Dissociative Swan Disorder (Blog Entry 11)

When watching The Black Swan (2010) it is clear that Nina has some sort of personality disorders, if not one, than several. She shows signs of several different disorders. Of all the possibilities, the one that struck me was, Dissociative Identity Disorder. This, formally called Multiple Identity Disorder causes one to lose touch with her identity and make new ones. Throughout the movie, Nina is trying to determine her identity. She firstly believes she is an innocent girl, the White Swan. However, she is forced into adopting the Black Swan identity. Because this is so difficult for her to do, she identifies with Lily, a rebellious dancer who defines the Black Swan. Throughout the movie Nina is conflicted between who she is, to the point that she loses touch with reality. During these times, she believes she is Lily, and makes up stories to satisfy her urge to be her.
A technique used to demonstrate this dual personality, is the use of colors throughout the film. White represents Nina’s innocence while black represents her new dark personality. The beginning of the fim depicts Nina dressed in white and pastels. Here, she is not suffering from a dual identity disorder, she identifies with her innocent nature. However, when she is pushed into becoming dark and seductive her new personality is shown through the color black. This is the color of the shirt Lily lends Nina, and this is the color of her new wardrobe. It is clear each color depicts a different side of Nina, however the most interesting scenes are when the colors come in contact with each other. These are the scenes when Nina is confused as to who she is. The black and white combinations turn up in the most intimate places for Nina. Her pillow is white with a black design, during the scene with Nina in her bathtub, the floor is checker boarded black and white. These designs go to show that there is not one, but two Ninas; her innocent side and her womanly side that she is not ready to grasp.

2 responses to “Dissociative Swan Disorder (Blog Entry 11)

  1. I really liked how you used white versus black to talk about dissociative identity disorder. Throughout Black Swan she really does lose distortion of reality. We seen this when she begins to lose herself, she does not even know herself anymore. I also really liked how you brought up particular scenes when the combination of both white and black were used. I never noticed the checkerboard of black and white in the bathroom. There was probably quite a few moments throughout the film that this contrast was used that I did not catch. Guess I have to re-watch it again! Good analysis this will be a great start to your paper!

  2. I also had considered this disorder when looking up the various types of disorders that Nina could potentially have over the web. It definitely would create some sense as to why Nina seems to have such a constant battle within herself. She is very hard on herself, and (I have mentioned this in another post) at some instances, she seems scared of her own reflection! This is very strange to me, and I agree that she could certainly possess some type of personality disorder. The movie ends with Nina acting like a completely different person than when the audience is first introduced to her. She goes from being sweet and innocent to manipulative and distant, the perfect “Black Swan to White Swan” transformation!

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