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The Misrepresentation Of Madness Within 2010's Black Swan

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Flying to Nowhere: The Misrepresentation of Madness within 2010’s Black Swan Alexandra McChesney 701e Lauren Munro April 12, 2023 Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan creates a whirlwind fantasy world which plagiarizes harmful stories and perpetuates negative stereotypes of Madness. Beyond the stereotypical portrayal of a Mad person within the 2010 movie, its creation has encouraged hordes of unnecessary discourses on diagnosis, and brought the ballet world into the spotlight. This essay will explore misrepresentation of Madness within Black Swan and the responses of the film written by many psy(ch) academics, and others. When portraying Madness in media many visually presenting art, all follow similar formats …show more content…

The medical model’s preference and usage of illness-based language towards Mad experiences, and its prevalence in media today has allowed many people to feel comfortable or find enjoyment in diagnosing Nina. While the diagnoses are ones that have been associated with harmful social stereotypes, reason for incarceration, eugenic practices, and general mistreatments from society, the inappropriate nature of these online comments do not end at their evaluation of DSM criteria. The language used to discuss this character, and her experiences as a Mad person continue to undermine her abilities and constantly make her identity front and centre in conversation about her. Many of these online takes on her “illness” come from mental health centres or sites centered on psychological conditions and care. The Psychological Care and Healing Center in Los Angeles diagnosed her with having anxiety with obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating disorder, substance abuse, and a personality disorder, as well as saying the character was “beautifully and disturbingly portrayed” with “too many issues”. The American Academy of Private Physicians diagnosed both Nina and her mother with schizophrenia and said, “While viewers are uncertain of her mother’s mental illness status, the genetic factor may be present”. In an article …show more content…

S., & Abraham, A. (2016). Exploring the Uncharted Territories of Human Psyche as Represented in Darren Aronofsky’s Film Black Swan. Spiritus Scientiae, 19. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.christiancollege.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Spiritus-Scientiae-2016-Vol-1.pdf The Black Swan Movie and psychological illness. PCH Treatment Center. (2019, August 19). Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://www.pchtreatment.com/the-black-swan-movie-and-psychological-illness/#:~:text=There%20are%20simply%20too%20many,She%20dabbles%20with%20substance%20abuse Burstow, B. (2005). A critique of posttraumatic stress disorder and the DSM. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 45(4), 429–445. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167805280265 Campbell, R. H., & Wilkening, G. L. (n.d.). Movies in the classroom: Black swan. AAPP. Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://aapp.org/perspective/2016/07/309618#:~:text=Black%20Swan%20depicts%20a%20young,company's%20production%20of%20Swan%20Lake Donaldson James, S. (2010). 'Black Swan': Psychiatrists Diagnose Ballerina's Descent. Retrieved 2023, from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/Movies/black-swan-psychiatrists-diagnose-natalie-portmans-portrayal-psychosis/story?id=12436873. Donnelly, T. (2012). Vogue diagnoses: The functions of madness in twentieth-century

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