Black Swan tagged “Eating Disorder Pornography”
For their roles in Darren Aronofsky’s new film, Black Swan, both Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis each reduced their body weights by about 20 pounds even though both actresses were very petite to begin with. In the movie, Ms. Portman’s character, prima ballerina and Swan Queen Nina Sayers, shows signs and symptoms of both anorexia and bulimia. Sadly, the movie has already inspired a “Black Swan Diet” and appears to be providing role models for unhealthy behaviors. The movie has been labeled “eating disorder porn” by EatingDisordersOnline.com
As reported by Kate Torgovnick of The Frisky, a number of pro-anorexia web sites have begun to use Black Swan as a marketing vehicle. These include
Thinspire Me
SuperSkinnyUs
Daily Thinspiration
Ms. Kunis (pictured right), who played the title character Lily, The Black Swan, said she was “grossed out” by her body in the movie referring to her appearance as “Gollum in a tutu.” She said it took her 5 months to drop down to 95 pounds but only five days to gain it all back.
Ms. Portman’s post-Swan diet was carbs, carbs, carbs ” just pasta and bread and pizza all the time.”
Recently Portia De Rossi, actress and wife of comedienne Ellen Degeneres, gave a very emotional interview to Oprah about her past history of and struggles with anorexia. Scientific studies have shown that anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disease in part because the condition is frequently associated with other forms of psychological illness and is frequently under-treated.
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Mila Kunis is hilarious, and sadly I know what she means. She’s so gorgeous, though, I can’t picture her looking like Gollum no matter how pathetically skinny she gets.
But you can’t really fault the movie - it’s pretty true to life. Ballerinas are very skinny and some resort to horrible tactics to stay that way (while some, like my cousin’s adorable and impossibly tiny wife, manage to be professional dancers without destroying their health - it can be done, but it sure isn’t easy). And I fail to see how these girls are meant to be “role models” in any capacity. Just because something appears in a movie doesn’t mean it’s being endorsed as an awesome thing to do. This is also a movie very clearly made for *adults* - and we’re old enough to make our own life choices without needing the excuse of “someone did it in a movie.”
Black Swan is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) requiring viewers under the age of 17 be be accompanied by a parent or guardian. This rating is due to a lesbian sex scene and not its portrayal of anorexic ballerinas.
See our story on how celebrities are used as role models and guides http://www.medpagetoday.com/Blogs/23694