Black Swan Research

Sarah BOUKADDOUR 12A

Mirrors

Shadows / Lighting

Shadows are also commonly used in this film in order to create a sense of mystery. This is used really well during

the opening scene, where the shadow seems to be covering the top half of her body. People usually associate light and shadows with good and evil,

because of the fact her top half is portrayed in dark light indicates that part of this could be evil.

Furthermore the use of both light and shadow/dark light suggest she has both evil and good in her

character.

The theme of mirrors is an important aspect of this film which can connate many different meanings. Firstly mirrors is a vital item in the ballet world in

order for ballets to watch their performance and make sure they look the part. However mirrors can also be

used to show fractured personality/confusion , mental reflection , multiple reflection, vanity thus creating suspense for the audience. The mirrors in the black

swan was to portray loss of identity, as she would see an evil double in the mirror foreshadowing who she's

about to become.

Costumes

Nina goes through a transition of personality change from good to bad, this is also reflected on to her clothing, most importantly the colour of her clothing. She goes through a slow transition from pinks/whites to black. As

Nina becomes more mentally damaged her clothing darkens and her hair comes down, as her character is pushed away from elegance and sophistication.

At the beginning of the film Nina wore white clothing which Is a symbol of kindness, innocence and purity, it could also symbolize a virgin. The reflection of the colour white shows a good person almost too good. During

the transition she moves on to darker colours like black which symbolises evil, a seducer and mystery. This is all due to her determination of wanting the lead role in the play. This just indicates that clothing plays a big impact

on reflecting the personality of a character.

Characters/costumes

The directorThe mother Ballet dancers The nurse

Nina’s archrival Lily (Mila kunis’s character) is a complete opposite to her both in colour and behaviour. The clothing

that Lily wears through out this film consists of dark colours and remains like that. The darkness of her clothing in this

character was used to portray the black swan , and could also connate evil. However the idea of dark clothing is also

reflected upon the majority of the other characters in the film, for example ...

Many of the characters surrounding Nina's character are dressed in dark clothing. This was done in order to exaggerate Nina’s innocence and unique character. The colour black connotes darkness , evil and mystery however in some cases like lily's character the black is a symbol of a sexual and a rebellious character. An aspect of lily’s character that Nina does not have which is preventing her from winning over her black/white sawn role. Nina seems to be outnumbered

in terms of colour of clothing this just foreshadows soon or later she will be lured into the ‘dark’ side.

Settings

Nina's bedroom Is almost like a child's room, the room is full of different

shades of pink including her silky pink dress. From

the pink room and her facial expression this

conveys an off putting child like state she is in which shows she feels

very unhappy in her life. She feels trapped and controlled even at an

adult age.

The grey corridors is a place where the ballet dancers reflect upon themselves or are waiting to

perform. The use of the colour grey suggests a cloudy or moody theme portraying a negative and sad atmosphere. This could reflect Nina’s

mood at the time. Also the long and narrowness of the corridor suggest her loneliness and again

independence. Yet again contributing to the negativity of the atmosphere and her mood.

The bathroom is a common setting that is shown in the film. The bathroom is a sign of privacy, something that this

character does not get through out the film, as she is mostly trapped under the gaze of her mother. However the bathroom itself is not capable of giving her own privacy as a

number of times she is interrupted by her mother, lily or her hallucinations of her evil self. This effect exaggerates

the fact that this character’s privacy is always being invaded, almost making her feel very venerable and weak.