SEVEN

We watched the thriller film 'Seven' in lesson. I'm now going to apply the theories we discussed in lesson to what we saw in the film. See if we have any matches:

G.K Chesterton: The transformed City.
The setting for 'Seven' was an urban type setting. The city in which it was set was a normal city that was transformed from a to be 'the city of sins'. This is where the city became a well-known city of death.

Northrop Frye: The Heroic Romance.
Brad Pitt's character 'Dave Mills' was an ordinary cop working in a city full of crime. He was eventually transformed into the seventh deadly sin. This, therefore, follows the theory of Northrop Frye, whereas, someone who's quite ordinary turns extraordinary.

John Cawelti: The Exotic.
The theory of John Cawelti is applied here as these normal people, just living thier lives as they normally would, were killed for commiting one of the 'seven deadly sins', hence the exotic element is now present. As people are accustomed to puzzles and mazes the use of the sins as part of the puzzle is a great factor in the film.

W.H Matthews: Mazes and Labyrinths.
The puzzle of this film would be the seven deadly sins that the villian in this film is basing his kills on. He tells us towards the end of the film that the reason behind his killings of these 'innocent' people is, in fact, 'God's will'. He believes he was chosen by a higher power to commit these murders in the name of God. This leads the audience to ask many questions. Hence, the puzzle is set. Also, the fact that the killer is not actually seen until the end of the film creates a nice mystery as the audience is left wondering his appearence throughout the film.

Pascal Bonitzer: Partial Vision.
Bonitzer believes in the theory of 'partial vision' this is the theory that the audience isn't been provided with absolutely everything. In the film 'Seven' the audience are kept in the dark about a few clues and killings. The clues left behind by the killer are obscures slightly to our view. We are read them but don't have much time to fully understand them. Also, the fact that we never actually see the killer till the end is an obstruction. At the end the box is opened and inside the box is 'David's' wifes head, yet we, as the audience, don't get to see the head.

Noel Carroll: Question and Answer.
The audience, throughout the film, are given many puzzles to overcome, therefore leaving us to ask many questions. In 'Seven' when we learn the plan of the killer and his kills are actually based on the seven deadly sins we are always asking ourselves 'which sin will it be next murder?'. We are also asking ourselves 'why is he doing this?' to which we are granted an answer which is 'it's God's will'.

Roland Barthes: Enigma Codes.
Barthes believes in the idea of codes that every thriller must follow. This is the moment in the film where the audience is led to ask questions. Like for example the part where the murders happen, we are led to ask 'by who?, 'which sin?', etc.