Black Swan

[tri deezy]

SPOILERS:

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I think the major themes were the lengths people push themselves for perfection, the existence of a "darker side" to one's personality, regret and aging in the arts, mind games and (potentially, depending on how you view it) mental illness.

Originally Posted by DrPhil

At this point, people who haven't seen the movie but keep clicking on this thread are essentially looking for spoilers. What else could they expect to read?....I think the major themes were pushing for perfection, mental illness, and crazy bitch (which is different than mental illness).

I won't feel bad for saying what I really wanted to say now.

I thought that this movie was majorly about serious mental illness. Natalie Portman's character had a very serious case of non-medicated schizophrenia. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the aunt of an old friend of mine who, during a psychotic episode associated with her schizophrenia, cut off her own lips with a razor blade thinking that they were filled with spider eggs. That's why I wrote about how the theme of this movie is extra creepy since it really does happen to people. Schizophrenia is a terrifying disability that's sometimes treated as a joke by people outside the medical and mental health fields. I don't know what this movie will do for its reputation, but I hope that people who see the movie realize that that's what's being portrayed!

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by tri deezy

Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about the aunt of an old friend of mine who, during a psychotic episode associated with her schizophrenia, cut off her own lips with a razor blade thinking that they were filled with spider eggs.

Originally Posted by tri deezy

That's why I wrote about how the theme of this movie is extra creepy since it really does happen to people. Schizophrenia is a terrifying disability that's sometimes treated as a joke by people outside the medical and mental health fields. I don't know what this movie will do for its reputation, but I hope that people who see the movie realize that that's what's being portrayed!

The parts that made me cringe were her body scars. Ouch.

Everyone knows someone with a mental illness, diagnosed or undiagnosed. I think Black Swan could have done a better job with that. Wynona Rider, the ballet teacher, the woman with the tattoo, and her mother were okay stories but it made it seem jumbled. I guess the world of a schizophrenic is jumbled.

Even her turning into a black swan would've made more sense if they hadn't run through it. The movie wasn't particularly deep so people who left the theater like "what the hell" aren't necessarily adults who are not experienced with mental illness nor are they idiots who can't think without everything being spelled out for them. LOL. No one in this thread is saying that but that was just my thought when I wonder what Black Swan could've done differently.

[33girl]

Were they trying to make it a surprise that Winona Ryder is in this movie? I haven't seen her in the ads at all (or if she was in them she was unrecognizable) and I didn't know she was in it until I read this thread.

Or is it that she really isn't news anymore so the marketing peeps didn't really think it was worth a big mention? (See: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler.)

[BabyPiNK_FL]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Were they trying to make it a surprise that Winona Ryder is in this movie? I haven't seen her in the ads at all (or if she was in them she was unrecognizable) and I didn't know she was in it until I read this thread.

Or is it that she really isn't news anymore so the marketing peeps didn't really think it was worth a big mention? (See: Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler.)

i thought the same thing.