There are a vast amount of conventions, archetypes, and genres contained within the cinematic masterpiece that is The Seventh Seal. A generic convention that is clearly evident within this particular film is that of iconography, particularly seen in the settings of The Seventh Seal. In addition to this, one genre that could be considered while analyzing the film could be a hybrid genre of historical, philosophical, and melodramatic aspects. Finally, social archetypes abound in a plot surrounding death and the pursuit of freedom from it. Bergman’s The Seventh Seal is a truly remarkable film that highlights the audience’s feelings of death, and a monumental question of the existence of god.
Iconography comes out in the settings and props of The Seventh Seal, representing many connotations and meanings. Firstly, a major aspect of the film is the game of chess in which Death and the crusader are intensely wound up in. The mere game itself is a symbol that intensifies the battle of wit, cunning, and power. The crusader and Death are constantly combating each other mentally. When being questioned on the existence of God, Death chooses not to answer the crusader. He chooses his moves carefully, instead warning him that nothing ever escapes him, and sooner or later he gets what he wants. Also, the crusader encounters death in vastly open areas such as beaches and fields. They’re settings that intensify the underlying questions of the film, and the unlimited space for complex answers. Finally, the setting of the forest, within the middle of the film, intensifies the emotional complexities that come with the coping of no control over death. When the black plague consumes the actor’s pursuer in front of the traveling group, they must simply turn away and leave him, for it may be their fate if they help him. The setting of the dense forest reveals the tightening grip of death upon the travelers. This simple convention, present in all films, is the most crucial when setting the scene for a plot centering on any genre.
The complex genres contained within The Seventh Seal have created their own historical, philosophical, and melodramatic genre. The historical aspect of the genre comes into play with the story being set during the epidemic of the black plague. Another historical aspect involved is the main character’s role in the crusades. The philosophical niche of the genre is evident in the pondering of the question of the existence of God. More importantly, the consideration of cheating death and extending life becomes a main focus of the plot and story. This is evident in Joseph’s attempt to distract death while the actor’s family flees the forest, which is done by Joseph’s flipping of the chess board. Lastly, melodramatic elements enter the story through the character’s interactions and reactions towards death. The young woman, who remains silent throughout the film, is drastically affected by the death of the actor’s pursuer. It is also present when death kills the man in the tree, who screams and reacts with immense fear at death’s actions. Bergman creates his own hybrid genre in this addition to cinematic history.
Many social archetypes are present in The Seventh Seal that directly relate to the audience watching the film. A main focus of the story line is the concept of family and the role it plays in our lives. The crusader is desperately trying to avoid death and make it safely home to his wife. The family model is also present in the actor’s family’s role in the film. Joseph risks everything, even angering death, to ensure that his family, and more importantly the actor’s baby, gets away. In addition, the bonds of friendship and loyalty come into play within the relationship of the squire and the crusader. They are contrasting characters that reveal the drastic difference in the tragedies of experience, in the knight, and the innocence of apprenticeship, in the squire. Finally, the dominant social archetype present in the film is that of the overwhelming presence of death, and the overabundance or lack of faith in God. The social archetypes contained within The Seventh Seal allow the audience to witness their own feelings of death and God on the big screen.
Bergman’s cinematic masterpiece highlights genres that reel in the audience on several deep aspects of the human conscience. It employs iconography in an exquisite fashion that intensifies the actions and emotions surrounding death and the question of the existence of God. Also, it creates a hybrid genre riddled with historical, melodramatic, and philosophical elements. Finally, many social archetypes allow the audience to directly relate to the characters and their interactions with death. Although it may be in black and white, the seventh seal displays a rainbow depicting the spectrum of human emotion in life and death.
Works Cited
Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. The Film Experience: an Introduction. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Det Sjunde Inseglet(The Seventh Seal) (1957)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 08 May 2010..
Iconography comes out in the settings and props of The Seventh Seal, representing many connotations and meanings. Firstly, a major aspect of the film is the game of chess in which Death and the crusader are intensely wound up in. The mere game itself is a symbol that intensifies the battle of wit, cunning, and power. The crusader and Death are constantly combating each other mentally. When being questioned on the existence of God, Death chooses not to answer the crusader. He chooses his moves carefully, instead warning him that nothing ever escapes him, and sooner or later he gets what he wants. Also, the crusader encounters death in vastly open areas such as beaches and fields. They’re settings that intensify the underlying questions of the film, and the unlimited space for complex answers. Finally, the setting of the forest, within the middle of the film, intensifies the emotional complexities that come with the coping of no control over death. When the black plague consumes the actor’s pursuer in front of the traveling group, they must simply turn away and leave him, for it may be their fate if they help him. The setting of the dense forest reveals the tightening grip of death upon the travelers. This simple convention, present in all films, is the most crucial when setting the scene for a plot centering on any genre.
The complex genres contained within The Seventh Seal have created their own historical, philosophical, and melodramatic genre. The historical aspect of the genre comes into play with the story being set during the epidemic of the black plague. Another historical aspect involved is the main character’s role in the crusades. The philosophical niche of the genre is evident in the pondering of the question of the existence of God. More importantly, the consideration of cheating death and extending life becomes a main focus of the plot and story. This is evident in Joseph’s attempt to distract death while the actor’s family flees the forest, which is done by Joseph’s flipping of the chess board. Lastly, melodramatic elements enter the story through the character’s interactions and reactions towards death. The young woman, who remains silent throughout the film, is drastically affected by the death of the actor’s pursuer. It is also present when death kills the man in the tree, who screams and reacts with immense fear at death’s actions. Bergman creates his own hybrid genre in this addition to cinematic history.
Many social archetypes are present in The Seventh Seal that directly relate to the audience watching the film. A main focus of the story line is the concept of family and the role it plays in our lives. The crusader is desperately trying to avoid death and make it safely home to his wife. The family model is also present in the actor’s family’s role in the film. Joseph risks everything, even angering death, to ensure that his family, and more importantly the actor’s baby, gets away. In addition, the bonds of friendship and loyalty come into play within the relationship of the squire and the crusader. They are contrasting characters that reveal the drastic difference in the tragedies of experience, in the knight, and the innocence of apprenticeship, in the squire. Finally, the dominant social archetype present in the film is that of the overwhelming presence of death, and the overabundance or lack of faith in God. The social archetypes contained within The Seventh Seal allow the audience to witness their own feelings of death and God on the big screen.
Bergman’s cinematic masterpiece highlights genres that reel in the audience on several deep aspects of the human conscience. It employs iconography in an exquisite fashion that intensifies the actions and emotions surrounding death and the question of the existence of God. Also, it creates a hybrid genre riddled with historical, melodramatic, and philosophical elements. Finally, many social archetypes allow the audience to directly relate to the characters and their interactions with death. Although it may be in black and white, the seventh seal displays a rainbow depicting the spectrum of human emotion in life and death.
Works Cited
Corrigan, Timothy, and Patricia White. The Film Experience: an Introduction. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
"Det Sjunde Inseglet(The Seventh Seal) (1957)." The Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Web. 08 May 2010.
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