Hybridity, Fluidity and Ingmar Bergman's Alternative Moral Picture
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Hybridity, Fluidity and Ingmar Bergman’s Alternative Moral Picture The ideological value of Fanny and Alexander (1983) Hainan Zeng Department of Media Studies Master’s Thesis 30 ECTS Credits Cinema Studies Master’s Programme in Cinema Studies 120 ECTS Credits Spring term 2019 Supervisor: Maaret Koskinen Hybridity, Fluidity and Ingmar Bergman’s Alternative Moral Picture The ideological value of Fanny and Alexander (1983) Hainan Zeng Abstract Bergman has claimed that he does not have any ideological intention behind his films. He has also been generally criticized for his bourgeois outlook and lack of ideology. Among the vast amount of Bergman studies as well, the ideological aspect of Bergman’s films has been an under-researched area. This thesis will focus on the five-hour television version of Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, 1983) and investigate the interrelationship between the formal features of narrative, character, music and their ideological functions, utilizing ideological and formalist approaches. The premise of this study is: films are cultural products that implicitly or explicitly carry ideological messages. Bergman’s films are no exception. Through the blend of contradictory elements in narrative and the representation of fluid subjectivity, Bergman’s cinematic vision provides an “alternative moral picture”, an expression coined by Hector Rodriguez, and functions as ideology critique. This thesis intends to shed more light on the ideological value embedded in Bergman’s films in general, and Fanny and Alexander in particular, and contribute to a comprehensive field of Bergman research. Keywords: Bergman study, ideological approach, formalist approach, Fanny and Alexander (1983), formal features, narrative, character, music, hybridity, fluidity, ideology, ideology critique, alternative moral picture. Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my supervisor Professor Maaret Koskinen for her patience and support during the long writing process. I have benefited from her advice, encouragement, constructive criticism and careful feedback. I am truly grateful for her expertise on the subject of Bergman studies which have made this thesis better than it otherwise would have been. I would also like to thank the librarians at the Swedish Film Institute’s library for their competence and friendliness. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their constant support. Content 1.Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and relevance ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research questions and aims ............................................................................................................ 5 1.3 Materials and methodologies ........................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Disposition of the thesis .................................................................................................................... 8 2. Literature review .............................................................................................................................. 10 2.1 John Orr ........................................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Maria Bergom-Larsson .................................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Marilyn Johns Blackwell .................................................................................................................. 15 2.4 Daniel Humphrey ............................................................................................................................. 17 3. Theoretical framework ..................................................................................................................... 20 3.1 Central concepts: ideology, ideology critique and moral picture ................................................... 20 3.2 Narrative Hybridity .......................................................................................................................... 22 3.3 Fluidity of subjectivity ..................................................................................................................... 25 4. Film analysis: Fanny and Alexander ................................................................................................. 31 4.1 Narrative .......................................................................................................................................... 31 4.1.1 Ominous signs of death in the joyous Christmas celebration ...................................................... 31 4.1.2 The blend of the sublime with the scatological ........................................................................... 33 4.1.3 Repressed violence in the happy marriage .................................................................................. 35 4.2 Character ......................................................................................................................................... 36 4.2.1 Male character ............................................................................................................................. 37 4.2.2 Female character .......................................................................................................................... 42 4.2.3 Androgynous character ................................................................................................................ 45 4.3 Music ............................................................................................................................................... 47 5. Discussion and conclusion ................................................................................................................ 54 6. Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 57 1 1.Introduction Bergman has claimed on different occasions that he is a non-political person and he does not have any ideological intention behind his films. As Birgitta Steene observes that Bergman’s main motivation is artistic.1 Although he has been generally criticized in his home country for his bourgeois outlook and lack of social consciousness, I have always been interested in the political implication deeply embedded in Bergman’s films. I suspect that an artist cannot really be an agent free of his society. Since the political messages are not so obvious in Bergman’s case, the more subtle values about his moral standpoint communicated in the films and the formal strategies utilized should be scrutinized. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to investigate the interrelationship between Bergman’s formal features and their ideological implications. In particular, the case study will focus on the five-hour television version of Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander, Ingmar Bergman, 1983) and take a close look on the narrative pattern, depictions of characters and music in order to investigate their ideological functions. The major theme of hybridity of narrative and fluidity/mutability of subjectivity in Bergman’s cinematic vision will be addressed, which together reflect Bergman’s alternative moral picture and function as ideology critique toward the dominant ideology of patriarchy, heteronormative marriage and subject fixity. 1.1 Background and relevance By way of background to this thesis, I will first analyse how different receptions of Bergman in USA and France have focused on the artistic, metaphysical, psychological and commercial aspects rather than ideological contents, and how the major ideological criticism of Bergman in Sweden has been negative. And Fanny and Alexander is no exception in this regard. The ideological values of Bergman’s films have therefore long been an under-researched area which result in a research gap in Bergman study. At the end of this background I will analyse recent revisions of Bergman and contextualize this study within the contemporary academic framework and cultural contexts to indicate its relevance. 1 Birgitta Steene, Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide. (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2005), 34. 2 The conception of Bergman is multifaceted. In different countries, different aspects of Bergman are emphasized and evaluated which has led to very different reception patterns. Among foreign countries, Bergman is probably most favorably received in France. In 1947, when Ship to India (Skepp till India land, 1947) becomes the first Bergman film shown in France, Andre Bazin already notices the talent behind the film and praises Bergman for “creating a world of blinding cinematic purity.”2 In 1956, Bergman’s name becomes well known when Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens leende,1955) receives the Special Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival for “its poetic humor” and this award lays the cornerstone to his international renown.3 In 1958 both Godard and Truffaut write articles to show their respect and appreciation to their Swedish colleague. While Truffaut compares Bergman with the literary giants such as Proust, Joyce and Rousseau, Godard deems Bergman the most original filmmaker in Europe and Illicit Interlude (Sommarlek, 1951) the most beautiful among the