![]() If a video game had multiple endings, only one of those endings could be eligible for this list.A “one entry per franchise’ rule is in place for this list.Actually, some of those endings proudly stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the great endings in other mediums.īefore we dive into those endings, though, here are a few rules to keep in mind. Truly great video game endings aren’t the anomaly they once were when the medium was young, but there’s still something of an elite group of video game endings that have raised the bar to a level we would have never previously dreamed of. We’re’ here today to celebrate those great endings. On the other hand, a truly great ending can not only solidify a game’s legacy but perhaps redeem whatever missteps that game may have made along the way. A bad ending won’t necessarily ruin a great game, but it will always be that “asterisk” you go back to when you’re recalling your adventure. A truly great video game ending has to not only feel satisfying after hours and hours of play but somehow wrap up an adventure that everyone will have inevitably experienced at least slightly differently. Nina makes some questionable choices that she alone is responsible for, but she's also a victim, a prisoner of the ferocious cycle of mental illness.Never forget how difficult it is to create a truly great video game ending. Combined with her performance anxiety, stress from living with an overprotective mother, and hints at self-harm, her mental health struggles have a large hand in contributing to Nina's psychosis that she experiences throughout the movie. From refusing to eat the celebration cake that her mother buys her and purging to maintain her ballerina weight, we're a witness to her food guilt as well as her bulimic tendencies. But regardless of the women's friendship or rivalry, the real antagonist of the film isn't Nina or Lily it's mental illness.īlack Swan takes great pains to show the mental and physical toll that Nina's single-minded pursuit of ballet perfection takes on her. The adversarial relationship seems to be decidedly one-sided. For example, just how much of Nina's relationship with Lily was a product of her psychosis? Judging by Lily's genuine congratulation of Nina at the end of the film, it's probably safe to say that Lily had no idea about Nina's obsession with her. After all, with Nina as an incredibly unreliable narrator, we have to wonder what other scenes, encounters, and conversations in the film were actually her hallucinations. Whichever side you fall on, the ending raises plenty of other questions. While Nina's main enemy is herself, Cassel's Thomas is a reminder of the patriarchal pressures thrust on women. Thomas objectifies his dancers and only views them as a means to achieve his art he only begins to notice Nina when she unleashes the dark side of her personality. Although Nina has convinced herself that Thomas is “brilliant,” it’s evident that his demanding nature crosses the line into abuse. Black Swan is unique in its feminist perspective. It doesn't seem to matter much to Nina either way because she got exactly what she wanted - achieving the ballet perfection that she so longed and trained for. That Nina and the White Swan have become permanently fused together, unable to be separated. Is Nina going to pull through, or are we witnessing her dying moments? On one hand, the fade to white could symbolize Nina walking towards the light as she dies from her stab wound or, perhaps it's Aronofsky's way of showing us that Nina has now so completely disappeared into the role of the White Swan that there's no turning back. As beautiful as it is terrifying, Black Swan utilizes its open-ended conclusion to let viewers make up their own minds about what actually happened to Nina. Black Swan weaponizes beautiful renditions of ballet performances to deconstruct the link between identity, sexuality, and artistry. With its story of female rivalry, the overpowering desire for artistic excellence, and its effect on mental health, 2010's Black Swan, which has just hit Netflix, is another notable entry in the category. Stories about the pursuit of perfection provide the canvas for deep character studies while also serving as a cautionary tale about chasing success. ![]() Whether in the magician rivalry of The Prestige, the single-minded determination of a jazz drummer in Whiplash, the commitment of a Hollywood actor in Birdman, or dueling cellists in The Perfection, Hollywood is inundated with stories of obsessive creatives. Tales of creative people with an unhealthy ambition to be the best in their field is not a new concept.
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