Psychological Decline from Perfectionism
Andrew: “And so for those reasons, I'd rather just, you know, break it off clean because I wanna be great.”
Nicole: “And you're not?”
Andrew: “I wanna be one of the greats.” (1)
Andrew Neyman, the protagonist in Whiplash, exemplifies how obsession with reaching “perfection” can distort our moral compass and relationships. Once Andrew receives an opportunity at Shaffer Conservatory, a prestigious music school, he devotes all his time to practicing drumming. He unemotionally breaks up with his girlfriend Nicole and develops a superiority complex in his pursuit of greatness.
At Thanksgiving dinner, while he belittles his cousin’s football accomplishments, Andrew comments, “I'd rather die drunk (2), broke at 34 and have people at a dinner table talk about me than live to be rich and sober at 90 and nobody remembered who I was.”
What is the benefit of earning the best position in the world if you have no one to celebrate with?
In another film, Black Swan, Nina Sayers develops extreme paranoia and hallucinations surrounding her pursuit of her ballet company’s lead role in Swan Lake. Losing all self-control, she becomes defiant against her mother and attempts to stab her competition, Lily, with a shard of glass.
Hobbies we once had an intrinsic passion for can snowball into obsessions and goals. If said obsessions and goals can only be accomplished through malicious acts, then so be it.
While these characters have intense vanity, believing they deserve their positions more than each of their competitors, they also appear to have mental illnesses and demonstrate the consequences of external stress.
For Nina, her mother also has a mental illness and gave up dancing for Nina, causing Nina to feel smothered and pressured to live up to her mother's expectations. In contrast, Andrew’s father is not nearly as engaged with his accomplishments, and his family’s disregard is a point of contention in Andrew’s life. Instead, Andrew seeks validation from his deranged and abusive music teacher, Fletcher.
What seems like your “everything” can leave you with nothing. Both protagonists have a dominant parental figure, but as the movies progress, their obsession drives a wedge between their bond. While we can see how Andrew disvalues the people in his life, he also disvalues himself, sacrificing his sleep and self-respect by submitting to Fletcher’s torture.
Beyond film, instances in pop culture have shown the disregard for human life that comes with achieving perfection. In 1994, Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were two talented figure skaters competing for the U.S. Figure Skating Championship. Kerrigan was brutally hit in the knee with a mental baton as she was leaving skating practice. Eventually, Harding pleaded guilty to “conspiring to hinder prosecution,” meaning she admitted to having knowledge about the crime (3).
This egocentric display of vanity contends with ancient Athenian priorities. In the 5th century, the greatest power was being remembered, and warriors strove for everlasting glory . While it is rare to hear someone today wanting to be remembered for their greatness, those who do pose intense risks to themselves and others.
Unrestrained passion can make history, but it also deprives one of their moral compass and interpersonal consideration.
Strike Out,
St. Louis
Written by: Natalia Jamula
Edited by: Brook Wang
(1) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/characters/nm2552034
(2) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582802/characters/nm1886602
(3) https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2024/01/tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan-story-broke-30-years-ago.html
(4) https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/7751094/mod_resource/content/0/LEITURA%20COMPLEMENTAR_RAAFLAUB%2C%20Kurt%20%281994%29_Democracy%2C%20Power%2C%20and%20Imperialism%20in%20Fifth-Century%20Athens.pdf