Dance Like No One’s Watching (Blog Entry 10)

I had not yet seen Black Swan, even though I LOVE Natalie Portman and ballet. I just always thought it was a film I needed to have time to sit down and watch alone without any distractions. I was right. I actually ended up watching it twice this weekend.

After thinking about it for a night, I realized there are numerous ways to interpret the plot of Black Swan. Through the use of meanings and symbols the movie clearly alludes to issues involving the dark and occult side of fame, duality, trauma-based mind control, the forced creation of an alter persona, and more. However, I found the overall message of the movie to be something along the lines of, “Searching for perfection ultimately leads to a decidedly imperfect life.”

Many people believe that God or some other higher power is watching everything they do (in Nina’s case, her ballet instructor). This can be much more anxiety-producing than wondering if other dancers are judging you. However, there is a commonality between secular and religious “dancing.” In both cases, there is no need to worry about how you appear to anyone else. What is important is how you feel to yourself. You cannot “dance” well in life, or on the dance floor, if you are not confidently enjoying what you are doing. This is my interpretation of “dance like no one is watching.”

Rather than allowing perfection to rule her life and drive her crazy, Nina dives into the deep end of her artistic pool, where alluring, yet dangerous, imperfection lies below. In a way, I feel that we are all auditioning for the part Nina sought. It is up to us to decide what we are willing to sacrifice, or embrace, to express our inner artist.