Guan, Nancy

Professor Michael Deon Du Plessis

COLT 302
11 December 2015
Darren Aronofskys The Black Swan and Uncanny Hallucinations
Darren Aronofskys The Black Swan portrays the life of ballet through the eyes of Nina
Sayers, a childlike woman who strives to be featured as the lead in the production of Swan Lake.
By the end of the film, Nina descends into psychosis, but also achieves her goal of becoming the
black swan. Throughout the film and up until the opening night of Swan Lake, Nina experiences
hallucinations that are indicative of her instability. Thus, it becomes apparent that often times we
are viewing the film from Ninas perspective. It is confusing, at times, whether what Nina sees is
real or just a result of her psychosis, and this uncertainty partially contributes to the uncanniness
of the film. Referring to Freuds text The Uncanny, an uncanny effect often arises when the
boundary between fantasy and reality is blurred (Freud 150). One of the most notable instances
of uncanniness in the film is that of the doppelgnger. Nina sees a person that looks exactly like
her walking about in the streets and sometimes sees her own face on the body of other people as
well. However, the version of herself that Nina sees is the exact opposite of the real Ninathe
twin is much more mature and dark, and possesses qualities that Nina does not have, but desires.
A Freudian reading of the occurrences in Black Swan provides further insight to Ninas
hallucinations. The uncanny events that occur throughout the movie can be read as a result of
disturbances in Ninas unconscious. Ninas obsessive relationship with ballet and especially the
role of the black swan seems to contribute to a psychosis that results in a life colored by the
anxiety and paranoia of Ninas psyche.

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One of the first things we notice about Ninas character is her childishness, which,
juxtaposed against some of the cruel realities of adulthood, creates a sense of uncanniness. Nina
has been sheltered most of her life by her overbearing mother, Erica Sayers, who seems to
project her own experiences as an ex-ballerina onto her daughter. Erica constantly monitors
Ninas health, becoming visibly paranoid when she discovers that Nina has been scratching
herself again, apparently a bad childhood habit of hers. Ericas motherly love seems to only be an
affectation rather than a genuine caring of Nina. At first, only the viewer, can see this in Ericas
cold stares when she discovers Ninas shoulder rash and when she hugs Nina goodbye. However,
throughout the film, Nina becomes more aware of her mothers irrational behavior as she
prepares for the role of the black swan. The relationship between Nina and her mother is
overbearing yet unstable. Her mothers sense of being is fragile and contingent upon Ninas own
role as her sweet girl. The capricious nature of her mothers affection comes out when Nina
refuses to eat the cake her mother bought her and threatens to trash the entire cake. Their
relationship is strained even further when Nina starts becoming more independent and disobeys
her mother in order to fit the role of the black swan. Ninas room is also another, more literal
form of entrapment within her childhood. Her room resembles one of a young girlspink,
hyper-feminized, and decorated with stuffed animals. Her mother also routinely tucks her into
bed and winds up a ballerina music box on her bed stand before she sleeps. Ninas repressive
home environment creates the sense that Ninas childhood continues to haunt her in adulthood.
Not only does this distort our familiar sense of reality we associate with adulthood, but this kind
of environment has obviously stunted Ninas psychological growth as well.
The uncanny qualities of the film extend from Ninas home life to the ballet company
where the elegance of the ballet is shattered, and turns into a more insidious environment. Also,

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evidence of Ninas stunted psychological growth becomes more apparent outside of her home at
the ballet. At the studio she is usually alone and appears to be an outsider. Her naivety sets her
apart from the more vicious girls like Veronica, who unabashedly insults Beth Mcintyre, the
retired star of the company, and someone that Nina strives to become. Similar to her home life,
Ninas life at the company is fragile and relies on her physical as well as psychological abilities
as a dancer. Old age and physical injury are both inevitable and highly detrimental to a
ballerinas career as one can see in Beth McIntyres character. Contradictory to Beths wishes,
she is forced to retire precisely because of her old age and, later, permanently disabled due to a
car crash. The film exposes the more brutal aspects of being a ballerina by emphasizing the
physical strain it causes Nina as well. One particular segment of the film shows Nina breaking in
a pair of ballet slippers by cutting and ripping pieces of the slipper and sewing parts back
together. The close up of the process coupled with the sounds of ripping and cutting portrays a
harsh and grim side of ballet that doesnt often get exposed. In another scene, Nina is shown
pirouetting in front of the mirror at home, but suddenly cracks her toe. The gruesomeness of the
scene is emphasized with the zoom of the camera, focusing in on Ninas injury. This is one of the
instances in which the film chooses to fixate on small, but painful injuries rather than extremely
fatal wounds. In a way, this conveys a more subtle deterioration of Ninas physical body that
perhaps mirrors the internal, psychological breakdown of her mind as well. In one particular
scene, Nina realizes her finger is bleeding and brutally tears the bleeding part of her finger even
further, an action that disturbs the audiences expectations, but also points to Ninas own blatant
disregard for her own pain. As a ballerina, Nina has acquired a mindset that pain is perfect.
However, this scene actually turns out to be a hallucination when in the next scene her finger

