Date Runner Analysis — Black Swan (2010)
When minuses try to become Pluses, bad things can happen. Here at Date Runner, we define dating approach styles on a plus or minus spectrum. Minuses are uncomfortable with physical initiation of intimacy and pluses are stimulated by environments and people who can bridge physical distances quickly. For the most part, a minus is not less sexual than a plus, minuses are simply not comfortable initiating or receiving sexual advances in short time frames or from those they do not consider a potential partner.
https://medium.com/media/fcd2d1af878b19548c19a9668bf95155/hrefThe Black Swan is a film that perfectly portrays the differences between competing women who have the same score in terms of physical appearance, but different comfort levels regarding sexual approachability. The film also portrays something which is relatable to many people who have been in an environment where being more sexually approachable is advantageous for their career or opportunities, or find themselves under critique for their natural instincts. Generally, it’s quite true that people often pressure other people to become more similar to themselves, and pathologize or demonize differences and this can be especially obvious in dating. What is often described as the madonna whore complex or the light and dark feminine, for the date runner system is simply a difference in approach style preference and the predictable responses of those involved from either end of the approach style spectrum.
In the film, Nina is an ambitious prima ballerina who is beautiful, but focuses almost solely on her art. She has a perfect score in the appearance category, but her approach style is not appreciated in her work environment. Nina is given the main role in swan lake, but her director says she is only perfect for the part of the white swan, though the role requires a transformation to the black swan character. The White Swan is a character who is pure and innocent and the Black Swan is passionate and dangerous. Nina is put into the position of proving that she can play the darker role. After the director states his problem with Nina’s performance, Nina’s competitor, a new ballerina to the company named Lily arrives on the stage. When Lily dances she is immediately praised by the director, in contrast to Nina she is artless and natural in her movements. “Watch the way she moves, imprecise but effortless, she’s not faking it” he tells Nina. This subtly shows to Nina that the director believes that Lily has without effort that which Nina has to work hard for and that Nina’s feeling and expression is fake because her art is so cultivated and practiced. Faking it, also has a sexual undertone, implying Nina could not enjoy dance or other forms of sensuality. Predictably, Lily begins a sexual relationship with the director. In contrast, in this part of the film, another character describes Nina as a “frigid little girl” and asks accusingly what Nina did to make the director change his mind about her playing the principle role. When the director asks Nina if she is a virgin, she responds “no, of course not”. Though it is up to the viewer to understand whether Nina is immature or not, what is clearly shown is that she experiences people in her environment as intrusive (and her naivete may be that she doesn’t see them as abusive). She is not given proper physical or psychological space to be herself and becomes increasingly paranoid and terrified of the people around her.
This descent from wishing to please someone to self-destructive acts can be analogized to what some minus women go through while dating pluses. When minuses see a plus man praise or respond well to other women who are pluses, they are liable to believe that the plus woman is more beautiful and successful than they are themselves because they are seeing them be approached more or given gifts or opportunities. What minuses often don’t understand is that men will see high scoring women as equally beautiful in appearance, but may prefer to approach a woman who is plusy-er as it takes less time or effort to understand what will happen with a possible connection. When their dating counterpart is a plus and so is expecting very different behaviors from them than what comes naturally, minuses attempt to fill in the gaps of their understanding. They can think they need to “up their game” or become better looking or act differently. When minuses understand that the Plus approach is to see all options, they tend to see it as the plus searching for their “replacement” or backup. In Nina’s case, we see her burst into tears when she is told Lily will be her alternate and she begs the director saying “she’s after me, she’s trying to replace me.” His words of assurance are “Just give a great performance and you won’t have to worry about Lily or anybody else”. In some circumstances, minuses may feel the need to prove that they are equally passionate or expressive as pluses and may engage in physical acts which are antithetical to their own nature to do so. This creates confusion and often is destructive, as anyone who acts against their nature is prone to regret. Minus women will experience the consequences of casual sex quite differently to plus women who will shrug off negative encounters and move on much more easily. A minus tends to be more deeply affected. In the film, Nina is bombarded with the message that she needs to “let go” of herself and allow herself to seduce and be seduced. The director touches Nina and tells her to respond to it, acting as if her responses are broken. She eventually succumbs to his advances and it leads her to ever more self-lacerating behavior. Essentially, the minus woman gets caught in a cycle where she feels the need to show or perform passion to prove that she is as deserving as a plus of what, or who, she desires. Nina may or may not desire the director in the film, but she desires to be seen normally and not as cold or broken.
Dark and Light feminine are social constructs which represent the pressure society puts on women to be sexually available or not, and have little to do with the qualities of any particular women. In some periods of history or in some places, the pressure will be toward the minus end of the spectrum and at other times, and in other places, there may be increased energy spent in pressuring women to be more plus-y, or to put out. While Black Swan is usually understood as a movie about the perils of seeking perfection, it can also be taken as a film about the impossibility of being both the minus and the plus at once. In a world where we are constantly judged by others standards, we should be vigilant about preserving, and feeling good about, our own.
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