Whiplash & Black Swan: The Anatomy of the Obsessed Artist

 Whiplash & Black Swan

Girl trapped in the body of a Swan.

Desires freedom. 

But only true love can break the spell.

Wish is nearly granted in the form of the prince. 

But before he can declare his love. 

The Black Swan tricks and seduces him

Devastated The white swan jumps off a cliff killing herself

In death finds freedom. 

Perfection is not always about control. It’s also about letting go. 

Surprise yourself so you can surprise the audience. Transcendence.

Very few people have it in them. 

Both of these films bring us behind the scenes of a world most people never get to see. 

A tale of an artist seeking greatness. 

The obsessed performer. 

Act 1

Inciting incident, desire, and dramatic question. 

An inciting incident is a change in the status quo where the journey changes for the protagonist. Putting them on a path to change. 

The desires of the characters have something at stake. Their fears establish the risk of not succeeding. 

For Andrew and Nina their parents represent the mediocrity they fear and despise. 

Fear-mediocrity

Desire-greatness

Mentors give the protagonists a challenge. 

The mentors introduce the dramatic question of the films.

Will Andrew be able to push himself to Fletcher's satisfaction?

Will Nina be able to stop worrying about precision, shed her child-like innocence, and become the black swan?

Driven by desire and fear they each practice harder. 

In addition to taking Their first uncharacteristic action. 

Andrew asks out the girl he has a crush on

Nina goes to Bren and the office to persuade him to give her the part. 

These actions signal they are ready to start their arc if they change.

Nina gets Swan Queen 

When Fletcher auditions players, Andrew is prepared and recruited into a studio band.

They’ve each had their first victory and their desires expand. 

Act 2 Struggle and Sacrifice

Both Nina and Andrew are being held back by their old selves. 

They begin to change but take it too far

We see the path of greatness is self-destruction

A key motivating factor that both films share is the threat of replacement. 

Fletcher brings Ryan to stop Andrew from being complacent.

Nina’s dancing as follows: although her movement is incredibly precise there’s a definite vulnerability.

Exactly as the white swan should be: fear tinged with melancholy. 

Lily's dancing as follows: is explosive, exudes sex. 

Lily embodies the persona she must adopt. The Black Swan. 

Threat of replacement adds pressure and drives them to the most important element of Act 2 descent into madness. 

Lily sees doubles. The personification of her doubt, fear, and insecurity actively menacing her. 

Andrew’s a slow descent into madness, and a very different kind of madness than Nina’s

Main force of antagonism is Fletcher. 

Overwhelmed by the pressure and torment, they begin to destroy their old selves. 

Andrew breaks up with his girlfriend, is rude to his family, and starts taking pills.

Nina disobeys her mother by going out with Lily where she ends up doing drugs, and hallucinating having sex with Lily. 

By the end of act 2 both artists are so obsessed that they are completely out of control. 

However there is a difference between the films moving forward past Act 2

Andrew’s car crash forced him to stop his self-destructive behavior.

Coupled with the revelation that a former student who was also tormented by Fletcher committed suicide. 

Nina encounters a similar warning when the former star of the company who she has replaced tries to kill herself. 

Nina’s happens before she’s able to see what the pursuit of greatness can do to you. 

So the warning goes unheeded, an important aspect of a tragedy. 

Her pinnacle of self-destruction lies waiting in Act 3.

Act 3 Transformation and Perfection

The climax of both stories takes place during the “big performance.”

Mentally the characters are in two very different places. 

Andrew was able to take time away from drumming.

Giving him time to gain perspective. 

Nina just reached the pinnacle of her madness and is barely keeping it together.

Despite these differences Nina and Andrew have something in common. 

They are not ready. 

There is still a piece of their old selves left. 

Andrew is still playing for Fletcher, trusting him, when it's revealed that Fletcher has set him up to fail. 

Nina still doubts herself. And after seeing Lily flirting with the dancer playing the prince, Nina sees her double.

The prince that rightfully belongs to the white swan- Nina’s double appears.

And so as both have the taste of their big moment they fail. 

Faced with this ultimate failure, the characters finally make the most important choice of their journey.

Andrew turns around and walks back on stage. Andrew isn’t playing for Fletcher anymore, he's playing for himself. Confident in control. 

Nina attacks her double who fights back, strangling the life out of Nina. Until Nina is pushed to her transformation. 

Both protagonists have destroyed their old selves. 

The stories answer their dramatic questions as Nina and Andrew deliver the greatest performance. 

Fletcher's words only strengthen Andrew.

After Andrew seized control, Fletcher's demeanor changed. 

This is playing he has never seen before. 

Was this his plan all along? 

Fletcher stands as an ally now nodding focused like a coach at the critical moment. Waves his hand pushing Andrew on. 

The films diverge one final time. 

Nina returns to bed dressing room and discovers that she has not murdered Lily but instead mortally wounded herself.

Her un-disrupted madness has led to the ultimate pinnacle of self-destruction. 

Nina returns to perform the finale. 

What we do is beautiful, but fleeting.

Dance is not immortalized like music, poetry or art. It doesn’t grow old in museums and churches. 

It lives for now. And this is your moment. 

Parents watching astounded they are in their moment. 

Both films express their own variation on the theme of sacrificing for your art. 

Black Swan tells the story of a young woman who sacrificed everything to achieve one. Suggesting:

Absolute perfection requires absolute sacrifice. 

Whiplash is a story of a young man who endured intense physical emotional abuse from a mentor but manages to grow from the experience and in the end becomes the next Charlie Parker. 

Do the ends justify the means? 

Artists have an internal tourmentation of creating work as great as who they idolize. 

“There are no two words more harmful in the English language than good job”

SAMO