Black Swan - Charlie Murray

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Black Swan MV Review

by

Charlie Murray

I was at a K-pop dance class when this video dropped, making my viewing experience that much more breathtaking. I had to contain myself and not freak out too much at the scenery, the close-ups, the mysterious references, that are all shown in this visually pleasing video. However, I have since been able to watch it properly, privately, and I have many thoughts about it.

The video is shot in The Los Angeles Theatre, a grand building of golden backdrops, dramatic balconies and staircases for the boys to lean against, and a large stage. Fans of the Blood, Sweat and Tears era (hello) must surely be excited to see BTS back in the setting of an exquisite building, which they utilise fully through a seamless blend of dance sequences and close-ups of the members.

The first detail that I feel I must mention is Jimin’s choreography parts. As Taehyung has previously said, “Black Swan = Jimin”, and we know that he has a background in contemporary dance that suits this concept so well, it was such a gift to see the mesmerising shots of him, under a spotlight on the stage. Every single shift of his limbs is executed flawlessly, and I still cannot process how he did some of those impossible-looking moves.

Yoongi and Hoseok’s verse is also a standout for me in this video, as we see close-ups of their facial expressions as they rap to one another. The close-ups of this video allowed us to further understand the emotions of the song without solely having dance moves to observe, and this is especially apparent in the way in which Yoongi and Hoseok look at each other. This may be a fancy video in a luxurious setting, but the ways in which the members truly believe in these lyrics are realised in raw and emotion-heavy fashion.

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Other highlights of this video include the return of the black and white outfits, corsets and angel wings from the concept photos. The photos were so dark that seeing these corsets again was nothing short of a treat, as well as the spectacular image of black wings sprouting from Jimin dramatically (again reminiscent of certain Wings-era imagery, which you know made me incredibly happy).

For each member’s initial solo shots, we see shadows behind them, doing different expressive dances to represent the shadow within them that is trying to unleash itself. However, by the final shot of the song, we see the shadow retreat from Jungkook, perhaps suggesting that with the ending of this comeback, their shadows are finally leaving them as they have learnt to accept their existence in their journeys.

However, it does not seem to be the end yet. With Black Swan marking the 6th music video from this comeback, it has left many ARMYs expecting a 7th music video to be on its way, in the spirit of the lucky number 7 that has been so prominent this comeback. I would hope for it to be Louder Than Bombs, but I can say with some certainty that it is likely that BTS will destroy us with an emotional We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal music video, which will probably be so upsetting that I will find it a lot harder to watch than this Black Swan video. 

You can view the official MV on Big Hit's official YouTube channel:

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