Black Swan is a psychological thriller film that tells the story of Nina, a ballerina
whose passion for dance rules every facet of her life. When the company's artistic director
decides to replace his prima ballerina for their opening production of "Swan Lake," Nina
is his first choice. She has competed as a newcomer by the name of lily. While Nina is
perfect for the role of the White Swan, Lily personifies the Black Swan. As the rivalry
between the two dancers transforms into a twisted friendship, Nina's dark side begins
to emerge internally and externally.
The psychological thriller is fueled by the representation of the three aspects of the
famous psychologist Sigmund Freud’s psychic apparatus is clearly depicted in the film.The
visual rhetoric in the film to successfully presents all three parts of the apparatus:
the Id, Ego, and SuperEgo. The main character Nina Sayers effectively embodies all three
states. The film takes you through the transformation of Nina’s character being overcome by her
Id.
The use of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was explored not only in the storyline but
visually as well as it translates exploration of personality structure within structured
chaos of costume.
The film uses the topics of elegance and sexuality- which is posed as the duality of women through
straightforward use of light vs dark imagery. Therefore, they represent the Freudian theory
of human personality in distinctive ways by using different kinds of visuals and perspectives
which visually present deeper meanings.
The range of styling is an indicator of where on the spectrum Nina falls within her unconscious
mind that governs behavior to a greater degree between her superego, ego, and id. I’ll
explain how this is executed to show the visual narration of Nina's transformation from the
'White Swan' to the 'Black Swan.'﻿
The film opens on Nina in a romantic tutu, the traditional tutu worn by the maiden Odette
before she is turned into a swan in Swan Lake. This tutu was created by the fashion brand
Rodarte- an American clothing brand that is beautifully unique and artful founded and
headquartered in Los Angeles, California by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy who co-signed
with Amy Westcott, on
the film.
This sets the starting point of Nina’s transformation as costume is necessary for a basic, fundamental
understanding because it prompts a viewer’s immediate recognition of a character- here
Nina is presented as a pure being. This piece is designed to portray Nina as her “ultimate
fantasy, the perfect prima ballerina.”
At the beginning of the film, THE SUPEREGO is prominent; it reflects the internalization
of cultural constraints and is formed by socially acceptable morals put in place by parents
and teachers at a young age. This mental state strives to be acceptable and embodies ideal
social morals and ideologies. Nina’s initial state is cautious and innocent, perfectly
embodying the SuperEgo.
She starts with only one layer of personality, rather than being dimensional which seems
quiet and responsible yet fragile. As a woman living in her habitual world of being a ballerina,
her only dedication, being the perfect dancer, is fed by her very controlled personality.
The White Swan in concept expresses love and beauty in a socially acceptable manner. Nina
embodies the perfect White Swan- strengthening her Super Ego. The White Swan is safe, graceful,
and it is clear this role comes easy to her. Since she is contained and virtuous to the
point that she is even described as “frigid” however, the role of the Black Swan (or the
Id) will most definitely be the most challenging for the ballerina.
The perceived rigidness is depicted in the structure of Nina’s clothing. She remains
covered and wears a lot of soft lines with structured pieces containing or adorned with
softer ones.
In costume and character design- lines will often indicate the nature of individual characters.
There are multiple variables to consider, but the general rule is that soft lines are
non-threatening, good, and gentle, sharper lines are stronger, brutal, and bad. This
comes from the human nature of perception for fight or flight response. Nina’s first
looks are soft in nature but have hints of sharper lines. This will evolve with her.
The colors of her superego are whites, pinks, and pastels- all light and associated with
femininity.
Dancewear consists of a lot of pink because the shade allows dance instructors to notice
the muscles in the dancer's legs. Also, it is tradition, and traditions are important
in ballet. It’s not surprising that Nina wears a lot of pinks, but in terms of symbolism
more muted pinks represent youth and innocence - which is linked to her psychological identity.
Along with the pinks,
Pastel colors represent neutrality, they are peaceful and soft because they are less saturated
than primary colors, making them feel light, unthreatening, and calming. Nina’s subdued
color schemes mirror her subdued mindset of remaining “good” or when she is portrayed
more like the “white swan.”
