People -- and media -- keep talking about losing weight and shaping up à la "Black Swan." "Do this to lose weight like "Black Swan!" "This workout will get you in "Black Swan" shape!"
If I see one more "Black Swan" weight loss plan, I might scream. Maybe these folks aren't familiar with the harsh realities of the movie, so let's review the facts.
Fact: Natalie Portman barely ate while filming the movie.
Fact: Natalie did dance training up to eight hours a day.
Fact: Natalie said there were some nights that she "literally thought I would die."
Fact: Mila Kunis said that "I would look at myself in the mirror and ... all you saw was bone. I was like, This looks gross."
Fact: Mila said that she began bingeing as soon as she finished filming the movie.
It doesn't seem like the "Black Swan" weight loss plan is healthy.
Websites, TV shows and magazines that have promoted a "Black Swan" lifestyle are quick to point out that they aren't encouraging people to fully embrace the movie's ways. That's reassuring, considering Portman's character starved, purged and self-injured. However, it seems encouraging people to look like a character who suffered from an eating disorder is a detriment to their audience. It is my belief that the media should in no way promote this unhealthy diet, even in moderation, because it is founded on an unhealthy lifestyle that centers around unhealthy behaviors.
You want to know what "Black Swan" is good for? Watching, enjoying (or not enjoying) and discussing it. I don't think the diet or the workout should be emulated and the media -- and others -- have a responsibility not to promote it.