Hi, I’m Michael. This is Lessons from the Screenplay. From the first shots of Whiplash and Black
Swan, we see the protagonists immersed in their respective disciplines. Andrew Neiman practicing the drums, Nina Sayers
dreaming of dancing the White Swan. Both of these films bring us behind the scenes
of a world most people never get to see. Both were relatively low-budget, leaned heavily
on their scripts, and led to Oscar wins for great performances. But most importantly, both of these films
tell the tale of an artist seeking greatness who must first endure suffering and sacrifice. But how do they tell this story? There are plenty of variations between them... ...jazz drummer and ballerina, gender expectations,
style... which give each film a unique personality. But today, I want to focus on the structural
similarities. To examine the elements used to tell the story
of the obsessed performer. And how their arrangement determines the fate
of Nina and Andrew. Let's take a look at Whiplash and Black Swan. Act 1: Inciting Incident, Desire, and Dramatic
Question Every story has its first turning point. The moment at which the protagonist can no
longer maintain the status quo and embarks on their journey. This turning point is called the inciting
incident. An inciting incident creates a specific desire
for the protagonist, and starts them on the path to change. In Whiplash it happens very early, on the
first page in fact... "I'm sorry." "No, stay." ...with a chance encounter with Fletcher "You know who I am?" "Yes, sir." "So you know I'm looking for players?" "Yes, sir." "Then why did you stop playing?" Andrew gets the tiniest taste of attention
from Fletcher, and decides he wants to be in Studio Band—the best of the best at Shaffer. In Black Swan the inciting incident comes
on page eight, with an announcement that the company will be performing Swan Lake this
season—the very ballet Nina was just dreaming about. "A new production needs a new Swan Queen." "A fresh face to present to the world." Nina wants to be chosen as the new Swan Queen. But as an audience, we only care about the
characters’ desire if there is something at stake. When we understand their fears. Both screenplays use the characters’ home
lives to help establish those fears. Nina’s mother is a former ballerina who
never achieved notable career success. She refuses to let Nina grow up, surrounding
her with stuffed animals, toys, and music boxes. Andrew’s father is a moderately successful
high school teacher and an unsuccessful writer. "Mild-mannered, soft-spoken, average in every
respect." "Has the eyes of a former dreamer." For Andrew and Nina, their parents represent
the mediocrity they fear and will come to despise. So now that we know what the protagonists
are afraid of, we better understand their desires. But they can’t just walk up and take their
desires, something must stand in their way. This is where the mentors come in. They both wield absolute power, holding the
top positions within the worlds of their respective films. "May I?" And most importantly, they give the protagonists
a challenge. "Not so controlled!" "Seduce us!" "Not just the Prince, but the court, the audience,
the entire world!" C'mon!" ”Double-time swing." "No, double-time." "Double it." "Faster." "Faster!" The mentors introduce the dramatic question
of the films. Will Andrew be able to push himself to play
faster and more precisely and fully commit himself to being the greatest? Will Nina be able to stop worrying about precision,
shed her child-like innocence, and become the Black Swan? So driven by desire and fear, they each practice
harder and more importantly, take their first
uncharacteristic action. Andrew asks out the girl he’s had a crush
on... "Would you want to go out with me?" ...and Nina goes to Brennan’s office to
persuade him to give her the part. These actions signal that they’re ready to start
their arc of change. Brennan gives Nina the part of Swan Queen. "Drums, with me." And when Fletcher auditions players, Andrew
is prepared and recruited into Studio Band. "No, no, other drums." They’ve each had their first victory, and
their desires expand. But little do they know, this was the easy
part. The real challenge is still to come. Act 2: Struggle And Sacrifice The second act of a screenplay is where the
protagonists encounter obstacle after obstacle, and in doing so are forced to change in a
way they wouldn't otherwise. Both Nina and Andrew are being held back by
their old selves. They begin to change, but take it too far,
and we see that the path greatness is one of self-destruction. A key motivating factor that both films share
is the Threat of Replacement. In a scene not in the final film, Fletcher
gives Andrew a hint that he’s going to be testing the Nassau Band. Specifically mentioning to have his double-time
