Black Swan: Evil Twins And White Pearls: Links For Aronofsky's Film

Black Swan: Evil Twins And White Pearls: Links For Aronofsky's Film

If you haven't seen Darren Aronofsky's psychosexual thriller Black Swan yet, he's a genius and you should. But first, check out the disturbing trailer and read a synopsis of the original Swan Lake ballet. Also, consider watching the 1948 film The Red Shoes (available on Netflix instant queue). It's a dramatic ballet re-imagining of a classic Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. 

Swans also make interesting idioms. A "black swan" means a rare occurence, though in the Aronofsky's movie and the Swan Lake ballet the black swan is an evil twin who represents seduction and deceit opposed to the white swan's natural grace. A "swan song" refers to a person's final performance based on the ancient belief that swans sing one final beautiful song before they die.

After seeing Black Swan, read about similarities between Black Swan and Satoshi Kon's masterful anime Perfect Blue (trailer). Also be sure to read Poe's short but awesome story "William Wilson", a dark tale about a cheating scoundrel and the vigilant schoolmate threatening to expose him—it ends similarly to Aronofsky's film.

Then for some troubling brain candy, read about Nassim Taleb's Black Swan theory about how we tend to not recognize rare historical events that change the course of history. Taleb suggests ten decisive rules for withstanding Black Swan events including "What is fragile should break early while it is still small." Poor delicate ballerinas!

Also, why are black pearls more valuable than white pearls? Answer: Hella good marketing.

And finally, for you Swan Lake fans, did you know that the ballet has several different endings of varying tragedy and romance? Of course, I always love a happy ending!

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