«A dancer dies twice – once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.»
Martha Graham
On my last post I talked about Shadow, about how there is a moment when we become greedy and start to loose ourselves. Seeking perfection, seeking to be the best tends to bring out the worst of ourselves,our shadow side. More than a theory, I’d like to see this post as an understanding of how one should never loose the passion that drove you at first to do what you like to do. Whether you’re an artist, a teacher, a doctor…remind yourself why are you doing what you do.
A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.
Investopedia
While in economy, Black Swan is a terminology used to talk about unexpected events that leads to important and harsh results, BTS decided to use this term to talk about something that is more common in our society: the lost of one’s passion, the lost of one self while facing one’s shadow. BTS released two Music Videos for Black Swan, which I’d analyze along side with the lyrics and others references. Let’s start it.
1 – Art Film
What we see at first is 7 dancers walking through an abandoned mall: first those wearing all black and last, the one who is half naked. To me, those 7 dancers are making reference to the 7 members of BTS, and those wearing all black are making reference to the last dancer shadow, you’ll see why.
Before starting the dance the 7 persons become 1, and we can see it in the water’s reflection as well. «1 and 7 are each other reflection in the water«
The next thing we see is that the dancers that I considered as «Shadows» became the Wings of the one that I will name as «I» (the one half naked). There is a lot of struggle during this time, the «I» tries to fly and move freely but it’s hard having those Shadows blocking his way. Suddenly, the «I» is trapped in a cage like a Bird. He’s looking for his freedom, he wants to do what he wants. He keeps fighting against the «Shadows» but at some point he stop fighting and let the Shadows lead his away. Somehow, he finds his way out, he breaks free again.
Once he’s out, he runs away the Shadows, he fights against them and tries to fly alone. But something is wrong, he cannot fly alone. When the Shadows come back he keeps fighting against them but not for a long time. How can the «I» fly freely and high in the sky?! Accepting and embracing those Shadows that he was afraid of. Complementing each other, working as one. That’s the key.
That’s all I’ve to say about the Art Film. I didn’t take in count the lyrics, only what I felt by watching the Music Video. Now let’s go even deeper with the lyrics and others references, only then you’ll able to understand my point of view of the art film Music video.
2 – Black Swan Lyrics
When it comes to BTS lyrics I always read them from a trustful translator and more than once since they always have play words and deeps meanings: Black Swan Lyrics Translation
«The heart no longer races when hearing the music play»
This part of the lyrics is making reference to the moment when you loose your passion for what you do, that moment feels like «Freeze in time«. That’s a signal for the 1st death of an artist.
«If this can no longer resonate No longer make my heart vibrate What if that moment is right now»
This part in the lyrics, the «I» is realizing that maybe he/she lost the passion for what he/she loves to do. This is a question that artists ask themselves a lot during their journey, just like BTS, being able to recall what was the passion that lead them to become Idols. If we look into this lyrics along with the art film Music Video we can see that during this part the «I» is fighting his Shadows, trying to remember his passion for what he does and not let his Shadows being the force that drives his life. But which are those Shadows?
«Try to flee but back into the Maw»
What’s «Maw»?! It’s the mouth of a greedy person. What I think is that the shadows are representing the greed. 7 dancers, 7 sins. Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath and sloth. Those are the Shadows that the «I» is trying to fight against. We might link this part to «Interlude: Shadow»: «I wanna be rich I wanna be the top I wanna be the king» Those are his dreams but we could look into it as the Shadow showing up as his <Greed> to flight high…Icarus.
To me, it’s like when you first do something because you love it and it’s your passion but little by little the greed, the pride, the envy starts to get in your way and you start to loose that path lead by your passion. Now its lead by others energies making the journey less pleasant.
«Ocean with all light silenced»
For some reason I cannot stop thinking that the lights are making reference to ARMY (you’re my light) or to «Make it Right». But it also could make reference to the Persona and Shadow: «The brighter the light, darker the shadow«. Even if the light shine brings on you, once you’re at the top, you feel lonely, since you changed to get there, the initial image of yourself was shattered during this process.
