'Black Swan' opening deconstruction

How does the opening of ‘Black Swan’ (2010) conform, or oppose to, the conventions of the psychological thriller genre?

The film begins with a ballet scene with Nina dancing which we as the audience later learn is a dream sequence. The lighting in the sequence is very low-key and is lit with a harsh single spotlight. The extreme darkness surrounding the two dancers emphasises the mysterious aspects of the psychological thriller genre. This is reflected in the fact that the audience is unaware of what surrounds the dancers or where the dancers are, for example. The white ballet outfit worn by Nina opposes the dark and mysterious background mise-en-scene as well as the psychological thriller genre as a whole. Nina’s completely white outfit holds strong connotations of purity and innocence which contrasts hugely with her dark and ominous surroundings. Several close-up shots of Nina’s feet as she dances emphasise her elegance as she moves which is reflected in her clothing. As well as this, the non-diegetic orchestral music which Nina dances to is parallel to her white ballet costume as well as to the dark and mysterious visual background. 

After Nina dances alone at the beginning of the sequence, a male ballet dancer enters and begins to dance with Nina. The male dancer wears a black costume which is in stark contrast to Nina’s white ballet costume. This contrast of black and white often represents good and evil which is a typical convention used within the psychological thriller genre. Upon entrance of the male ballet dancer, the non-diegetic orchestral music descends into a much more dark and ominous tone, contrasting with the upbeat and elegant music which played previously as Nina danced alone. This ominous background music which the two characters dance to is parallel to the black costume worn by the male dancer as it reflects the explicitly darker character of the male dancer. As the two continue to dance, the male dancer’s clothing suddenly transforms into a black, feathered, bird and demon-like costume. This unrealistic change within the sequence is a clear indication that the sequence is perhaps a dream or a figment of imagination. This reflects, and conforms to, another clear convention of the psychological thriller genre which is the unclear and almost faded distinction of reality and imagination, such as a dream.

This part of the sequence is filmed as a continuous shot which gives it some sense of fluidity and a lack of order, reflecting the way the sequence as a whole is presented as a dream sequence or something beyond reality. This part of the sequence is almost entirely made up of fast tracking shots which continuously circle the dancers. The way the camera moves around the dancers as they move give the sequence a strong sense of disorientation and again reflects a lack of order. This is parallel to the non-diegetic background orchestral music which becomes frantic as the dance performed by the two characters also becomes frenetic, contrasting greatly to the purity and elegance reflected in Nina’s dance earlier on in the sequence and that of her white ballet costume. The frantic non-diegetic background music coupled with the similarly frantic single tracking shot conveys a very dramatic style and feeling to the audience due to the disorientation that is created by multiple factors. This dramatic way in which the sequence is presented to the audience conforms to the often-used dramatic and almost tense convention within the psychological thriller genre.