Black Swan and the The Metamorphosis by Kafka - A comparison

Recently I re-watched Black Swan and I noticed the many similarities between Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka from 1912, which I would like to explain in the following.

Black Swan is about the ballet dancer Nina, who is obsessed about perfection. As a result she only focuses on the techniques instead of feeling what she is doing. In addition she is living with her mother who keeps her under control and treats her like a 5-year-old. For her role in Swan Lake she also has to dance the Black Swan and therefore discover her 'dark side'.

The protagonist of The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa is working in a job he hates for his family and to make a certain lifestyle possible. Even though Gregor is the earner of the family, the father keeps and insists on his role as the patriarch. One morning Gregor wakes up transformed to a beetle, which unveils the relationship of the family members towards Gregor and the family dynamics.

In general it can be said both works deal with a conflict between superego and id.

Nina's identity is totally determined by being a ballerina. All other facets of her personality do not matter to her. This is supported by the dominant role of her mother, who herself was a ballerina, but failed a professional career. In the movie the superego is personalized by the White Swan. For her role as the Black Swan she has to explore her uncontrolled side, which in the movie is often referred to sexuality, which underlines its affiliation to the id.

Gregor Samsa subordinated his life to work and practically has no live as a private person. This is necessary as his father went bankrupt and now Gregor has to care for the family, therefore his personality is determined by the superego as well. One day he wakes up as a beetle, which symbolizes the id. Bugs represent something irrational and archaic, which is the totally opposite of what Gregor was before. Just as Nina's mother does not regard Nina as a person, but a projection, the personality of Gregor does not matter to his family. When he was transformed to a bug and stayed in his room and therefore could not go to work, his family was not really concerned about him being sick or anything like this. Instead they were mad at him for not working and worried he could lose his job.

Both characters fail to build up an ego, but they are torn between those two extremities. The disability to build up and ego and therefore an own personality is shown in both works withing the death of the protagonist. One reason for this is probably also the disturbed relationship between parent and child.

In addition another main motive is alienation. As already mentioned Nina does not feel what she is doing, but only focus on the techniques. Therefore she does not really has a real connection to her only passion and interest. This would also explain why she dances ballet to be perfect, but not to enjoy the activity.

Gregor Samsa is alienated from his work and family. He does not like his job and cannot find any sense in what he is doing, but the economical circumstances force him to keep his work.

The family as an institution falls apart, as it should give support and security, but in Gregor's case he is only the earner, after his metamorphosis, his family does not support him and does not try to be there for him.

As conclusion it can be said that the alienation probably supported the conflict between superego and id, as there was no real relationship of the individual to its environment and its activities and therefore could not help forming an identity which would have been part of the ego.

Even The Rain - Film Review

Even the Rain was directed by the Mexican filmmaker Icíar Bollaín and was released in 2010.
The film shows the consequences of the Spanish colonialism by drawing an analogy between the attitude of the conquistadors and of modern society towards the indigenous people.

The first as ambitioned and idealistic characterized director Sébastian (Gael García Bernal) and his cynical producer Costa want to make a movie in Bolivia about Columbus, which shows the cruel exploitation of the Native Americans, while also honoring fighters for the indigenous people like Hatuey and Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Soon they get in an ethical conflict between the fair treatment of their Native American actors and to keep the costs low. This situation is supported by the water war, which is caused by the privatization of the water supplies. Their starring actor Daniel, who plays the legendary fighter Hatuey, is one of the protest leaders and therefore in permanent danger to get hurt or arrested by the police. The state of affairs in Bolivia escalates and the film team has to stop their work. Only Costa is driving back to the city to save Daniel and his daughter, who joined the protests.

The film starts with a lot of potential. Especially the similarities are made very clear by changing from the time of Columbus to today. One scene is very intense: they are filming the scene of the burning of indigenous resistance fighters, where Chatuey says his famous quote that he doesn't want to go to heaven if cruel people like the Spaniards are going there. Just when the shot is finished, the police arrive to imprison Daniel.

Unfortunately the movie and the character evolution becomes predictable. Sébastian becomes so obsessed with the film that he becomes blind for the problems around him, while Costa starts to sympathize with the protesters. In addition, it is like so often within this topic that the story is told in a perspective from outside the indigenous people, which just like in the movie has mostly a subliminal sense of superiority. In the end it is a Spanish man, who saves Native Americans. He becomes the hero. This implies that they are not able to fight for themselves/protect themselves, which goes along with the myth of the dumb, but innocent indigenous people. On the top, the movie has a very sentimental ending.

All in all, I would recommend watching the movie. First, because its well-done narrative technique and secondly it draws attention to two important issues: The Spanish colonialism and the water war of 2000 in Bolivia.

Still there is a certain irony about the movie, as it tries to criticize colonial structures, but misses the self-reflection to see it operates in the same.