«Do you hear me now?!»
Like I said, you’ve changed, and just like in real life, with the time our voice changes as well. But since you’re on top but everything is silenced, you wonder if your voice is reaching those who you’re addressing to. You know how NamJoon keeps saying «I hope my voice could reach you no matter how far you are with all of my heart«, which somehow makes me think about this: being under those lights but wondering if there are still people who is able to hear his voice, if so,that means that despite the light he was able to stay true to his original image. It also makes me think of «Singularity» (another BTS song from Love Yourself Era that I’d talk about in the future).
Singularity is a song that talks about losing oneself, and more than a solo, is like a dialog between his true self and his mask. In the lyrics TaeHyung sings: “A sound full of unfamiliarity, I don’t have a voice”. TaeHyung’s mask didn’t recognize his «own» voice, because it was actually his true self’s voice, who is trying to show himself to the world.
«Deeper, I’m going deeper. Keep losing focus. Let go of me»
«Let go of me» Like I said, the Shadows getting in the way making him to forget the reason why he does what he does. But it’s then when he says: «I’ll go in myself I saw MYSELF«, moment when in the art film the «I» got free from the cage. Something to point out about this part of the lyrics is the person who sings it: Hoseok. Hoseok later sang «Outro: Ego» in which he embraced both sides of himself: Persona and Shadow.
«I open my eyes* I’m in my workroom, in my studio»
*Was he dreaming?! Shadow is part of our unconsciousness and tends to appear in our dreams. He still in the vast ocean (making reference to the fact that he’s on top, he’s in the light) but now he’s focus on what he loves to do.
«I’ll never get dragged away again«
«Do YOUR thang WITH ME now.» – Shadow
«What’s MY thang, tell ME now» – <I>
This part of the lyrics made me feel like there were two personalities talking. YOUR?! Who is talking?! The Shadow?! The Shadow is suggesting to work together instead of fighting. MY, ME?! Is that the <I> talking?! I think so.If we pay attention to «Interlude: Shadow» as well we will see at the end this dialog between Shadow and «I»: «I’m you and you’re me, now do you know.«. Coming to the conclusion that both sides have to work together in harmony, keeping a balance between the light and the dark.
3 – Black Swan Official mV
This Music Video was so unexpected but full of references to their album concept photos and «Black Swan» Movie. Let’s talk first about the movie since the concept photos have also references from the movie.
Black Swan the movie
This movie talks about Nina, a ballerina who seeks for the absolute perfection. She lives with her ex ballerina and controller mother who keeps treating her as a 12y/o girl despite that her daughter is a woman now and can decide for herself.
«Perfection is not only about control, but also about letting go.»
Quote from the movie (Thomas to Nina)
Perfection is about letting go, being similar to the Taoism philosophy of following the flow. The base of the Taoism philosophy is to live in harmony with the TAO, which means the WAY. This philosophy is similar to Nietzsche philosophy about «Amor Fati», to live the present regarding what is going to happen in the future and embracing the past.
In the movie, Nina, will play as the Swan Queen (Swan Lake play which I’ll talk about later on this post) who in this version embodies both: the black & white Swan. Even if she wasn’t the director’s first choice because she looked too perfect for the black Swan role.
Dance is her passion. She lives for it but when Lily, a new ballerina, appears and her presences threats her main role in the big play, that path lead foe her passion for dances becomes to get blurry and being lead by envy and greed. If you’ve read Demian by Herman Hesse, to make you understand, Lily is for Nina what Demian represented for Sinclair, her Shadow. There are times when Nina sees her dark side on Lily. In Demian, Sinclair also had that moment of confusion with Demian while painting.
Lily’s presences makes Nina to loose it a bit more, to the point that she doesn’t allow her mother to control her life anymore. This is her Shadow, the side that she’s been repressing for a long time is showing up now, not only in her actions but also as her reflection in the mirror.
