Classical music versus classic psychoanalytic theory

Rating: Null/10 (3 February 2011)

Sometimes the conception of art can be everything. Every artist approaches the subject in a unique way, and there is never a right or wrong option. Some alternatives, however, can lead to self-destructive behaviors (consequently, the image of the tormented artist has been tremendously popular in the past).
Darren Aranofsky's latest film deals with art and the delicate balance between Eros and Thanatos. As Sigmund Freud wrote in some of his books, the vital drive and the death drive are forces that coexist in each one of us. Nina, the protagonist, though, finds out that sometimes it's nearly impossible to regain a sense of selfness after such different and opposite forces menace to pull her apart.
Nina has a deep devotion for ballet. Her whole emotional stability seems to depend on being selected for the main role for the upcoming ballet production. She is a superb ballerina but her director constantly criticizes her for being too rigid, too cold, too passionless. What lies underneath her unruffled expression? What's beneath all that control and perfection of movement? Only neurosis, I'd dare to claim.
If life and death are the most relevant aspects as some philosophers might affirm, then one could easily find a connection between sexual impulses and the vital drive. But what would occur when the pulse of nature is denied? What happens when sexual activity is not only disregarded but put off altogether? Freud did a thorough analysis of his time and he reached one daunting conclusion, which was quite polemic back then: sexual repression always leads to neurosis.
Nina's director can easily spot the uptightness of the future star. She is not only tense, she is afraid of her own body, of her own sexuality. Perhaps one could identify Nina's mother as the source of all evils. It has been said before that it's so easy to blame everything on the parents that one should look for other possibilities. This case, however, proves that parental influence can be most detrimental. With a mother that watches over her daughter constantly, controlling her and treating her like a child, it's only foreseeable to understand how this will affect Nina.
When Nina's mother undresses her or sleeps in the same bedroom, the viewer may be shocked at the lack of privacy, but perhaps what is more shocking is the passive response of the protagonist. It should be understandable, then, to see those repressed feelings surmounting the mental barriers she has put into place; in fact, after certain events Nina will even fantasize about the possibility of engaging in a lesbian affair of most physical nature.
There is much suspense throughout the film, and the constant supernatural visions of intrusions of the ominous can take us back, again, to the Freudian unheimlich: quotidian activities or mundane locations are infused with something that might be real but at the same time defies possibility, thus instilling apprehension and anxiety in people. Nina will experience something similar, but in a much more frightful manner. The very first scene sets the tone for these dark and ominous moments.
Art is creation, but it can also be destruction. At moments it would look as if Nina won't be able to resist the pressure, and the constant visions she seems to have might be seen as proof of her weak psychological condition. She could crumble at any moment as things heat up. Surrounded by envious ballerinas, sieged by her director, betrayed by the only girl she could call friend, Nina will soon find out that true artistic creation requires absolute passion and commitment to survive the experience. And thus, finally, the viewers come to realize what is the ultimate conception of art in Nina's mind.