Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky directs a psychological horror movie set in the ballet scene, interweaving the backstory of Swan Lake with the story of Nina, a mentally unstable dancer who becomes increasingly psychotic and eventually implodes due to her inner compulsions. We explore the different conceptions of femininity of the protagonist Nina (Natalie Portman) and her three counterparts, the mother Erica (Barbara Hershey), the rival Lily (Mila Kunis) and the dethroned prima ballerina Beth (Winona Ryder) and relate them to the psychotic development of the protagonist. In addition to these four women, the figure of the charismatic ballet director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) takes a special position. With his provocative-authoritarian style of leadership, he manipulates the women's feelings, but in fact uses them for his own benefit. With this we also examine the depiction of ballet as a manifestation of patriarchal forms of society and the question of whether BLACK SWAN should be considered a feminist film.