BTS 'Black Swan' Official MV (Theory Analysis)
First, let’s talk about the parallels between Black Swan MV and the movie “Black Swan”
Alright, now let’s move on to the analysis. At the beginning, we see that this MV is set in a theater and pretty much the only source of light are the theater spotlights. In one of the scenes, we see Yoongi rapping on stage, with a spotlight shining on him. Interestingly enough, the light actually casts TWO shadows. One is Yoongi’s physical shadow, and the other is his psychological shadow. The psychological shadow is the source of BTS’ doubts and fears. We see that the psychological shadow is projected two times larger than the physical shadow and that the shadow is dancing by itself. This portrays how BTS has lost control of their shadow and how the shadow is in turn manipulating them and causing them to slowly drown in their deepest fears and insecurities. The theater setting may also be a reference to Phantom of the Opera, as in the Phantom essentially lured and manipulated the main female protagonist, Christine, to help him. She’s like the persona on the stage (nina from black swan), while the phantom is the one source that was controlling christine (aka her shadow).
Having one single spotlight shine on the boys may also portray how when BTS is shining at their brightest, they happen to feel isolated and fearful of losing their passion for their music and career.
Just like how Yoongi sang in MOTS Shadow Interlude, “The moment I face myself brought lowest, It so happens that I’m flying the highest”.
Now, let’s talk about the painting we see behind the boys while they’re performing on stage. This painting is actually a theater curtain!
The theater curtain is titled the “1931 Act Curtain”.
The description of the curtain states that “The elaborate act curtain was said to be one of the most expensive commissioned in its time, depicting Louis XIV, his wife, his mistress, as well as the French Army and Navy.
It is constructed in silk with a three-dimensional effect such that the figures and animals actually stand out from the curtain by a few inches to give them depth. The main figures have real wigs, the hair gently billowing as the curtain moves up or down”. Though this theater curtain may have originally been installed within the theater simply for decoration purposes, in terms of the Black Swan MV analysis, I believe we can see the curtain painting as a representation of the Persona.
As most of you may already know, REAL wigs are relatively quite expensive, as it is made from real hair, rather than synthetic material. Usually only the rich or royalty can afford such luxuries, especially in the early 1900s. So following the idea of the painting depicting "Louis XIV, his wife, his mistress, as well as the French Army and Navy”, it is evident how “the main figures have real wigs, the hair gently billowing as the curtain moves up or down”. Especially with the idea of “the hair gently billowing as the curtain moves up or down” and the curtain painting being “constructed in silk with a three-dimensional effect such that the figures and animals actually stand out from the curtain by a few inches to give them depth”. This signifies the artists’ attempt at making something that’s one dimensional look 3D.
The idea of putting on a mask before the show begins, especially with the depiction of the painting and the fact that it is AN ACTUAL theater curtain, comes to further emphasize the idea of putting on a persona and covering up your Shadow before putting on a show for everyone to see.
Now, the following scene intrigues me, as we see multiple scratches on the black wooden floor that the boys are performing on, in the dark under one single spotlight. Though the scratches may simply indicate that BTS had been practicing a lot on the stage, the scratches also reminded me of this scene from WINGS Short Film: AWAKE.
Scratches on surfaces usually indicates that someone is very anxious. In this case, Jin may have been really anxious to leave or perhaps escape the room he was in, in the short film. Similarly in Black Swan MV, the scratches may be referring to how BTS is very anxious to escape their Shadow that’s haunting them. Perhaps they’re vigorously and constantly dancing in an attempt to find liberation from the darkness and their ever growing Shadows.
But speaking of AWAKE, besides the scratches, there’s actually also various other scenes that shares similarities to the Black Swan MV. Furthermore, WINGS era actually shares many similarities with both the Black Swan MV and Movie.
Again, we see this parallel between Black Swan MV and BS&T in this scene at the grand staircase of the theater (BTW the theater that BTS filmed at for the MV was the Los Angeles Theater):
If you would like to gain deeper insight and understanding as to how Black Swan and BS&T are connected, please refer to my previous theory on “Why BTS Dies Twice (1st in BS&T, 2nd in Black Swan) In Order to Be Reborn to Ego”
Anyways, the boys continue to dance within the darkness throughout the rest of the MV. At the very end however, we see Jungkook sitting by the edge of the railways of the theater. He turns around to see his enlarged shadow on the curtain.
However, as soon as he turns around, the shadow subsides and disappears back down, seemingly hiding back into where it belongs, in the dark. After the shadow disappears, Jungkook gets up and walks away.
This may be illustrating how “Black Swan” more or less, is a depiction of BTS’ occasional fears and insecurities. As, with the fact that Jungkook is able to walk away from his shadow in the end, means that the Shadow isn’t always present and haunting them. By the end of the day, the boys’ insecurities of the possibility of losing passion for their music and career, and various other sorts of fears ultimately subsides. Their shadow may always continue to exist, but they are able to face their Shadows head on because they continue to have one another and believe in themselves, hoping that the future will, despite filled with various obstacles and challenges, ultimately lead them to a better place.
