Questions around personality often refer to a person’s identity, or what “makes that person unique” (C.G. Boeree, 2006). Santrock defines personality as a pattern of distinctive thoughts, feelings and behaviours which characterise the manner in which an individual interacts with the world (2005). The word ‘person’ has Roman origins, referring to the masks worn by actors in order to portray a character (W Meyer, C Moore, H Viljoen; 2003). This definition is significant when attempting to unpack the personality of a ballet dancer in the movie Black Swan (D. Aronofsky, 2010), as there are a few levels of interpretation which can be applied here. There is the actor (Natalie Portman) who portrays the character (Nina Sayers) who struggles with her …show more content…
The organism is the individual which interacts with the environment; the phenomenal field is the entirety of the individual’s experiences and includes events or situations which occur outside of the individual as well as inner experiences and meanings which are assigned to them by the individual (W. Meyer et al, 2003). The self-concept is central to humanistic theories, and includes the individual’s perception of themselves, their abilities, and their behaviour (Santrock, 2005). In Black Swan, Nina would be the organism or the individual; her subjective, personal experience would be the phenomenal field; and the picture she maintains of herself, the way she sees her characteristics, how she judges herself based on her appearance, talents and relationships, would all constitute her self-concept (W. Meyer et al, …show more content…
Weiten, 2001). In the scene where Nina meets with Thomas to ask for the part of the Swan Queen, Nina admits that she obsesses over every dance move in an effort to achieve perfection. She says that she “just want[s] to be perfect”, which could highlight the fact she strives to live up to the high standards which have been imposed on her from others. Boeree (2006) emphasises that, because these standards stem from external elements, they are not always in line with the organismic valuing process and individuals often find these expectations unattainable (page 5). Nina struggles to meet these conditions, she practices the dance routine relentlessly and even enters into dangerous, self-harming behaviour in an attempt to maintain the level of perfection she feels is expected of her from those around her. Nina displays bulimic and anorexic behaviour, and scratches herself to the point of bleeding throughout the
A personality is a combination of various attributes that belong to a single person. Each one has its own unique qualities and traits that create an individual that is different from any other human being. How this individuality is formed depends on the environment that a person has lived through and their experiences. Alison Bechdel grew up in a home with a father who alienated himself from his family so that he could conceal a dark secret from his life. Nevertheless, Bechdel was able to take from her past so that she could become a strong and independent women who kept true to who she was. Likewise, straying from the expected path of her family, Dorothy Allison was determined to become the person who she wanted to be. Expressing who she is and not changing to match others expectations has become high priority in Allison’s adult life. It was through a journey of hardship in their childhoods, both Allison and Bechdel were able to discover their individual identities in their adult life.
”Because most people identify as separate from other people, they have what we call some "concept" of themselves. Self-concept refers to how people “think about, evaluate, or perceive” themselves.” Self-concept can be split into categories that make people who they are. Throughout “The Outsiders”, Ponyboy the protagonist, describes his brother and his friends in relation to him, giving insight on what makes each of them who they are. After reading an article on this topic “Self-Concept “by Saul McLeod (1), and reading chapters 1-3 of the novel “The Outsiders” (2). One can see the major reasons that make people who they are: self-image and self-esteem/self-worth.
Black Swan is a movie of a ballet that portrays ones struggle to surpass the restrictions that one has established to reach perfection. The main character is a hardworking, moral, daughter to a prideful controlling mother, who wants nothing but success; she finds that the only way for her to get that success must lose herself by turn in to an immoral, envious, super competitive person that ends up battling with her inner being, between what is right and what is wrong as she strives to become the lead role in the ballet. The movie conveys that to archive ones desires that one must let go of control and lose one’s self. Her Director conveys this in what he says "When I look at you, all I see is the white swan", he says. “Perfection is not just about control, it’s about letting go."
older people imagine clear to a greater degree by their social roles. (Kuhn, 1960). The need for self-esteem plays an important role in psychologist Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which depicts self-esteem as one of the basic human motivations. Maslow suggested that people need both esteem from other people as well as inner self-respect. Both of these needs must be fulfilled in order for an individual to grow as a person and achieve self-actualization.
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” Personality is characterized by many dimensions of a person’s overall being. The belief that personality stems from one origin is small minded and on many levels, unsupported. If the scope of personality is expanded, it suggests that there is not a single explanation determining a person’s personality and how it is formed. Personality Theories have been generated for centuries by individuals who desire to identify what distinguishes a person’s personality and how it affects their behaviors. What is it that comprises all the unique characteristics about a person?
