1. Bethany Jones Media Studies AS Level
Opening Sequence Analysis- Black
Swan.
Narrative- In the opening sequence of Black Swan you first see a Ballerina performing in the spotlight
surrounded by darkness. This lighting sets the scene for the rest of the film as the main character in
the spotlight thinks that she is surrounded by evil which is a connotation of darkness. This scene in
the film is the main characters dream as she wants to be a famous Ballerina and dance the same
dance in her dream. This shows the audience that this character has ambition and aspires to be like
other well-known Ballerinas. This shows the audience that this film would be about this character
trying to achieve their dream. Downstairs the audience meet Nina’s (the main character’s) mum who
is dressed like a Ballerina to showing the audience that she must have been a Ballerina too and that
could have been her dream so she may have forced her daughter into doing the same thing as her.
She could be using her daughter to live her dream and that she makes her daughter be dependent
on her seeming as if she still wants her little girl. Also, they discover an injury that the character
doesn’t want to talk about which makes the audience ask questions and want to find out the
answers. All this information given to the audience makes them want to see how this narrative plays
out and what happens as so far they have questions like ‘Will she live her dream?’ ‘Will there be
conflict between the mother and daughter?’ ‘Who is this ‘he’ they mention when they are talking
over breakfast?’ which makes the audience want to carry on watching the film.
Atmosphere- Once the main character is awake she tells a shadow that she had a really good dream
but the audience wouldn’t have thought that it would have been a good dream as it was dark and
seemed twisted so it makes the audience feel uneasy. Also, the camera focuses on certain props
within the scene which make the audience feel on edge like when the character is stretching her feet
her toes crack and it is a harsh sound. This makes the audience shiver. Also, the breakfast that she
gets given isn’t normal as it consists of a blood-red grapefruit and an egg. This isn’t what normal
people eat for breakfast so it further puts the audience out of their comfort zone, making them feel
tension.
Representation- The characters shown so far are the mother and the daughter. The mother is very
interesting as the audience can’t work out where she stands just yet so this makes them want to find
out more about her and so they watch further. Also the Ballerina isn’t an everyday girl as she acts
differently to what is expected. Throughout the opening sequence the main character is shown as a
slit character using mirrors which show two of her or split her in half as a person. This is effective as
it shows what yet is to come in the narrative without the audience realising.
Genre-This film is shown as a thriller as it takes the audience from their comfort zone and puts them
in a place where they feel uneasy and on the edge of being scared. It plants ideas of what is yet to
happen in their mind so that they continue to watch. The sub-genre of Black Swan is a Psychological
Thriller as it plays with minds and things occur in the main characters mind that isn’t necessarily
happening. It plays with the idea of what is real or true which a Psychological Thriller is known to do.
It also has connotations of a Horror-Thriller as the dream at the beginning is sinister and also we
don’t see who the character is talking to at first we just see a shadow gliding past the mirror or a
shadow. Overall, this Thriller is a Physiological-Thriller due to the idea of it playing with truth.