The SuperEgo is reflected in Nina’s relationship with her mother to the point that part of
an entire part of Nina’s personality is constructed by her mother. Her mother is protecting
Nina as if she is a child, controlling her actions, lecturing her what is right or wrong
to the point where Nina feels guilty for thinking for herself- for example
When Nina refuses to eat the cake her mother made for her because she is conscious of her
figure, her mother is extremely upset by this.
It is clear that Nina is immediately guilty for “misbehaving” and sets aside her decision
to please her mother, hence eating the cake. Nina embodies the SuperEgo in her desire to
please her Mom and not break the rules as she is very responsible and tries her best
to achieve perfection.
The ID begins to surface which is the part of the mind in which innate instinctive impulses
and primary processes are manifest when The teacher Thomas wants only one girl to embody
both the white swan and black swan roles, but when he sees Nina’s performance he says
he would pick her if he was only looking for the white swan.
He thinks Nina is beautiful, fragile, and fearful as the white swan should be but the
black swan is the evil sister who seduces the love of white swan, she has to be passionate,
seductive, and impressive. He encourages her to embrace those components of life
, he tells her to lose herself and let it go (Aronofsky, 2010),
so that she can show her desired side in her dance. On the other hand, Lily, the dancer
introduced for the black swan role is not a perfect but neutral dancer, Nina envies
her unrestrained but attractive personality. Lily is symbolic of who Nina would like to
be because she is much more instinctive and free-spirited than Nina, as an ideal model.
The perceived way of how Nina sees Lily is corrupted, the ego is smart, responsible,
and controlled, but the id is passionate, instinctive, and desirous- making her want
to be more like Lily in demeanor so she can become the black swan. Wescott used dancewear
designer Yumiko for Nina and archrival Lily’s leotards, skirts, cover-ups, and legwarmers.
Yumiko’s designs were altered slightly though, different fabrics were used for cover-ups
and dyed in a variation of black, grey, white, and pink to suit the character's evolution.
Nina’s clothing is darker in contrast, but in a more mysterious, laid back, and cool
way while Nina’s is lighter in comparison- showing the stark difference of the two dancers.
Nina’s outfits become deconstructed, slowly forming sharper lines The use of color blocking
is utilized as well. Color-blocking is thought of as “the exploration of taking colors
that are indirect or direct opposites on the color wheel and pairing them together to make
interesting and complementary color combinations. Since color-blocking is an abstract form of
art, it is easy to create illusions for accentuating body shapes, making people look taller and
thinner. Color-blocking provides versatility to clothing that other styling techniques
don’t provide.” - hisour
Shades of darker greys begin to be fused into her stereotypically feminine wardrobe.
Grey is “nature is morally ambiguous and impartial, it is the color of complexity–everything
that falls in between absolutes. Because of its range, the color is also connected to
intellect and of compromise. It’s a diplomatic color, negotiating all the distance between
black and white. It’s not a color of extremes, but rather of middle ground, of reasonable
agreement.” - sensationalcolor
Nina’s grey wardrobe is the ego emerging. She is beginning to think for herself outside
of societal standards, rules pushed on her by others and her own self-contained cage.
She is not in any sort of extreme yet, but under distress making her mindset more vulnerable
and sensitive. The ego is symbolized as “the reason and the common sense.” which is evident
in highly grey outfits.
The constant pressure and restraint Nina puts on herself tenses her expression so when Nina
chooses to be more independent and not under the control of her mother, she crushes not
only what is morally right to her mother, but also she breaks her own rules and morals
hence the ego that was so briefly shown is overpowered, so that is when Nina’s strong
superego power lessens drastically because now the id running her personality.
The fleeting ego aka relative sanity., is sometimes seen in her reflection stating,
“Dancers are always looking at themselves, so their relationship with their reflection
is a huge part of who they are. Filmmakers are also fascinated by mirrors, and it’s
been played with before, but I wanted to take it to a new level. Visually, we really pushed
that idea of what it means to look in a mirror. Mirrors become a big part of looking into
Nina’s character, which is all about doubles and reflection.”