Pat Solitano, after finding his significant other with another man, beats him. He got sent to a mental healing center where he was diagnosed with bipolarity. He got discharged from the hospital and went to live with his parents. He is hesitant to take his meds since he doesn't care how they affect him. The main thing he needs is to attempt and get back together with his significant other; however she wrote him off and got a restraining order on him. His companion, Ronnie welcomes him to supper and he meets Ronnie's sister-in-law, Tiffany who's likewise reeling from a personal loss. They have a connection, however Pat is still committed to his ex, and declines to do anything. When he learns Tiffany sees her, he requests that Tiffany give her
Nina is a young Caucasian woman, in her mid-twenties, who is physically and mentally drained because she is a perfectionist and ballerina in a prestigious dancing company. Nina is single, heterosexual, she is interested in men, and she lives with her mom who is single, controlling, and obsessive, in an apartment in New York. Nina is extremely shy, timid, and over-sheltered. She lives with her mother, who is angry and still upset at the fact that she had to give up her own dancing career at a young age due to the fact that she became pregnant. Because of this Nina experienced some physical abuse from her over controlling mother. Nina’s mother is constantly barging in to her room depriving her of any privacy. Nina is not allowed to go out late at night, and because of her mother being so strict she does not have many friends that she is close with, and she has never been in a romantic relationship. Right after practice she goes straight home and sits in her room, constantly thinking how she could be a better ballerina. Nina’s only source of income comes from the productions she dances in. Nina has been chosen to be the lead role in the production Swan Lake which requires Nina to have two completely different personalities, the black swan, which is the evil twin, and the white swan, which is the good twin. The white swan image for Nina is extremely easy because she is a perfectionist who is innocent and naïve, but the black swan image is what is draining her because it is extremely hard for her to let go and “loose herself”. Because of the inability to let go Nina is unable to please her director and the director becomes abusive and very sexual towards Nina. Because of th...
According to Webster, personality is the combination of qualities or characteristics that form an individuals’ character. Personality says a whole lot about someone. Every person has their own personality. Your personality triggers your behavior in every situation. In the play, all the characters have special personalities, but I will only elaborate on three of them. The three characters I will speak on are Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca. They all have very interesting roles and personalities in the play. Their relationships have a great impact on their behavior in the play.
The journey that Kat takes through the story, from a person defined by others to a person without definition, is somewhat of a birth in reverse. In the story the character of Kat is defined by the conflicts she faces and her inability to adequately deal with them. The more Kat attempts to find herself within the parameters of her society, work and relationships, the more she becomes lost. It is the conflicts that bring Kat to a moment of clarity as she is left broken and abandoned. It is in this state that Kat is able to lose her name and begin to reconstruct herself apart from the influences of others. Without a name Kat is now the blank canvass onto which she hopes to paint her final masterpiece.
The Black Swan was originally a play, created into a film in 2010. Nina is part of the New York City ballet company. She is a very hard working and dedicated ballerina whose life consists mainly of ballet practice, and rarely any fun. She has been chosen to play the role of the black swan in the upcoming performance Swan Lake. Although Nina was the directors first choice, she begins to develop a bit of competition with another dancer in the company, Lily. They go back and forth with being friends, then competing against one another. The idea of the black swan requires someone to play both the white and black swan components of the piece. One being portrayed with innocence and grace, and the other with a darker side of sensuality. Viewers begin
Beyoncé’s personality will be examined using the humanistic conception of personality, which was developed during the 1950s and made emphasis on seeing people in relation to their environments and on the meaning that people find in life.
The main character in the film Black Swan, twenty-eight year old female Nina Sayers, displays signs of numerous disorders through her abnormal behavior. Nina’s life is consumed by her occupation: professional ballerina/dancer. Nina resides with her mother and rarely socializes with others. She has difficulty concentrating, is restless, irritable, suffers from muscle tension, and sleep disturbances from nightmares. Nina also feels very uncomfortable in social and intimate situations. She appears to be unable to successfully interact with those around her. The interaction that Nina has with her fellow dancers appears to be strained and superficial. Nina exhibits behavior that indicates she views all other dancers as competition instead of potential comrades’ or friends. Being very introverted and unable to share any part of herself with those around her, even her mother, who appears to be the only person that has been remotely close to Nina, causes her to seek companionship with parts of herself instead of healthy relationships with others. Nina exhibits signs of generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and paranoid personality disorder through these abnormal behaviors.
Characterization of a human being has always two sides: the first one concerns one´s appearance, the other deals with one´s inner qualities. However, there is a slight difference in describing of a female and a male personality: outer characteristic is much more detailed when describing a female. But it is necessary to cover with both these issues when discussing the personality of a female.
In Black Swan, a ballet dancer named Nina is casted to play both the White Swan and the Black Swan in the famous ballet titled Swan Lake. In the well-known opera, a princess is turned into a White Swan, who falls in love with a prince but then commits suicide when she finds out that the prince confessed his love to the Black Swan. In the movie Black Swan, Nina has to deal with the challenges that arise from trying to accurately portray both characters whom are completely opposite. It is easy for Nina to be the White Swan. She is innocent and controlled. However, it was very hard for her to become the dark, seductive, and mysterious Black Swan. To fully become this character, Nina has to deal with the struggles of becoming the opposite of who she really is. This results in many hallucinations that involve harming herself. She also starts to imagine things that are not really happening. Eventually, Nina has psychotic episodes when she truly becomes the Black Swan. Whenever she takes a step into her transformation, she has hallucinations such as having black feathers come out of her skin. It also seems as if Nina is obsessed with perfection because she even tries to kill herself. The true reality is not what she sees because she is so trapped in the world of Swan Lake.
The concept of personality has numerous definitions (Fatahi, Moradi, & Kashani-Vahid, 2016). Schultz and Schultz (2009), define personality in its broad sense as the manner of an individual’s behaviour in different situations. This essay explores the nature of personality, with the intention of highlighting its flexibility. The results of numerous empirical research studies are examined in order to investigate if, and how personality changes over time. It will be argued that an individual’s personality has the ability to change throughout their life.