Philosophical Theme and Perspective in the Seventh Seal and the Rapture

Philosophical Theme and Perspective in the Seventh Seal and the Rapture
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INTRODUCTION
In this paper, we are going to discuss the philosophical theme and perspective of the movies The Seventh Seal and The Rapture. The central idea of this research is to find out if films can be used for philosophical presentation and how it has been used in these two films.
THE SEVENTH SEAL
The Seventh Seal was released in 1957 and was written and directed by the famous Swedish director Ingmar Bergman. The name of the film refers to a certain paragraph of the Book of Revelation. The film started with the quotation “And when the Lamb had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour” from Revelation 8:1 and it was later used towards the end of the film. The phrase silence in heaven refers to the silence of God, which is the main theme of The Seventh Seal.
The film portraits the journey of a medieval knight named Antonius Block who played chess with the image of Death, who came to take his life upon his arrival from the Crusades. In comparing the relevancy with the actual historical contexts, the film is heavily described as symbolic and metaphorical.
Throughout the film, dialogues relating to religious philosophy have been illustrated. The major concept here is the Silence of God in replying pleas from the believers which was often expressed through the dialogues of the knight. In a scene where the knight confessed, had said: "Is it so cruelly inconceivable to grasp God with the senses? Why should He hide himself in a mist of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles?...What is going to happen to those of us who want to believe but aren't able to?". Another dialogue concerning faith and God’s response to it is: "Faith is a torment – did you know that? It is like loving someone who is out there in the darkness but never appears, no matter how loudly you call."
The Seventh Seal is constructed like an argument, based on Bergman’s religious melancholy, his past, his lifelong experience and the search for the deepest questions of religious perspectives as well as finding the most mysterious revelation of being alive.
THE RAPTURE
The Rapture is a psychological drama film based on religious faith and sanctuary. The main character of this film is Sharon who turned toward God from her libidinous lifestyle after being advised to receive imminent Rapture. She became a born-again Christian and started a pious lifestyle. However, her belief led her to murder her daughter and eventually refuses to relinquish her rage at God for His cruelty, leaving her in a purgatory like place for infinity.
This 1991 film was very successful in expressing how scary religion can become to someone depending on which side he or she is witnessing it. The main theme of the film is how religi...