Ethan Levinskas explores the body of work from director Darren Aronofsky.
Committing oneself to an ideal is a respectable goal. However, the protagonists of Darren Aronofsky’s films would benefit from keeping everything in moderation. As an emerging auteur, Aronofsky is still fairly young, but over the past two decades, he has proven himself as a director with consistent vision and mettle.
His stories are warning tales of obsession, of how becoming addicted to a goal can enslave a person just as easily as it can help them attain what they want. This makes Aronofsky’s films very American in their criticism of our capitalist dreams.
Although the films themselves are not political, Aronofsky takes direct influence from Hubert Selby, Jr., the author who wrote Requiem for a Dream, who describes the “American Dream,” as amorphous and unattainable. In empathizing with characters whose goals consume them, Aronofsky’s tales become relatable to the American working class.