As the film goes on, you can also tell that the Shadow is raising up by the practice’s clothes that Nina wears. She starts with white clothing and ends up wearing dark clothing. It’s also showing how Nina’s transition from a Girl to a Woman.
«The only person standing in your way is you.»
QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE (THOMAS TO NINA)
Nina’s obsession of being perfect is the only thing that avoids her to achieve her dreams. She lost her self in the process of being «perfect». What we see at the end is how the Shadow takes full control of the body. Just like the Joker, there is something that pushes her to loose it. In Nina, this phase represents the «Killing the infantile ego» (Joseph Campbell concept which means that we have to grow up, to become independent, and attain maturity).
«The hero archetype demands leaving off with childish fantasy thinking and insists on engaging reality in an active way.»
Joseph Campbell
Now, keeping up with Black Swan Official MV, let’s take a look on the album’s concept photos before analyzing the Music Video.
Concept photos
During the Music Video the outfits that BTS are using are from the 1st and 2nd concept photo. Not a surprise since it was kinda obvious that both were making reference to one’s transformation from: «White Swan to Black Swan».
I. White Swan (1st concept photo)
<The photos find the seven BTS members portraying the swans’ “desire for perfection.” Each member appears in a white/cream outfit standing near a massive hole in the floor.>
About White swan concept
Representing the desire (greed) of perfection, reminding me to Black Swan movie, where Nina (similar to little girl in Spanish «Niña», represents the Puer archetype of the eternal youth) seeks for absolute perfection. The motive behind the desire of perfection, desire to control everything is the feeling of fear, the fear of seeing everything falling apart. The key to stop this desire is to trust, we can let it go when we trust the universe, letting the destiny manifest itself (TAO philosophie).
The white feathers, representing faith, protection, purity, hope, peace and that everything is going well on the other side. But also the black hole, it’s said that another name with which a «black hole» is known is «Cygnus» being the Latin name of Swan. A Swan symbolizes the path of discovering the imperfection of envy, greed, pride and malice that dwells within us.
«It is not the suffering that causes the transformation, rather the faith to move on from greed, thievery, resentment, blame and vengeance.»
Stacey L.L. Couch
II. From White Swan to Black Swan
Just like in the movie with Nina, their clothes are becoming darker in the 2nd concept photo comparing it to the 1st concept photo. With Nina it represented the transition from her White perfect and pure Swan to her Black uncontrollable and evil Swan. For Nina that color change represented the transition from Girl to Woman, the phase when her life wasn’t decided by her mother but by herself. «Killing the infantile Ego». Like I said, Nina is similar to «Niña» in Spanish which means «little Girl».
Also, looking both concepts carefully, in the 1st concept photo we saw a black hole, and it seems like the boys jumped in it. I’m saying this based on the light coming from above in the 2nd concept photo. It also looks like, the place where they arrived is a cave, where they have to fight against the «Dragon» (part of the process of killing the infantile ego).
«The HERO has to fight the Dragon to become independent, mature. He has to do it alone.»
Joseph Campbell
III. Black Swan (2nd concept photo)
<The photos find the seven BTS members portraying black swans with an “unquenchable thirst.”>
ABOUT black SWAN CONCEPT
When we talk about thirst here, what do we mean?! Satisfaction?! Desert, ocean, different words to talk about the same thing, world. Thirst makes reference here to the greed that we have pushing us to stand on out tiptoes and asking for more. «Try to flee but back into the Maw jump jump jump«. They’ve Wings but they cannot fly away from that place because of they’re being greedy.
Black Swan Official MV
Now analyzing Black Swan Official Music Video, we will see that Jimin is playing Nina’s role, so what we see is Jimin’s transformation.
The «White Swan» represents perfection and purity. We can see Jimin dancing with perfect lines yet very controlled. This perfection might be related to how Jimin’s parents (in BU) controls his life. But also in real life, the society push us to seek that perfection or acceptance.
