The Seventh Seal

Personal Response

     When I watched The Seventh Seal (1957), I was extremely confused.  That's actually an understatement.  I was so lost that I found myself just watching the words pop up on the screen, and not reading them.  I found it very hard to focus on anything that was happening in the scene because of this reason: it was not in English.  I know a lot of great films are not always in the same language that we all speak, but it made it hard to understand when you had to multitask between reading the words before the scene transitioned to another.  It was also very jam-packed full of biblical references, which, the majority, went way above my head.  I'm not very religious, but when they were talking about religion, I could understand a little bit of what they were saying, but when it came to symbolism, I was at a loss.
     I'd already pushed aside my judgements for the film being in black and white, but that still made it a little difficult to watch.  I did like how it was gloomy and fit the tone of the whole entire film, but like I've already made known, I enjoy symbolism in the form of vivid color.  When something is in black and white, the symbolism is constricted to references and other things that don't deal with colors.
     Overall, the film was creepy.  It was dark, gloomy, and full of "terror," which I enjoyed.  I like darker films and this one was just that.  It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but Death in the film was very prominent.  I loved the actors portrayals and the man who played Death was very good in his role.  So, all in all, this may have not been one of my favorite movies, but it still gave me a chill and definitely intrigued my "creepy" side.

Summary of Critical Article

     The article that I chose to read was "The Seventh Seal" by Peter Palmer.  He mostly explained that, "the significance of Ingmar Bergman's 'Seventh Seal' lies not in the speeches nor in the actions of the central characters but rather in the films form...the entirety of it" (Palmer 6).  Instead of focusing on the smaller details of the film, he focused on the entire work, the "big picture" (Palmer 6).  He used heavy biblical symbolism throughout, which is seen in every single character, from the Knight to the Girl at the end.  Everything he put into the film was essential to the overall picture, which was inspired/named after "The Book of Revelations" (Palmer 2).  The whole idea of cheating Death was very prominent, and even though the Knight did not, it still made the story end up where he was inspired: with the people dancing to their deaths.  When the Knight played chess with Death, it was a huge piece of symbolism, one that can be seen throughout the film, even without the board.  It's like in every scene, the Knight is making a move against Death, and his strategies are either working or being defeated (Palmer 7).

Response to Critical Article

     The author was very considerate in mentioning how the director wanted his film to be seen: in its entirety.  He wanted people to see the "big picture" and not focus solely on the minute details.  Throughout the article he addressed how each character fit into the whole story, but also their symbolism.  I loved how Palmer addressed each reference to something biblical because, since I'm not very religious, I was able to understand more clearly how things fit into the whole story and how each scene related to one another.  Palmer talked about how a couple of scenes were just dripping with symbolism and how they were used to steer the story in a particular direction, even hinting at events happening in the near future of the film.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical frameworks/concepts:

     I liked how the author used history in order to explain the biblical significance of the film.  He was able to explain the crusades and how those went on back then.  He compared the crusades to the film and about how they must've felt fighting against the plague.  He used history to bring reality to the film, giving the reader a sense of "wow, this really happened."  He explained the events that went on in the film, relating them back to how it must've been in the past with the plague, death, and how it must feel waiting to die.  Seeing as this movie is very heavy with religion, I love how the author explained the symbolism a lot and how it all fit in to the story overall.

Film Analysis

     The scene that I chose to analyze was the one where Death first shows up.  Antonius Block is shown walking around the beach, seemingly preparing or busying himself to keep his mind off of the inevitable.  He knows the game will be difficult and he knows Death is coming, but he doesn't know exactly when, so it seems as though he's calming himself and steeling his nerves.  He needs to be confident in himself so that he's able to challenge Death to chess, hopefully in order to save his own life.  

     I love how playful this scene is.  You know he's scared of Death, like everyone is, yet he finds the confidence to "talk back" and be downright sassy to him.  He's so confident that he'll live, but you can still tell that he's petrified that he's going to die.  

     Usually when you're on a beach, with the waves rolling up, the cool breeze against your face, it's calm and relaxing, but with Death, it's almost the opposite.  I love how this scene contrasts itself.  You'd think a beach would be a relaxing place, but with Death there, it becomes anything but.

