In Ingmar Bergman's existential
drama, Persona, two main characters
occupy the black and white frame. One of them, an actress that has had a
nervous breakdown, riddled with the terrible sense of guilt for her lack of
love and affection towards her own child; the other, the nurse that is trying
to help. In this film, Bergman draws on the concept of "good" and
"evil", and the conflict of human emotions towards these subjects.
The characters themselves depict the state of being torn—divided in two—and
abiding in a state of introspective madness.
In these stills, the figures
occupy a world of black and white, moving to and fro, from being in the light,
and then into the darkness. The compositions then are entirely constructed of
light and dark, devoid of color, and rely on shade alone for recognition. As
stills taken from a time based medium, allowing glimpses into minute details of
a moving narrative, the images project beyond the seeming regularity of the
acts, and reconstruct another narrative within. Here, the focus remains on the
relationship between light and darkness, the interaction of light with the
characters, and the trope of film itself as a constructed reality. Within the narrative of these images is the
state of being divided between light and darkness, drawing on what existentialist
Søren Kierkegaard called “being of two minds”. It is in this state, within the film, that the distinction
between “light” and “dark”, and “good” and evil”, becomes blurred, creating a
haunting, dismal reality.
Curtain
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Dark Figure 1
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Dark Figure 2
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Dark Figure 3
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Gazer
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Horror
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Light & Dark
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On & Off
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Machine
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Shadow
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Sleeper
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U.F.O
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