The Feminine Figure
Introduction
The Black Swan is a film directed by Darren Aronofsky and was produced in 2010. The film genre is a psychological thriller based on the story of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet production that is being held by a New York’s prestigious company. The production requires a ballerina to star as an innocent and fragile White Swan and Nina is an ideal fit.
Additionally, the production requires filling as an essential sensual part of dark Black Swan with qualities that fit Lily perfectly well, a new production arrival. Nina is overwhelmed by the pressure involving her battle for the role. This leads to her loss of her reality grip and in the end, narrows down to living nightmare.
The Feminine Figure
Ballet is mainly concerned with getting females who can fit specific physical status. They can be flexible and with the right weight measure as a way of ensuring she can do some ballet moves comfortably. This is one of the focal themes in The Black Swan because Nina is under pressure to prove that she has the ideal feminine structure for a ballerina.
Even though it was quite obvious that she has the ideal figure, she still faces cut throat competition for the production role that calls for a black corporeal figure from Lily, putting her in pressure. Ballerinas have forced to engage in many activities just to get an ideal ladylike structure. It is one of the reasons as to why many of them suffer from psychological issues as they try to achieve their goals. One of the psychological issues that are quite common among ballerinas is anorexia, which is fear of eating a lot for fear of gaining a lot of weight (Bell 102).
The ladylike figure has been putting a lot of pressure on females since millennia. Women during European Romance did not engage in some activities just to maintain a figure that was considered ideal by the community. In Europe Romans, the figure of a woman was very crucial in determining whether she was ideal. This notion had an impact of depicting women as sex figures as opposed to rational humans.
It is additionally a notion that led to social gender roles definitions where women were considered as having the main role of serving their males and taking care of the family. Men in the meantime were seen as being given an opportunity to enjoy more adventures and getting engaged in expeditions overseas, battle grounds and the protectors of the society. To keep ideal feminine structure, women also had to undergo different social activities as well as functioning (Gorham 19).
In Greek Mythology, the feminine structure is also highlighted. Women goddesses were assigned roles more inclined to romance, love and caring. A famous goddess, Venus for example was known as the goddess of love. In this regard, male gods were assigned more masculine duties for example wars and those characterized with wisdom and power.
Zeus for example was known for his strength and it shows that the ladylike structure had been utilized against women since time immemorial. Female goddesses in this regard were also equated with beautiful earthly creatures as well as voluptuous feminine figures. Even though it is conceivable in modern day that women have been appreciated for their natural bodies, this has been the case for many years where individuals were individuals have not celebrated ladies for their mental among other achievements as opposed to the perceived figures.
Since Renaissance, the body type has been appreciated where the body of a lady was seen as ideal even if she was voluptuous. This is depicted in the works of art of Renaissance. It is also essential to note that despite the fact that there were female artists during the period, they were not highly celebrated because they were seen to be voluptuous. It is one of the reasons as to why many people remembered women during the time as beautiful and not for their achievements in different areas including art.
In modern day, feminine figure has continued to play a crucial societal role. There are still comments of females being celebrated only for their figures and not their achievements. This can be properly articulated in the entertainment sector where women achieve celebrity status just because of their figures. In the world of ballet, women are also seen as perfect if they conform to some attributes.
An excellent ballerina is expected to be capable of fitting in different ballerina costumes. Additionally, they are expected to be in a position to fly and the body should be vibrant to ensure the movements entice the crowd (Black 37). This is additionally reflected in The Black Swan where women are forced to achieving the best body structure to appeal to the crowd. Even so, it is imperative to note that this has had a negative effect on the ladies.
Nina’s mum was a ballerina but she quit basically due to pressure associated with the sector. Nina even so, is quite relentless in an effort to be the best. This leads to her tragic end of her life. The urge to maintain an ideal body has generated many mental and health issues amongst women. It is the reasons that have been creating a negative impact in the society. Women in modern day should be appreciated for other things. Despite the fact that has been the case in many occasions, there is still the primary issue of their figure and has led to misconception amongst many women.
Conclusion
The feminine structure has been highly connected to patriarchal fantasy. The roles of ladies are primarily focused on pleasing their male counterparts. Unfortunately, the female aspect that can be used to pleased men is their bodies since time immemorial. This had created a situation where women try to achieve the ideal societal figure by all means. It is a fact that is depicted in The Black Swan where as a result of being pushed to achieve an ideal body, Swan undergoes a great deal of mental pressure and later leads to death.
Works Cited
Bell, Sarah, Nathan Medeiros-Ward, and David L. Strayer. “Feminine Gender Role Constructs and Aggressive Driving Behaviors.” Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. Vol. 55. No. 1. Sage Publications, 2011.
Black, Kathryn N., Michael R. Stevenson, and Diane N. Villwock. “What Do” Masculine” and” Feminine” Mean in Everyday Usage?.” Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science. Vol. 95. 2013.
Gorham, Deborah. The Victorian girl and the feminine ideal. Vol. 19. Routledge, 2012.