swing ready. Thus, Andrew first ascends to Studio Band
by jumping ahead of his peer, Ryan. But what goes around comes around, and to
keep Andrew from becoming complacent, Fletcher brings Ryan into Studio Band. "Am I late?" Suddenly, Andrew’s newly-secured spot is
threatened. "Look, I can play these charts." "Now is not the time." "I can play it, okay?" "I said NOT NOW!" "If you want the fucking part, earn it." In Black Swan, the threat of replacement takes
the form of Lily. Lily is the new girl, and everything Nina
is not. The screenplay describes 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." And Lily’s dancing: "…is explosive, exudes sex." Lily embodies the persona she must adopt. The Black Swan. As Nina struggles to dance the Black Swan,
Brennan starts to consider Lily as an alternative. For both Nina and Andrew, the Threat of Replacement
adds pressure, and drives them to the most important element of Act 2. Descent into Madness. In Black Swan, Nina begins to go crazy. She starts seeing a double. First in a passerby, then in mirrors, then
in Lily. The personification of her doubt, fear, and
insecurity actively menacing her. Andrew’s is a slow descent into madness,
and a very different kind of madness than Nina's. The main force of antagonism is Fletcher. From the first day of Studio Band, Fletcher
makes it very clear what his expectations are, while being violent and abusive. "Count again." "1, 2, 3, 4--" "1, 2, 3, 4--" "Rushing or dragging?" "Rushing" "So you do know the difference!" 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 in the screenplay even starts taking pills. Nina disobeys her mother by going out with
Lily, where she ends up doing drugs, making out with strangers, and hallucinating having
sex with Lily. As they approach the end of act 2, both protagonists
are so obsessed that they're completely out of control. Nina's madness crescendos when she maybe-murders
Beth, injures her mother, and hallucinates her most vivid transformation into a swan
yet. And as Andrew scrambles to get to their second
performance, he's met with his pinnacle of self-destruction. The Descent into Madness shows how
the destruction of each character's old self can be taken too far. "You're done." But here at the end of Act 2, there is a
difference between the films that is critical to setting up their endings. Andrew’s car crash forces him to stop his
self-destructive behavior. And it's coupled with the revelation that
a former student who was also tormented by Fletcher has committed suicide. Nina encounters a similar warning, when the
former star of the company — who she has replaced — tries to kill herself. But the difference is that in Nina's story
it happens early, 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. Thus, Andrew's descent into madness is brought
to a halt by the end of Act 2, while Nina's persists. And her pinnacle of self-destruction lays
waiting in Act 3. Act 3: Transformation And Perfection The climax of both stories takes place during
“the big performance.” The stakes are high. Mentally, the characters are in two very different
places. Because Andrew was forced to take a break from drumming, he’s had time to gain some perspective. Nina, on the other hand, has just reached
the crescendo of her madness, and is barely keeping it together. But despite these differences, both Nina and
Andrew have something in common. They’re 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. "You think I'm fucking stupid?" "What?" "I know it was you." Nina still doubts herself. And after seeing Lily flirting with the dancer
playing the prince—the prince that rightfully belongs to the White Swan—Nina’s double
appears. And so as Nina and Andrew have the first taste
of their big moment, they fail. "Nina freaks, jerking her body." "David’s grip SLIPS." "And Nina SLAMS onto the stage." "It’s a horrific moment that feels like
an eternity." "On Fletcher’s face, the look of a victor…" "As he turns back to the audience we hear…" "…a smattering of polite, muted applause,
trickling throughout the theater." "Quiet, half-hearted, pitiful." "No one here has ever seen a disaster quite
like that before." Faced with this ultimate failure, the characters
finally make the most important choice of their journey. Andrew turns around and walks back on stage. "…before Fletcher can even turn back around
— let alone cue the band — Andrew launches into double-time Latin." Andrew isn’t playing for Fletcher anymore,
he’s playing for himself. He’s confident and in control. Meanwhile, Nina returns to her dressing room
to find Lily sitting in her chair. "How about…I dance the Black Swan for you?" Nina attacks her double, who fights back,
