black blah, er, i mean black swan
so i finally saw Black Swan. yeah i know old news. but it was dreadful. and i'm sad that Portman won the oscar for this pathetic role. Bening was 100% robbed.
the reason this movie sucked was because of it's idiotic juxtaposition. why oh why do ppl rely on the juxtaposition of virgin vs. slut, virgin madonna vs. whore madonna? is that all women are? women are either sluts or virgins? in most stories the main character goes through a dramatic change. often times it's good vs. evil and the main character has to go through hell and back to become a fully realized human being. take Star Wars for example. luke has to embrace the dark side of himself, face his fears, accept who he is, forgive his father, etc. before he becomes a jedi knight. why can't nina (Portman's character) go through the same journey without such emphasis on her sexuality? it can be argued that luke is a virgin, but it isn't as emphasized as Black Swan. we don't ever see luke masturbate or hans solo go down on him. although i would pay big money to see that. it's more of a subtle subtext, while nina's sexuality is on the front line. nina won't be able to complete her journey if she doesn't embrace the imperfect slut inside her - ? correct? so in order for nina to become a fully realized creative ballerina woman she has to embrace the out-of-control partier, crazy imperfect whore? i just don't buy it. and to top it all off, when nina's character finally embraces the imperfect (? - really, was she really imperfect) whore, she becomes the master ballerina she craves, (wait for it...) and she's now dead. oh that's right, thanks for reminding me hollywood, a fully realized independent creative woman isn't allowed to live in this world. nina, unlike luke, isn't allowed to enjoy her creative power she has earned. because women just aren't allowed to be fully realized human beings. and also how convenient, instead of dealing with the fact that nina went through hell and back, instead of getting to enjoy her success and creative power, she's now dead. so if i want to become a fully realized creative woman i have to embrace the crazy whore inside of me and then die! winning! because we really hate women who live and get to enjoy their creative power (madonna, lady gaga, etc!, those egotistical bitches!).
it could be argued that this movie wouldn't be as suspenseful if the whore vs. virgin juxtaposition was taken out. but i think if aronofsky had taken cues from Hitchcock or even Lynch he could have made a very scary suspenseful movie without this stupid cliched juxtaposition.
but i suppose hollywood just wouldn't be hollywood anymore if it discontinued relying on cliches and stereotypes.
the reason this movie sucked was because of it's idiotic juxtaposition. why oh why do ppl rely on the juxtaposition of virgin vs. slut, virgin madonna vs. whore madonna? is that all women are? women are either sluts or virgins? in most stories the main character goes through a dramatic change. often times it's good vs. evil and the main character has to go through hell and back to become a fully realized human being. take Star Wars for example. luke has to embrace the dark side of himself, face his fears, accept who he is, forgive his father, etc. before he becomes a jedi knight. why can't nina (Portman's character) go through the same journey without such emphasis on her sexuality? it can be argued that luke is a virgin, but it isn't as emphasized as Black Swan. we don't ever see luke masturbate or hans solo go down on him. although i would pay big money to see that. it's more of a subtle subtext, while nina's sexuality is on the front line. nina won't be able to complete her journey if she doesn't embrace the imperfect slut inside her - ? correct? so in order for nina to become a fully realized creative ballerina woman she has to embrace the out-of-control partier, crazy imperfect whore? i just don't buy it. and to top it all off, when nina's character finally embraces the imperfect (? - really, was she really imperfect) whore, she becomes the master ballerina she craves, (wait for it...) and she's now dead. oh that's right, thanks for reminding me hollywood, a fully realized independent creative woman isn't allowed to live in this world. nina, unlike luke, isn't allowed to enjoy her creative power she has earned. because women just aren't allowed to be fully realized human beings. and also how convenient, instead of dealing with the fact that nina went through hell and back, instead of getting to enjoy her success and creative power, she's now dead. so if i want to become a fully realized creative woman i have to embrace the crazy whore inside of me and then die! winning! because we really hate women who live and get to enjoy their creative power (madonna, lady gaga, etc!, those egotistical bitches!).
it could be argued that this movie wouldn't be as suspenseful if the whore vs. virgin juxtaposition was taken out. but i think if aronofsky had taken cues from Hitchcock or even Lynch he could have made a very scary suspenseful movie without this stupid cliched juxtaposition.
but i suppose hollywood just wouldn't be hollywood anymore if it discontinued relying on cliches and stereotypes.