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appears to be fine. These small, but very realistic instances of pain allow the audience to identify
with Ninas pain; therefore, it is both familiar, but also made strange by the film.
The concept of the doppelgnger is mentioned in Freuds The Uncanny, but also seems to
be the most narratively confusing part of the film, but is still, nonetheless unsettling. Freud lists
several reasons why the concept of the doppelgnger is uncanny, but admits that a real
explanation is beyond our understanding. However, a few of the reasons for the uncanniness of
the double lies in the fact that one becomes unsure of his true self and having once been an
assurance of immortality, it [the double] becomes the uncanny harbinger of death (Freud 142).
Thus, the appearance of Ninas double seems to destabilize Ninas identity and undermine the
notion of a persons essence and individuality. The appearances of the doppelgnger are also
probably the most narratively inconsistent moments in the film, which is why it causes such a
disturbance in the audiences expectations. Ninas double is also visibly the opposite of the actual
Ninas character. When Nina first encounters her doppelgnger in a dark alleyway, she is dressed
completely in black as opposed to the actual Nina who, almost as an extension of her room at
home, is almost always dressed in light, pink-toned clothing. Nina also seems to have another
double in Lilys character, whose carefree and cool personality directly contrasts with Ninas.
There are several uncanny moments when Lilys visage appears identical to Ninas. Before Nina
even meets Lily, she sees her on the subway, but because Lily is turned away, it appears that Nina
is seeing a double of herself. Both girls mirror each others movements by tucking their hair
behind their ears as well. Also, when Lily finds Nina after one of her rehearsals, her face is
partially covered by the shadows in the corner of the studio, making her look exactly like Nina.
This is one of the more subtle moments of Lily and Ninas selfsameness. However, later in the
film, Nina has hallucinations where Lilys face turns directly into her own. Both Ninas

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doppelgnger and Lily exhibit qualities that Nina doesnt possess, but she desires in order to be
able to play the black swan.
Thus, with a more Freudian interpretation, the doppelgnger can be seen as a
manifestation of Ninas own desires to see herself as more confident and mature in order to fit
the instructor, Thomas Leroys, description of the black swan. Nina also sees her own face
replacing Beths, another manifestation of her desire to be more like her, but perhaps a deeper
belief that she sees these people in parts of herself as well. Ninas desire to be more like Lily and
Beth, however, seems to take root in what her ballet instructor, Thomas Leroy, says about them.
He points out Lily during rehearsal calling her movements imprecise but effortlessand shes
not faking it. After Beths accident he says almost admiringly, everything Beth does comes
form within from some dark impulse, I guess thats what makes her so thrilling to watch. So
dangerous. Even perfect at times, insinuating that the qualities of the black swan must come
from an inner transformation and cannot be learned by simply being a dedicated dancer. Both
these moments elicit a reaction from Nina and plants in her mind the idea that she needs to
become more like these people, which induces her hallucinations. Its apparent that as the
opening night of black swan draws nearer, Ninas hallucinations become more violent and
terrifying. Ninas desire to be like Beth turns into a paranoid hallucination in which Nina sees her
own face on Beths body stabbing herself whilst screaming Im nothing! Im nothing!. At this
point, Nina breaks down in a state of paranoia after the pressures of being the swan queen
becomes too great. Thus, Ninas hallucination involves her own doppelgnger mutilating her
face, signifying a wish to destroy the part of herself that has evolved into the black swan. Ninas
obsessive behavior that is partially a result of her upbringing in the ballet, facilitates, in some
way, her decent into psychosis.

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Aronofskys use of mirrors is a pervasive symbol throughout the film and also contributes
to the feeling of uncanniness that is akin to seeing double. The first time we see Thomas Leroy is
through the reflection of the studio mirror. When Nina first sees Beth at the hospital, it is also
through the reflection in the glass door, making her seem more gaunt and haunted than her actual
person. In both these instances, the reflection Nina sees, and, therefore, what we see, is distorted.
The reflection resembles the real person, but is made unfamiliar through this distortion.
Aronofskys use of mirrors, however, is most evocative of the uncanny through Nina. In addition
to seeing double, the uncanniness of the mirror image may relate to Freuds statement that there
is a further development towards the notion of something removed from the eyes of strangers,
hidden, secret (Freud 133). In the mirrors reflection we not only see a duplication of Nina, but
a different version of her, which exemplifies the mirrors ability to reveal what both the audience
and Nina could not see in herself before. Consequently, the reflection we see of Nina is often
insidious and wicked, a hallucination of Ninas own unconscious threatening to come out, though
Nina is unable to let that repressed part of herself be unleashed yet. One of the first instances of
Aronofskys use of the mirror occurs when we see Nina on the subway train to the studio. This
scene is exceptionally frightening because of the immediate cut to the dark reflection in the
subway glass accompanied by the hollow screeching of the wheels. Ninas reflection is ghostlike and the details of her face are blurred in the glass, the most visible part of the reflection
being her white feathery scarf, resembling a white swan. The mirror image also operates
symbolically, as a representation of Ninas unconscious. One of the most important turning
points in Ninas character occurs after her night out with Lily. When she first steps into her
house, the first glimpse of Nina is reflected multiple times in the decorative mirror with multiple
glass panes. This, perhaps, signifies a crucial point in which Ninas identity is splitting and

