence, the essence of "good" is suppressed, and the nature of "evil" is released.

III. Giving Birth is Easy, Educating is Incredibly Challenging

There's a heart-wrenching scene in the film when Nina, caught up in a hallucination, pushes her mother out of the door, and the door slams shut, clamping her mother's hand. This sequence moved me to tears. Nina's release is too painful, and it's not her mother's hand that hurts but Nina's heart. In her subconscious, she likely harbors intense aversion and hatred toward the hand that has "molded" her. Her longing to embrace her true self has never burned so fiercely, yet that unseen force keeps dragging her back into the pink illusion.

For many parents, they are more likely to be selfish in nature. When their children are young, they view them as playthings, and as they grow, children become tools to fulfill their own desires. In the grand scheme of life, children often serve as substitutes for the parents' "self" in the world, ensuring the continuation of life. Parents tend to be possessive, controlling, and overbearing, justifying it all in the name of love. However, they often overlook the fact that their children are individuals themselves and they have the right to shape their own views of the world.

Bearing a child may be easy but educating one is an incredibly arduous journey. Pregnancy lasts for nine months, and that's just a physical challenge. What follows, over several years, is the complex task of guiding the development of a young soul and ensuring that they become individuals with healthy personalities, bodies, and futures. The most critical aspect is that educating a child is, in essence, educating oneself. To help your child grow, you must understand the secrets of human nature, which ultimately leads to your own maturity. Unfortunately, most parents fail to grasp this truth. They tend to impose their own worldview on their children, thinking it's for the child's own good, but it prevents the child from experiencing their own growth. This is a critical issue because children are different from their parents. They can't simply follow the path their parents intend for them. The pre-designed path that parents impose isn't limited to just academics, careers, or relationships. It also relates to the child's personal worldview and values. This forceful indoctrination is ultimately detrimental because it deprives the child of their own experiences and prevents them from developing their unique perspective on the world.

Parents play a crucial role in a child's fundamental education, and it's impractical and unnecessary to think that parents shouldn't influence their children at all. However, most parents are not educators who truly understand how to shape a child's healthy personality. This is a rare quality. Moreover, in Chinese culture, there's a saying, "Parents can't teach their own children." This creates an unsolvable dilemma: on the one hand, a child's growth necessitates the guidance and education of their parents; on the other, children can't be confined to their parents' imposed values, worldview, and life perspective. So, parents need to strike a delicate balance between guiding their children and allowing them the freedom to develop their unique perspectives.

Parents are human, too, with their limitations and flaws. When it comes to their love for their child, they often find it challenging to remain entirely rational. Even parents who have experienced hardship and setbacks can become more forceful when trying to protect their children from making the same mistakes or enduring the pains of growth. They are motivated by a desire to spare their children from hardships and help them avoid the struggles of growth. However, they don't realize that this desire can lead to either excessive strictness or the creation of an overly sanitized, fairy-tale world. In essence, these two approaches amount to the same thing.

This creates an unsolvable dilemma: on the one hand, children require their parents' nurturing and guidance for growth, but on the other, parents cannot force their children into a preconceived path or set of values. It's a challenge to maintain the right balance as parents. Most parents don't contemplate these complexities when having children, but the challenges of parenting are significant. It's like hitting the jackpot or finding a treasure to encounter parents who genuinely understand how to educate their children, even if they have a bit less stubbornness.

Parenthood is a complex journey, and the role of parents as educators is vital. They must balance their guidance while allowing their children the freedom to develop their unique perspectives and understanding of the world. So, having children is easy, but educating them is an incredibly daunting task.

IV. Good Art

"Black Swan" also serves to define what constitutes good art—good art is art infused with a soul. Simply being able to perform 25 consecutive fouetté turns has no meaning on its own. To be exceptional, a performance must reflect both the pure and chaste side when playing the White Swan and the unbridled passion when playing the Black Swan.