Works Cited


Palmer, Peter M. "The Seventh Seal." English Exchange 11.3 (1969): 2-8. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

The Seventh Seal. Dir. Ingmar Bergman. Perf. Max Von Sydow. 1957. In Class. 

Personal Response to Film

The Wizard of Oz has been a family classic in homes for many years.  Ever since it came out in 1939, people have sat down with their families to enjoy the lively tale of a young girl named Dorothy who was sent into a world of imagination and wonder.  When I was younger, I'd sit in front of my T.V. and pop the VHS into the VCR with excitement.  I'd always loved the movie when I was young, but as I grew up, the magic of the film was lost.  I moved on to more elaborate and high-budget, special effect ridden movies.  The Wizard of Oz VHS was thrown into a rummage sale and sold to another family who actually had a VCR to play it in.  I forgot all about the movie until I heard that we'd be watching it in class.  Soon, all the memories of watching it as a child flooded back to me and I couldn't help but be excited about going to Oz again.
          As we began to watch, I remembered how I'd reacted at Casablanca (1942) and how I'd said that watching a movie in black in white was almost unbearable.  I forgot that in the beginning of the movie, The Wizard of Oz was in sepia tone (black and white, but with a rose tint).  Once the movie had started, I was completely engaged, regardless of color.  I hadn't seen this movie in awhile, and by the end of it, I remembered why I loved it so much.  Just the fact that Dorothy is the one who is the "hero," instead of it being a man.  She seems like a damsel in distress in the beginning, but that changes in Oz and even after she's back at Aunty Em's farm.  She's a feminist, the first real hero of L. Frank Baum's (writer of The Wizard of Oz) time period.  I loved the message behind the film that no matter where you come from, you can change far away places for the better and the thing you were searching for in the beginning was inside of you the whole time.

Summary of Critical Article

The article titled, "Wearing the Red Shoes" really focused on how patriarchy is linked to the red shoes, the land of Oz, and how Dorothy, even though everyone thinks differently, made the wrong choice to return home.  The Rohrer's explained how each character fit into the story arch and how the underlying message about how women should follow a patriarchal society fits in the movie (1).  Dorothy, a character that is deemed to be one of the first feminists in that time period, is actually written to be someone who, after wishing to go "somewhere over the rainbow," somewhere far away that she could dream and be herself, goes to Oz, and in the true spirit of a patriarchal story, ends up going back to her old life, taking on the role of an angel in the house a.k.a. a woman who stays home and doesn't venture far from the norm (Rohrer 6).  The red slippers, something that has been referenced by many later poets and writers, mean something much different than what they seem.  They're a gift from the Good Witch after Dorothy lands a house on the feared Wicked Witch of the East, ridding her from doing any other harm to the Munchkins and the Land of Oz.  These slippers are unable to be taken off by anyone, only Dorothy, but she never removes them, and this ends up taking her back to where she started.  Like in many stories before this one, the red slippers doom her to live a life of punishment, but instead of getting her feet chopped off like Karen, Hans' character, in her story, she's condemned to go back to her old life (Rohrer 2).  In the end, they take her home and though she's happy to be there, she's in no different of a situation since she left.  Many characters throughout the story push her back to her old life in Kansas, and Dorothy goes along with it.  Characters like Professor Marvel, The Wizard, and even the Good Witch of the North; they all tell her to follow the yellow brick road...right back to where she started (Rohrer 9).

