Black Swan

“If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do…” Bertrand Russell

Swan Lake is arguably one Pyotr Tchaikovsky greatest achievements. It is well known as a classical piece as well as a ballet. It is this ballet that forms the basis of David Aronofsky’s film Black Swan. This dark psychodrama deals with a young, talented Ballet dancer who is trying to achieve that self-sacrificing artistic abandon. This drama attempts to peer into the darkest recesses of the human soul.

The issue is that in 2011, the local censorship board attempted to ban the film because of some ‘homo erotic’ elements. Apart from the fact that this kind of action is an affront to the very notion of Democracy this reveals a far deeper, pathological problem when it comes to local attitudes to homosexuality.

Somehow there seem to be tacit beliefs that if you condemn, it’s illegal and immoral, that somehow the very notion of the homosexual will eventually curl up and die in some dark corner never to be seen and spoken of again. This is, of course, absurd. However, even more absurd is banning a movie for its homoerotic elements when that is very miniscule aspect of the film. Let’s not mention the hypocrisy of allowing Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain to show in cinemas, when there is absolutely nothing ‘latent’ about the homosexual element in that movie.

The truth is that it is not often that a ‘difficult’ movie, like Aranofsky’s, gets played in local cinemas, which can probably account for the rampant pigheadedness in this country.

Socrates once expressed the importance of the gadfly role of the philosopher, prodding society out of stagnation. The truth is that a narrowed minded society that will not critically examine itself will never develop. Instead of simply censoring things that make you comfortable, maybe it would more constructive to find out why that particular thing makes you comfortable in the first place. You may discover that the problem may lay closer to home.

In a time when reading is on the decline it is more important now than ever that there are art forms in this society that challenge the existing stereotypes. It is important that psychodramas like Aronofsky’s are played in the local cinemas to. The free reign of art is important because, to paraphrase Shelley, Artists and philosophers are the legislators of the world. 

Kwame Slusher

Img Credit: IMDB