Thriller Opening (Research): Black Swan Textual Analysis

We had a look at a thriller film known as Black Swan which is purely about ballet and the insanity that erupts from the leading female when she believes that people think she won't get the role within Swan Lake. I decided to analyse this opening due to the build up it makes as well as how it represents things through mise-en-scene.

The opening to Black Swan shows us ballet shoes and a dancer, instantly indicating towards what the film will be about, giving the audience a bit of insight in what to expect before showing us the female's costume which is white, indicating purity but, if we focus on what was mentioned earlier, it can also represent her sanity and her being sane at the current time as she's all alone.

There aren't objects nearby either, just her and a spotlight, this could represent a sense of mystery as well as telling us she's empty - this is because the clip later shows her waking up, indicating that what happened in the first two minutes of the film that the female was dreaming it all up. This can also tell us her state of mind and how she's feeling, from what is seen, she feels like she's being taken over, meeting some sort of 'problem' which is indicated by a male wearing black clothing. This male wearing black clothing could also represent the side of her that's slowly going insane.

With the editing done in the first two minutes, not much can be told about it apart from the females wild imagination which is seen by the male in black changing into a bird-like creature. The special effects used show a wild transformation from human to creature as it shows her vivid imagination as well as it showing her sanity.

A spotlight is seen throughout and at the start, it seems to focus on her before the male enters the scene. This indicates that the female is the leading role before the male approaches her and almost envelopes the female with black feathers. This can be seen as an obstacle, another person who is aiming for the same spotlight as herself, a competition for the role.

Through the use of the soundtrack, we can hear the song "Swan Lake" played in the background, this is a well known ballet song, as well as being a well known performance. Those that know of this song know of the performance and know of what occurs, as well as all the dark sides that happen within it and issues that arise. This soundtrack indicates what will be happening later on in the film and what course of events will arise.

Thinking about non-diegetic sounds, there's heavy breathing during the two minutes before she wakes up, this tells us of the panic that the woman is feeling, as well as her being scared of what's to come, this is also something that can affect the audience as well as sometimes, the audience would put themselves in a similar position to the protagonists of films and in this case, the audience may feel the same way as the leading lady of this film. Another piece of non-diegetic sound is at the start of the title sequence as it when the title appears, a woman's laugh is heard. This bit of laughter and the timing of it can indicate the thoughts of the female thinking that no one thinks she can get the role of the "Black Swan", the title of the movie as well.

A tracking shot as well as it seeming being hand held as well due to the unsteadiness of it, is used when following the male from the darkness, giving a sense of mystery as it can make us think that someone else, another obstacle other than the male dressed in black is another bit of competition or issue for her. This shot follows the man towards the female and is showing the arrival of a new rival or problem arising.

Finally, a long shot is used when she's in the spotlight before, a shot that is shown before the male walks out of the darkness, In this shot is only the female, seated on the floor, and in the spotlight alone. This type of shot is used to show her purity and her innocence as well as it representing her sanity still in one piece.