Question

Answer this question if you have watched the movie black swan

Movie: Black Swan

character: Nina

Describe Nina from the perspectives of cognitive domine and describe one theory (ex. jean piaget theory, bloom's taxonomy)  related to this domine.

and then conclude with your own impression

Answer 1

Answer-

Perfection is a dream chased by many, but only a few ever achieve it. More often than not, reaching that level of flawlessness requires great sacrifice. In Black Swan, Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman, is a ballet dancer who strives for perfection. Her greatest desire is to be the prima ballerina and dance the part of the Swan Queen. However, realizing this dream requires Nina to transform herself from an innocent girl-child to a sensual woman, and to make her own awful sacrifice to achieve perfection. This metamorphosis is completed in three stages: self-discovery, awakening, and transfiguration.

Even though Nina is awarded the part of the Swan Queen by Thomas, she is still unable to channel the wild spirit of the Black Swan. Thomas tells her that she is too “frigid” and that she needs to forget about perfectionism and to “lose herself.” There is a certain irony that in order to reach perfection, Nina must stop obsessing about perfection and let herself loose.

It is in these moments with Thomas that Nina discovers the darker nature she has hidden within herself. While practicing alone with Nina, Thomas forces himself on her again. He does all of this in an attempt to rouse the Black Swan that he knows lives inside her. In turn, Nina discovers that she isn’t a little girl, despite what her mother might think. She is a grown woman with her own sexual desires and needs. As if to guide her along on her road of self-discovery, Thomas is the one to suggest that she masturbate.

When she returns, Nina has a fight with her mother and, for the second time in the film, defies her wishes by taking “Lily” into her room and barricading the door. Nina spends a lustful night with “Lily,” making love to her, though later, she discovers that it was all a hallucination. However, this episode echoes Thomas’ earlier suggestion that Nina “play with herself.” At last, Nina has permitted the Black Swan to take over, submitting to her desires. It cannot be a coincidence that Nina fantasized about Lily, a Black Swan when she dreamed of the experience. It wasn’t Lily she was attracted to, but to Odile, the Black Swan within.

In addition to the strain she faces at home, she is alienated by her coworkers and is harassed by her director Leroy, a demanding and ruthless man. Leroy and the other ballerinas see Nina as a scared, frigid little girl. Throughout the film, she rarely socializes with her co-workers and keeps to herself. Leroy thinks that she is perfect for the part of the white swan, but lacks the passion to portray the seductive black swan. In attempts to loosen her up, he sexually harasses her and tells her to go touch herself. Leroy also employs a new ballerina in their troupe, a free spirit called Lily. Although Lily is not as skilled in the technical aspects, her personality makes her perfect for the role of the black swan. Leroy constantly tells Nina to model after Lily, making

her intensely jealous and paranoid that she will lose the role. As a result, Nina’s mental state goes into free-fall and she is no longer able to function. Her global axis of functioning could range between 11-30. Nina suffers from major symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, notably having delusions and hallucinations that get more severe as the film goes on. She has delusions that Lily is out to harm her and steal the lead role, especially after Leroy makes Lily her alternate. Nina starts to see her face on Lily and others. She has her first psychotic episode when she is swept away for a night of partying and drugs by Lily. She has a vivid hallucination in which she sleeps with her, but we know that it is a hallucination because Lily claims to have left with another man that night. In addition, before the night of the opening show, she has a hallucination about Lilyhaving sex with Leroy. Her second major psychotic episode happens on opening night when she finds Lily in her dressing room as the Black Swan. The Black Swan Lily claiming that she wants to take over the performance.

They end up having a violent showdown in which Nina ends up stabbing the Black Swan with shards of broken glass. In reality, the black swan was just an illusion and the person Nina ends up stabbing is herself. In her opening night performance, she envisions transforming into the Black Swan and eventually dies from her wounds after a standing ovation from the audience.

Nina’s hallucinations and delusions make paranoid schizophrenia a characteristic diagnosis, however, she may also have a differential diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. The main reason she could also be diagnosed as such is because of the Black/White SwanPersonas. On one hand, Nina has the White Swan persona because of her innocent and fragile personality. On the other, she has a Black swan persona who has violent confrontations with others, including herself. She has deep scratch marks and another marring on her skin with no clear recollection of how they got there, but the film infers that they are self-inflicted. I ruled out this disorder in favor of paranoid schizophrenia because she has more symptoms associated with such. Overall, I think this film gave a fine interpretation of an individual suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, although it also gave hints of differential diagnosis. It showed a comprehensive range of symptoms for psychosis, especially in the form of hallucinations and delusions. In addition, it had substantive character development that laid a solid foundation for these symptoms.

It describes Nina from the perspectives of cognitive domine and describes one theory Paranoid schizophrenia-

Paranoid schizophrenia, or schizophrenia with paranoia as doctors now call it, is the most common example of the mental illness.

Schizophrenia is a kind of psychosis, which means your mind doesn't agree with reality. It affects how you think and behave. This can show up in different ways and at different times, even in the same person. The illness usually starts in late adolescence or young adulthood.