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SSStttooonnnyyy BBBrrrooooookkk UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiitttyyy The official electronic file of this thesis or dissertation is maintained by the University Libraries on behalf of The Graduate School at Stony Brook University. ©©© AAAllllll RRRiiiggghhhtttsss RRReeessseeerrrvvveeeddd bbbyyy AAAuuuttthhhooorrr... On Darren Aronofsky’s Filmography from 1998 to 2014: Obsessions, Addictions, and the Pursuit of Perfection A Dissertation Presented by Jadranka Skorin-Kapov to The Graduate School in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Art History and Criticism Stony Brook University December 2014 Copyright by Jadranka Skorin-Kapov 2014 Stony Brook University The Graduate School Jadranka Skorin-Kapov We, the dissertation committee for the above candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, hereby recommend acceptance of this dissertation. Andrew V. Uroskie – Dissertation Advisor Associate Professor, Art History and Criticism John Lutterbie - Chairperson of Defense Professor, Art History and Criticism Elisabeth Patterson Assistant Professor, Art History and Criticism Krin Gabbard Professor, Cultural Analysis and Theory This dissertation is accepted by the Graduate School Charles Taber Dean of the Graduate School ii Abstract of the Dissertation On Darren Aronofsky’s Filmography from 1998 to 2014: Obsessions, Addictions, and the Pursuit of Perfection by Jadranka Skorin-Kapov Doctor of Philosophy in Art History and Criticism Stony Brook University 2014 The subject of the proposed dissertation is the oeuvre of the film director, screenwriter, and producer Darren Aronofsky in the period 1998-2014. Chronologically speaking, Aronofsky’s themes can be traced along the following trajectory of dualities: obsession and acceptance (π, 1998), addiction and reality (Requiem for a Dream, 2000), denial and acceptance (The Fountain, 2006), faded perfection and resignation (The Wrestler, 2008), artistic perfection and reality (Black Swan, 2010), idealization and reality (Noah, 2014). Aronofsky’s filmography is discussed with respect to his style and the themes of his films. His films deal with existential questions facing humanity, providing artistic counterparts to well-known philosophical works. Hence, the themes and the questions arising from his films are discussed in relation with relevant philosophical writings. In addition, Aronofsky’s filmic sensibility and his treatment of his themes demonstrate the influence of and shared sensibility with several notable directors. In particular, his inclination towards storytelling, involving characters that are caught up in obsessions that lead to extraordinary situations, shows affinity with both Kubrick’s and Spielberg’s work, despite their opposing sensibilities. Aronofsky’s films extend the genre of melodrama by coupling complex characters and their transformations with ambiguous endings. Despite working in different times and different cultures, the melodramatic tone brings him close to Fassbinder, who redefined the melodrama genre through the presentation of human psychology, the elasticity of moral convictions and the elusiveness of satisfying desire. The Appendix to this manuscript includes a transcript of the conversation I had with Aronofsky on December 2, 2013. iii For Nela and Marin iv Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................ vii Vita: Jadranka Skorin-Kapov............................................................................................................ viii Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1 π: Is mathematics “the language of nature”? ..................................................................................... 16 Why can the audience “buy” the character of Max Cohen? .......................................................... 17 About visual, textual, and sound elements in π ............................................................................... 22 A psychoanalytic look at the character of Max Cohen in π ............................................................ 25 Requiem for a Dream: Addiction and broken dreams ........................................................................ 30 The need for transgression and the habit of addiction ................................................................... 34 Visualization of addiction in Requiem for a Dream......................................................................... 37 Reality and fiction in stories about addiction ................................................................................. 41 The Fountain: Death and the authenticity of existence ...................................................................... 45 Myths and symbolism in The Fountain ........................................................................................... 48 Philosophical views of existence, temporality, and death ............................................................... 50 Visual correspondences and symmetry versus asymmetry in The Fountain ................................. 54 Aronofsky’s style: Between Spielberg’s narrative and Kubrick’s duality .................................... 59 The Wrestler: Melodrama and the gift of death .................................................................................. 64 Visualization of artificial reality: persona versus ego and the sacrifice ......................................... 64 Death as a gift? ................................................................................................................................ 69 Art imitating life or life imitating art: Rourke and von Stroheim ................................................. 72 Social connotations in The Wrestler ................................................................................................. 74 Aronofsky, Fassbinder, and the redefinition of melodrama ........................................................... 78 Black Swan: Limit experience and artistic perfection ........................................................................ 83 The characters’ roles in Black Swan ............................................................................................... 83 Visual elements presenting Nina’s psychic and bodily transformation ......................................... 87 The search for artistic perfection, limit experiences and the disintegration of reality .................. 88 Thriller, melodrama, and the issue of gender in Black Swan ......................................................... 90 Black Swan and some relevant films ............................................................................................... 93 Noah: Responsibility, love, and the moment of choice ....................................................................... 98 The story of Noah and Campbell’s view of mythology ................................................................. 101 v Exteriority versus interiority in Noah: audio/visual elements ...................................................... 104 Noah as combination of various cinematic sensibilities ................................................................ 106 The sacrifice of Noah versus the sacrifice of Abraham ................................................................ 109 On auteurship, Aronofsky’s themes and stylistic signature ............................................................. 113 On Aronofsky’s themes and narrative style .................................................................................. 115 On Aronofsky’s cinematic style ................................................................................................... 119 Courage to tell one’s own stories ................................................................................................. 122 Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 125 Appendix: Conversation with Aronofsky ......................................................................................... 133 vi Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Department of Art at Stony Brook University for accepting me as one of their students and for allowing me to pursue education in Art History and Criticism. I benefited immensely from insightful discussions with faculty and fellow students. My gratitude extends to the Philosophy Department, and the Department of Cultural Analysis and Theory at Stony Brook University. They all added to a lively academic atmosphere and enforced my wish to pursue the study of film art. In producing this dissertation I am indebted to Professor Andrew V. Uroskie for his guidance and insightful comments. In addition, I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee, Professors John Lutterbie, Zabet Patterson, and Krin Gabbard, for their support and useful comments during my study. Ashar Foley’s help in editing the manuscript is highly appreciated. I am truly indebted to Darren Aronofsky for his artistic force and his films that motivated this work. Also, I am thankful for the time he spent on our conversation, in the midst of the postproduction of Noah, certainly a very busy time. His assistant, Dylan Golden, was indispensable for our communication and I thank him for his efforts. Finally,