The Punishment of the Female Prodigy

By Jessica Ramos

Many horror films explore the trauma and victimization of women, and female prodigies are not exempt from torment, giving us memorable protagonists like Nina (Natalie Portman) in Black Swan [2010] or Scarlett (Perdita Weeks) in As Above So Below [2014]. While these films may be actively attempting to subvert the typical formula of the male prodigy, the female characters who hold that status in these films are often punished for it. Instead of their skills or intelligence being their biggest virtue, it’s portrayed as their biggest flaw. If they do get to succeed, it’s often empty, or comes at a huge price of their body, their lives, or the lives of others. What does this treatment of female prodigies say about women who exemplify exceptional talent--whether they’re born that way or made, and why does female success and punishment usually coincide? 

In The Perfection (2018) and Black Swan, the women are punished through their bodies. In Black Swan, there is body horror in the scenes where Nina breaks a toenail from over-exerting herself, when she pulls the skin from her finger in a scene that makes my stomach turn, plucks small insect-like spikes from her skin, and eventually, forces a shard of glass through her stomach in a delusion she has of fighting her rival, Lily (Mila Kunis). As her desperation to dance the coveted role of the Black Swan increases, the  mental and physical toll rises until she realizes she’s stabbed herself. Nina begins to cry, but with her “the show must go on mentality”, wipes her tears away with the sponge she’s finishing her make up with. That was, perhaps, the one moment she held power for her success in the film, but it’s still tinged with the blood of her fate. Although Nina succeeds in performing the role the way she hoped, “I was perfect,” she dies--or depending how you view it, experiences a metaphorical death of someone who she once was in order to become her idea of perfection.

In The Perfection, Charlotte (Allison Williams), a talented cello student who was forced to leave a prestigious academy to take care of her sick mom, drugs and deludes the school’s newest cello prodigy, Lizzie (Logan Browning), to cut off her arm. The act is assumed by the audience to be the play of a jealous rival, but is later discovered to be a ploy by Charlotte to “save” Lizzie from the head of the academy, Anton (Steven Weber), who has been sexually abusing them for years. The Perfection attempts to subvert the jealous rival by disguising it as a desperate ploy to help, but takes away any agency Lizzie has through the most extreme means possible. The film also gives its main heroines an empty victory against their abuser. In the final shot of the film, Anton is seen with his limbs removed, sitting for a cello performance by Lizzie and Charlotte (who have both lost an arm at this point and are unable to play the cello without each other’s help). As the women perform, they finally reach that perfect performance that Anton had always wanted for them, leaving their victory through the eyes of their abuser, while also reminding the audience what it took for them to get there, an arm, or what they would need to continue playing cello. In the end, the women’s victory is hollow. 

In some films, the punishment is directly inflicted upon the prodigy from their less exceptional peers. Take Jesse (Elle Fanning) from The Neon Demon [2016], whose exceptional natural modelling ability is a stark contrast to the other models in the industry who have had extensive work done, and are forthright about it. Within the world of the film, the rule is that “True beauty is the highest currency we have, and without it she would be nothing,” as said by one of the most important men in the industry, which leaves Jesse, described as “a diamond in a sea of glass,” an obvious target. Jesse’s self-awareness of her beauty, with a scene of her kissing her reflection that calls back to the Greek mythological story of Narcissus (who catches a sight of himself in a pool of water, falls in love, and succumbs to his yearning) is weaponized against her. Would she have been punished less harshly had she been more humble or unaware of her abilities? After turning away a sexual advance from a friend, being selected in a job over another model, and catching the attention of an executive in the industry, she’s seen as a target that needs to be eliminated. The three other models who see her as a threat as her career takes off, corner her and push her to the bottom of an empty pool, where Jesse’s limbs lay unnaturally contorted. In the following scene, the women bathe and shower in her blood and devour her body in order to internalize her youth. 

Scarlett, from As Above So Below, comes the closest to settling into the success and power that she works towards in the film, but not quite. In the film, Scarlett (speaker of six languages--two dead) and holder of a MA and 2 PHDs) is desperately seeking the Philosopher’s Stone, a mythological item in alchemy that could provide the key to eternal life. While searching underneath Paris in the catacombs with her cameraman, old friend, and a band of Parisians who are helping her navigate the tunnels, the characters face their own inner demons in physical form, dying one by one. Scarlett’s mantra of “We have to keep moving” highlights her dedication to the stone, even as those around her die one by one. When Scarlett finds the stone and its powers ultimately become hers (a power so strong she’s able to bring one friend back from the dead), the film ends with a solemn exit from the catacombs: three exiting instead of six, with the remaining Parisian staring at Scarlett with repulsion before he walks away, leaving Scarlett and her friend left in the dark, breaking down as ambulances cry in the distance. 

Nina, Scarlett, Charlotte, and Jesse are not the only examples of female prodigies (think of Beatrix from Kill Bill [2003]), but the horror genre is concerned with trauma and victimization. While these films attempt to depict prodigious women in an exceptional light, they still focus on tearing them down, punishing them for pursuing their ambitions. These films seem to imply that exceptional talent and brilliance can only come at a price, often that price being their bodies, their lives, or the lives of those around them. With all that they’ve lost, can these characters sit within their own power and talent? Do Nina and Scarlett get to enjoy the satisfaction of their hard work, dedication and talent? Do Lizzie and Jesse get to enjoy the privilege that comes from perfecting their skills? It doesnt take a genius to see the answer is ‘No’. 

Jessica is a freelance writer from LA currently living in Madrid, Spain. By day, she’s a staff writer for Secret Media Network where she writes about cool cities and what to do in them and by night, she writes about culture and subcultures. She is currently planning her next big move, career-wise and city-wise. You can find her on Instagram at artistandthecity. 

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