The character played by Tabi was inspired by the character of Nina Sayers in the film Black Swan. They both struggle with schizophrenia, suffering from hallucinations and self-harm, Throughout Black Swan, Nina generally has a natural appearance, lacking make-up and having her hair slicked back, whereas Tabi has more eye make-up but still in keeping with her hair tied up. Nina tends to be seen in her ballet attire, wearing a pale cream knitted shrug to cover up her wounds; Tabi wears a large knitted jumper in a white colour to reflect her innocence, just like Nina. Nina hallucinates about real people, and sees blood on her body which is non-existent, in the end she sees herself grow feathers and become the black swan for the finale; she also battles with another character, Lily, who turns out to be a figment of her imagination when she is actually stabbing herself causing her death. Tabi hallucinations consist of a young girl, dark eyes and a blood-stained white dress, destroying the innocence portrayed by the white dress. Tabi’s character runs away from her hallucinations instead of battling them like Nina. Both of these characters are protagonists, the films are both focussed on a part of their life, in this case, the end of their lives. Black Swan is based on the struggle of a professional ballet dancer dancing the part of a hybrid between two characters which also reflects her life, she has been split into two people, however The Existence is about a young girl being haunted by a young dead girl of her past. Tabi is playing a girl of her age (teenager) as opposed to Nina Sayers who is a woman in her late 20s. Each film has a dominant female cast, this could be down to their genre both being psychological thrillers which usually have females presenting themselves in a possessed way, and this is clearer in The Existence but more subtle in Black Swan.