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changing. A similar scene occurs the next day when Nina is at the ballet, taking off her shrug, the
multiple mirrors take effect again and we see an infinite number of Ninas regress into the dark
behind her. What happens immediately fits directly into the realm of the uncannywhen Nina
leans to the side, her reflection stays and scratches at the shoulder rash. The mirror that is
supposed to show a coherent image of what is on the surface is divided and multiplied instead.
Towards the end of the film, the surface image is further disrupted. Instead of portraying an
image of Nina, the reflection seems to have a life of its own, grimacing and scratching the rash
on her shoulder, an unconscious act performed by a projection of her unconscious.
The pace towards the end of the film is noticeably faster and seems to be spinning out of
control similar to Ninas mental state. When Nina discovers that Thomas has made Lily her
alternate, she becomes paranoid and starts having multiple hallucinations. After her encounter
with Beth at the hospital, she rushes back home and hears her mothers voice in the kitchen using
her typical term of endearment my sweet girl. However, when Nina turns on the light, the
figure she sees is her own figure bloodied in Beths hospital clothes. Possibly one of the most
terrifying moments in the film takes place when Nina sees all of her mothers self-portraits come
to life whispering sweet girl. The uncanniness of the sequence lies in the term of endearment
sweet girl that is made unfamiliar by the beings that say it. Also, the portraits coming to life is
an example of the uncanny inanimate object that elicits feelings of the uncanny if intellectual
uncertainty is aroused as to whether something is animate or inanimate, and whether the lifeless
bears an excessive likeness to the living (Freud 141). The fact that they are all self-portraits
made by her mother gives it an extra sense of the familiar made unfamiliar. At the height of
Ninas psychosis, she hallucinates herself literally becoming a black swan.

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After this episode of psychosis, however, Nina seems to gain some psychological control
again and embraces the once-repressed black swan that seems to have made a complete
transformation the night before. Before the performance, Thomas tells her that the only thing
standing in the way is herself and says to lose herself. During the performance, Nina interprets
Lilys affections for the prince as another attempt to replace her. As a result, she falls from the
princes grasp, messing up the performance. She then has another hallucination of Lily in her
dressing room preparing for the role of the black swan. However, this is evidently just another
projection of her unconscious when Lily turns into Ninas doppelgnger yet again. Ninas
inability to handle the psychological strain of being both the white and black swan ends
tragically with her wounding herself with broken shards of the mirror. Again, the trope of the
mirror appears, but this time Nina destroys the possibility of a reflection at the same time she
kills her hallucination of Lily that is actually just a projection of Nina. Nina is finally able to play
the part of the black swan perfectly, but only at the cost of eliminating the part of her that
embodies the white swan. Therefore, returning to the concept of the doppelgnger and its elusive
origins of uncanniness, in Ninas situation, it is the fear of letting this darker part of her
completely take over her psyche that makes the doppelgnger so terrifying in retrospect.
Ultimately, Black Swan portrays what the world looks like from the perspective of Ninas
anxiety and paranoia. At first it isnt clear that the world Nina lives in is made more terrifying
and extreme due to her own unstable mental state, but her constant hallucinations make it
apparent that many of the things happening throughout the film is actually just a figment of her
imagination. However, the beginning of the film seems to set up a hostile environment around
Nina that the audience only sees. The breakfast scene before Nina heads to the ballet company,
her mother is affectionate up until she finds the rash on Ninas back, which comes to symbolize

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an unconscious action inconsistent with Ericas notion of her sweet girl. Ninas mothers stares
are cold and emotionless when she hugs Nina goodbye and we get the sense that there is
something evil and insidious about Ninas environment rather than within herself. The ballet
company, as well, is shown to be brutal and cold. Ninas colleagues are rude and Nina is alone
most of the time. However, as the film progresses, the outside world begins to be colored by
Ninas own psychosis. Her hallucinations of Lily all involve a Lily that is darker and much more
hostile than the real one. By the end of the film, even her mother is redeemed, shown clapping
and in tears at Ninas performance. The end of the performance, especially, shows the ballet at its
most sympathetic and signifies the end of Ninas psychosis as well. When Nina finally makes
peace with her own unconscious, the film also seems to become brighter and more optimistic.
Thus, viewing the film through Ninas psychological breakdown gives us greater insight into the
hallucinations and uncanny moments in the film.

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Works Cited
Black Swan. Dir. Darren Aronofsky. Perf. Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel. 20
Century Fox, 2010. Web.
Freud, Sigmund, David McLintock, and Hugh Haughton. The Uncanny. New York: Penguin,
2003. Print.