Notice that, just like in the movie, there is an important change in their clothes. They start wearing all white clothes to end wearing all black clothes. That’s what happened to Nina. This represents the emerge of the Shadow to the surface. Sometimes those changes are immediate, which makes you think that you’re seeing the same person twice yet with different clothes: one from Persona and another one from Shadow.
But we also can see that transition from their White perfect and pure Swan to their Black uncontrollable and evil Swan by paying attention to the Shadows: Behind Yoongi during Yoongi’s part, above NamJoon during NamJoon’s part. The Shadow is there even tho they don’t see it.
Lets pay attention to the Music video location, the L.A. Broadway Theater. Why a Theater?! In the movie, it was the place where Nina became the Black Swan. Her greed for wanting be more perfect and better than anyone ended up with her becoming the Black Swan.
In the movie, after Nina became the Black Swan, since she got entirely possessed by his Shadow, somehow she thought that the best way the become perfect again was to end her life (as a symbolism of maintaining that perfection in the space and time). So at the end of the play of the Queen Swan she died. That is because she got completely possessed by her greedy shadow.
What we see with Jimin is that he dances with more passion, he let his emotions out, and at the end you can see that it seems like he cannot get up, symbolizing that 1st death probably. He realized that he lost that passion that he had for dance but found it again through his Shadow somehow (embracing it).
At the end, Jungkook looks at the Shadow behind him. He looks at it, acknowledging its existence. so like I said, at the end, they embraced their greediness instead of hiding it, knowing that they’re not as perfect as they thought and that there is a dark side inside of them. But also, this scene where the Shadow stays on the stage might make reference to how Black Swan movie ended: with Nina trying to conserve her perfection forever on stage. Black Swan is not about achieving a goal, but more about becoming aware of what really matters.
«Try to not be too good, to be too perfect. That’s a trap.»
Dr. Murray Stein
4 – SWAN LAKE STORY
«The EGO is a kind of mirror in which the psyche can see itself and can become aware.»
CARL G. JUNG
In Black Swan Music Video there is a part in which we see Seokjin looking at the mirror, just like Nina in the movie. The mirrors are a very important element in the Swan Lake tale. In the original «Swan Lake» story, the mirror plays an important role as the one that reveals the truth, that’s why when Odile transformed herself into Odette the King asked to cover all the mirrors so she wont see her own reflection, her true self.
Months ago I read amazing paper by Claudia Dias Ferreira who made an analysis of the Swan lake story from the Jungian perspective.
The first thing that she points out is the type of the tale: «Swan Lake, based on a fairy tale where an animal has human characteristics. This is the story: Once upon a time «Once upon a time» implies «forever» and «here» implies everywhere«. Like I pointed out before, while talking about Nina’s ultimate form of perfection, she decided to conserve her perfection «Forever» and in the Theater (Time and Space).
Her analysis so deep that I prefer to attach the tweet where I talked about it and where I leave a link to her works so you can also read it.
While talking about mirrors, «Black Swan» instrumental reminds me to the sound of raindrops, while their performance reminds to the flow of the water. The realm of the shadow is an emotional territory and the water is an element that symbolize the emotions as well as the moon. The Moon is symbol of time and cycles (phases) of a human’s life. The moon is luminary but doesn’t produce light on its own, so the water’s surface becomes like a mirror.
«The forest represents the unconscious where one may enter at their own risk, where one might lose consciousness, get lost or attacked by wild animals. It is nature but from a dangerous point of view.»
Claudia Dias Ferreira
«The lake in the valley is the unconscious, which lies underneath consciousness, usually with the pejorative connotation of an inferior consciousness..»
«..Water is the <valley spirit>, the water dragon of Tao…water means spirit that has become unconscious.»
C.G. Jung (CW 9i)
Let me end this post with few similarities between BTS Black Swan (and Blood Sweat and Tears) and Black Swan the movie:
Well till here this post. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.
See you on my next post.
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