strangling the life out of Nina. "It's my turn!" "My turn." Until Nina is finally pushed to finish her
transformation. “It’s MY turn!” Both protagonists have destroyed their
old selves. The stories answer their dramatic questions
as Nina and Andrew deliver the greatest performance of their lives. "It is time for the Coda." "She takes a brief pause, closing her eyes
once more, and then completely lets herself go." "She spins with ferocity." "More BLACK FEATHERS burst out from her shoulders and back." "At last, she truly embodies the Black Swan." "The audience looks on, mesmerized. "Too stunned to clap at first." "I will gouge out your mother-fucking eyes." "Fletcher’s words only seem to strengthen
him." "The band roars into overdrive, the brass
blasting away, Andrew giving everything he’s got." "Fletcher steps back." "Andrew just keeps looking straight ahead
at him." "Unafraid now." "A machine." The storytelling during the finale of Whiplash
has a fantastic ebb and flow. After Andrew seizes control, Fletcher’s
demeanor changes. "…his face now says one thing and one thing
only: This is playing he has never seen before." And moments later: "Fletcher almost smiles." "Was this his plan all along…?" Then, Fletcher goes from defeated opponent
to helpful ally. "Fletcher stands there, nodding, focused,
like a coach at the critical moment." "Waves his hand, pushing Andrew on…" Here, at the end, both films diverge one final
time. Nina returns to her dressing room and discovers
that in actuality she has not murdered Lily, but instead mortally wounded herself. Her un-disrupted madness has lead to the ultimate
pinnacle of self-destruction. But the show must go on, and Nina returns
to the stage to perform the finale as the White Swan. Nina’s mentor has a line that didn’t make
it into the final film, but I think is applicable to the emotion of both finales. He’s talking about dance, but I think it
applies to any live performance. He says: "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." "For this moment only." "And this is your moment." Nina and Andrew look into the crowd. The audience is theirs. Their parents watch, astounded. This is their moment. Black Swan and Whiplash use similar story
elements in different ways to shape their stories. In doing so, they each express their own variation
on the theme of sacrificing for your art. Black Swan tells the story of a young woman
who sacrifices everything to achieve one, fleeting moment of absolute perfection... …suggesting "absolute perfection requires
absolute sacrifice." Whiplash tells the story of a young man who
endures intense physical and emotional abuse from a mentor, but manages to grow from the
experience, and in the end becomes… "…the next Buddy Rich, the next Charlie
Parker — Fletcher's only Charlie Parker…" Which raises the questions: Do the ends justify
the means? Is it true that… "There are no two words more harmful in the
English language than 'good job.'" Comparing stories can reveal the common elements
of structure, and the different ways those elements can be used. In this case, we see the obstacles that face
the obsessed performer, and how they were arranged to tell the stories of Whiplash and
Black Swan. Hey guys! So many of you requested Whiplash, that it
was clear that I just had to do it, so I hope you enjoyed the video. Let me know what you think I should do next
in the comments below. And finally, a videos like this takes a lot
of work, so please consider supporting this channel on Patreon so I can make more videos
like this one. Thanks for watching.
Becoming a great artist is analogous to becoming a great athlete or striving to achieve greatness in pretty much anything. The common thread is that it will always involve a lot of really hard work as well as intense competitive pressure (both internally and externally). There is no right answer as to whether the ends justify the means. It all depends on the individual. You have to decide what type of life you want to live and be ready to deal with the opportunity cost of embarking on your chosen path (whether it's giving up on a dream, or sacrificing a lot in order to achieve it).
The last 20-25 minutes of Whiplash are some of the most intense and heart racing moments in the entirety of film history. Crazy good movie.
Both these movies are amazing though.
Whiplash is so goddamn good.
I cant help but being fasinated by artists who sacrifice themselves in this way. I definitely dont think the ends justify the means but there still are some damn fine art that can come out of it
I haven't seen Whiplash but I REALLY want to see it as soon as I get a chance. I love these types of videos as well. So my question is, any spoilers in this video for Whiplash?
Great breakdown of similiarities.
Fantastic comparison. Thanks for sharing
Great story. Thank you.