A timid young woman walks into the huge dance hall looking both ways for the signs of hostility that her inner fears portrayed during the night. Her dreams consisted of the darker self trying to take over her conscious mind, making her completely defenseless against her own other self. She dances with intimidation--full of the fear of seeing her own self failing, of confronting humility with peers, of her own discipline being corrupted that is instilled in her by her mother. Most of all, she is fearful of losing her sexual innocence by unknown inner demons lurking around her mind's corner, her own dark half sending her to the brink of insanity.
I have never thought of Natalie Portman as an exceedingly talented actress. But with her portrayal of the white swan turning into the black swan the evil twin in the movie "Black Swan," she reached the heights of her acting career. The movie is based on the "Swan Lake" suite. I knew the story some but I never paid attention to it in detail. I am interested in ballet but never really attended any stage shows. Thanks to my son and the night he insisted on taking me to "Black Swan," I learned about human emotions expressed through art. My own emotions peaked as I watched the deeply contradicting emotions unfolding in front of me. I watched in awe how sexual introduction to the timid mind could release one's own fears, express evil entities, lead to self exploitation, cause love and emotions being flown into a sense of relief and self satisfaction, and just letting go of boundaries in order to attain total control and self-realization.
I was dazed several hours after coming out of the movies. I never thought I would react the way I did. Two days later my son's girl friend asked me how I liked it. I remembered the conversation I had with my son that night on our way home. I remembered my comment that it was not the kind of movie to watch with your own son because of the humiliation it could cast upon you with sexually explicit scenes. And then again I justified that it was not a movie that is made with intentions of sexual exploitation that is perverted. It was a movie that took sexual desires and expressing them as a way to find one's self artistically. So, even as I was a little taken aback, I was not really worried about the part where I had to watch the sexual scenes with him on my side.
My son also answered the question his girlfriend asked me. He sounded surprised at my analogy about the movie being artistic as opposed to being dirty. I could see the pride in his eyes as he mentioned the fact I took it in that sense as he explained it to her. So, I explained my own theory about the movie.
Sex has been an intricate part of art ever since mankind came to express itself. Many painters have based their art on the subject of sex. Most poetry is somehow metaphorically or otherwise related to male-female concept. Most of the dance forms, movies, lyrics, dramas, and stage shows are based on male- female attractions, interactions, sexual intercourse, sex appeal, sexual innocence, etc. Sex is the ultimate point of human expressions, emotions, desires, anger, rage, frustrations, learning curves, language, biological factors, and the darker side of self. Nature has been described with comparisons of passion. Dawn and dusk are described with passion in mind. Running waters are compared to women's fluid-like body movements, and thunder was compared to man's insatiable thirst for sexual intercourse. It is as if every object in this world it is somehow related to male and female desires, emotions, feelings, and expressions toward the other sex.
Art is a medium through which artists express their own feelings. Freedom is what is derived out of sexual exploitation in art. Freedom from self and the world is taken through the channels of one's ability to create sex as art. Without the sex appeal there is no derivation of happiness, peace, tranquility and joy. All these essential factors of life give an artist the creative juices to put out in words, acting, and paintings that he presents to the world. It is a popular belief that when someone is stressed out, sex is the way to relieve the tension. Marital relationships mostly fail because of sexual dissatisfaction. Sexologists and psychologists believe sex is a way to more cheerful and healthy life. Sex is considered as therapy not only for mental problems but also physical ailments. Sex is supposed to improve one's blood circulation, oxygen intake,and heart beat. It is supposed to be tensing and relaxing all the muscle groups thus giving way to flexibility and increasing oxygen supply. Sex had been taught as a course in scriptures like the kamasutra from ancient times. Sex is considered as sacred in some cultures. Sex gives ultimate relaxation to the mind enabling it to work to its optimum. Sex gives sweet dreams, mental pleasures, excitement in life, a new zeal on life, and desire to look forward to relationships. According to ancient Hindu scriptures a man must go through all stages of life and experience everything that it has to offer including sex and family life in order to bring those experiences to maturity towards nirvana. Without sex a person could not work toward divinity since he loses the very essence of life itself.
Just because there are some who exploit sex in ways other than what it is intended to be expressed as, that doesn't mean we cannot appreciate it. What more could you ask for than movies like "Black Swan," in order to find yourself freedom of speech, expression, and thought provocation? After all, we all deserve to at least enjoy looking at our emotions at play if we aren't artistically inclined anytime during our lifetimes because, OUR LIFE MATTERS.