Response to Critical Article

When I thought of The Wizard of Oz, I never thought about how patriarchal it actually was.  This isn't such a big surprise though, seeing as I was very young when I first saw it and all the times after that.  It's only when I watch it now and read certain things about it like Rohrer's article.  I can see how the whole thing fits together; the shoes, the witches, The Wizard.  They all have an effect on Dorothy that sends her skipping down the yellow brick road to get right back to where she started, even though she'd been so unhappy when she'd left.  She was loved by her family, sure, but she wasn't respected, just like most women weren't at that time period.  Rohrer points out that even lovable Auntie Em was silenced by her beliefs and knowing that nothing she said could help in the scene where Gulch comes to take Toto away so he could be destroyed after what he'd done (3).
       I can see how the shoes fit in to all of this, as well.  They are red, which usually is tied together with danger, warnings, and "spilled blood" (Rohrer 3).  Rohrer also brings up many instances in which the red shoes were referenced to be something bad, often each female who wears them to be sentenced to death or sent to something worse (Rohrer 2).  The red shoes are a symbol for patriarchy, as I can tell, because of how they doom whoever wears them.  They may have been a gift, but they were a curse in disguise.
       All in all, from a child's perspective, I loved the movie.  It's a great tale about an adventure to a land of imagination and hope, with wacky characters and a very vivid landscape.  It has humor, friendship, and hope.  It's inspiring for those who don't believe they can do something because anything's possible when you put your first foot forward.  If you take that first step on that yellow brick road to get to your destination, you can find that the power and will to achieve your goal was inside you all along.

Consideration of Critic’s Use of Critical Frameworks/Concepts:

       Dorothy is known to be one of the first feminists in film, having the main role in the movie.  Even though this seemed to be true, critics, like Linda and Paige Rohrer, have acclaimed that instead of being a heroine of her own story, she follows the voice of patriarchy toward the Wizard and she does it in her symbolic red shoes (1).  These shoes have been referenced in many things, almost none of them good.  The authors point out that the shoes usually mean no good, usually symbolizing "spilled blood" or danger (3).
       The Good Witch is a voice of patriarchy too, Linda and Paige Rohrer calling her an "agent of patriarchy...guiding her towards patriarchy--and ultimately, home" (3).  She calls herself Dorothy's guidance, but she's really guiding Dorothy back to the life she had before, which wasn't a great one.  Where Dorothy came from, her voice was unheard, and she was often seen as a damsel in distress, so after this big adventure of self realization, why would she want to go back?
       Professor Marvel was the main point of patriarchy in the film, having taken advantage of Dorothy in the beginning by lying and trying to steal from her.  He later appears as the Wizard, who doesn't believe that women have the power within to help themselves, which is how Dorothy proves him wrong.  She does as he asks, but at the cost of going home to more patriarchy (4).
       When I saw this movie as a kid, none of these things came to mind when I saw the pretty red slippers on her feet.  I'd always wanted a pair, thinking them to be pretty and a symbol of strength and power, when in fact they were considered the complete opposite.  Now that I've read this article, I see how the slippers could be a symbol of patriarchy and how they did more bad than good.  The authors brought up the story of a young girl named Karen who put on the red slippers when she wasn't supposed to.  When they were on, they wouldn't come off.  She danced and danced and soon, the slippers took a toll on her.  In the end, she had someone cut them off because all they did was lead her to something bad (2).  This is not unlike Dorothy's story, who, in the end, leaves the wonderful land of Oz that had brought her so much joy to go back to her dull life poisoned with patriarchy.

Film Analysis

The scene I chose to analyze was when Dorothy wakes up after hitting her head as her house is being picked up by the twister.  When she wakes up she's still in sepia tone, but as she exits her house, bright and vivid colors meet her on the other side.  I feel as though, like in the books, the color is used to connect to the audience in a way of bringing what could only be explained as their imagination to life.  It's something any child or adult can relate to because we've all had worlds take shape in our minds with colors and wacky characters occupying them.  It's pure imagination and hints at the child in all of us.
       The colors are bright and vivid, which really encapsulates everyone's attention in the audience.  It's so colorful...almost overly so.  It's almost fake the way the colors are at full volume and almost too bright.  Could they be implying that this is all fake, or is it just the time period that causes it to seem that way?
       The way that it goes from a dull, sepia tone to a bright and vivid land of Oz is very symbolic of going from the real world to the imagination.  People often see their lives in black in white, but when they're in their imagination, anything's possible.  They are dull in interactions with others and at work in their dead-end jobs, but just one trip to the imagination opens doors to creativity and lets you escape once in awhile.

       They do this in such a flawless way because she's literally opening the door to the imagination.  It's so wonderfully done and the way the camera pans through the door before Dorothy is almost like you're the first to step into Oz.

Works Cited

Google Images

Rohrer, Paige, and Linda Rohrer. "Wearing the Red Shoes." Journal of Popular Film & Television 23.4 (1996): 146-53. Web.