As the movie continues, Nina’s real life begins to mimic the Swan Lake story and the
fight between the ‘white swan’ and the ‘black swan’. Soon, Nina’s innocent
side is taken over by her darker side.
This is visually conveyed in the reflections As Black Swan is so heavily reliant on duality,
it makes sense there’s a duality to the hallucinations. On the one hand, there are
signs that Nina is mentally ill. On the other hand, there’s her desire for perfection
and what that means when it comes to being the white swan and black swan. Nina’s internal
conflict and obsession with becoming the perfect ballerina come to life through the hallucinations
that begin to consume her life, but have glimpses of reality.
In Nina’s reveal to the public as the Swan Queen was in a billowing white gown, also
designed by Rodarte, that cleverly hides her secret habit with the cross-hatching of white
chiffon. There is a degree of self-awareness and protection within this piece as she debuts.
The swan influence even carried over into Nina’s everyday life, which is evident by
this feather-like scarf by Rodarte. While walking to the subway, Nina sees herself pass
her in a crowd of people.- there is a stark contrast between the sleek-backed hair, proper
pink coat Nina, and the disheveled hair darkened clothed Nina. The visual contrast of characters
on-screen highlights the qualities of the other character. The styling contributes to
the narrative as we see the integration of darker clothing when the darker side comes
out. Outside of hallucinations, she is consistently portrayed wearing black. This is apparent
in the scene where she goes out to the bars with Lily.
Nina, at her most casual in the film, wears darker colors as she heads out for a night
with Lily. She initially enters the bars wearing a light-colored shirt that she chose herself.
However, towards the end of the night, once she decides to let go of her fears and give
in to the circumstances that she was presented with, she puts on a dark black tank top.
The black tank top is the first revealing piece Nina wears. It shows my skin and is
dark. She is giving in to the id. Lily starts wearing lighter colors a bit, but never fully
lightens. Lily wears a lot of dark colors, but this is more of a stylistic choice that
matches her alluring personality whereas Nina wears dark colors as a rejection of her superego.
She also rejects the soft, girlish lines of her pieces and turns more jagged and dangerous
as her unraveling.
It was stressed by traditional ballet tutu lines while still adding their flair to the
pieces. Non-traditional fabrics were used to accent the traditional tulle, such as feathers,
tufts of chiffon, and broken angora wool to contribute to the visual narrative within
the styling of the film. Nina is picturesque as the White Swan, Odette, her innocence and
vulnerability are evident in the romantic nature of the costume.
The feathers are soft, the detailing is delicate, the makeup is light and sweet, but Nina's
transcendence into madness is complete when she performs as Odile. the black swan in a
similar tutu decorated with jagged harsh feathers and large rhinestones in addition to a crown
with a tulle birdcage veil. This contributes to the visual narrative of the ending, giving
the viewer’s a glimpse of reality rather than the perspective of the unreliable narrator
through clothing.
In the film's climax, when Nina finally gets to dance, we see her swing between two emotional
states. The first is someone completely frayed and overwhelmed and either on the brink of
tears or crying. The second is angry, violent, territorial, confident, sexy, dangerous. At
one point, these two sides of Nina actually fight one another.
She is trying to stop the black swan but fails- the id has taken over. After the fight, Lily
enters the room and Nina realizes that she destroyed herself. This realisation brings
her back to reality and she, once again, inhabits the sorrow and vulnerability of the White
Swan. As the Swan falls to her death, the hall is deafened by applause, and Thomas and
the crew surround her to shower their congratulations, Lily notices the wound. Nina declares that
she was perfect and the scene fades into the white light.
The film's ending is open to interpretation, as we don't actually see her die. We just
see her injured and rather than the traditional fade to black which creates closure, we see
a fade to white seems to create a sense of ambiguity. Her last outfit is completely white
and pure aside from her wound, the fade to white signifies that she's free from the black
swan in my opinion as she is surrounded by softer elements such as silk, delicate feathers,
and warm tones that she had lost within her transformation. The white fade-out is a relief
from the darkness that has developed within her turbulence of the superego, ego, and id
all coming forward in her journey to becoming the perfect ballerina, much like the overall
look and tones Nina initially supported when she was full of hope and dreams for herself.
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