Psychological Symbolism in the Movie SEVEN: Ego, Self, and Shadow roles.

In the previous article, I discussed the Dark Night of the Soul as according to St John of the Cross. This pattern of transformation underlies all initiations. In order to make it relevant to the music and the arts, the following article shows how this universal pattern appears in the film SEVEN. On the surface, SEVEN is a psychological thriller, but underneath, it’s a mythological epic representing the psychological drama that occurs within every human being.

Let’s begin.   

The movie SEVEN is one of my favourite films. It is that type of film you can rewatch over and over again and never get bored. The first time I watched it, I got this feeling it was more than a psychological thriller, there was something archetypal about it. Years later, I realised what that archetypal drama was, and why movies made using archetypes (deep psychological patterns) continue to draw us towards them, constantly evoking new currents of meaning, mystery, and intrigue. In this article, I’ll explain how the movie SEVEN is not only a thriller about two detectives trying to hunt down a serial killer, but is a symbolic interplay between inner psychological figures and their role in human transformation. This gives the movie a mythological quality and timelessness.

As creatives, we can use similar psychological symbols to give our works deeper meaning, imbuing them with a universal quality that makes them suitable for future generations who unconsciously resonate with the underlying themes. In the words of the psychoanalyst and author Edward Edinger (1972, p.109): “a symbol has a subjective dynamism which exerts a powerful attraction and fascination on the individual.” It is precisely this symbolic nature of the characters in SEVEN that makes it a myth of our modern time.  

The Self

SEVEN opens with Somerset (Morgan Freeman), an older detective about to retire. He is pictured alone, against the backdrop of harsh city sounds, giving us a sense that he’s been through it all, and come to know deeply himself and the toughness of life. Psychologically, he represents the wise old guide, a personification of the Self.

In Jungian psychology, the Self is the higher part of us, the ‘real Self’ that is hidden but that we are hope to become. An encounter with the Self is guided by a messenger, often in the form of the wise old man, which Jung himself encountered in his visionary conversations with Philemon. The messenger guides us on our journey of individuation, leading us to connect with the Self when we are ready. This transition is never smooth, as it requires a disidentification with the ego, typically a painful and deconstructive process.

The Setting

The movie’s tone is dark and dreary, set in a dystopian urban city full of mayhem, sickness, and depravity. It rains throughout the film, giving the movie a mysterious and oppressive quality. In Jungian psychology, water is often representative of the unconscious, the deep inner chasm of our psyche that controls our lives without us knowing. It is the type of image we see in Jonahs’s encounter within the belly of the Whale, which lies within the deep ocean (Jonah 1:17 – 2:10). The abundance of water suggests we are in an archetypal drama, one which is playing out in the unconscious rather than in the ‘real’ world. These archetypal characters intersect within a psychological space in the mind of the protagonist.

Moreover, the depraved city underscores the world without the Self. According to Edinger (1972, p.41), our relationship to the Self defines the quality of our existence. When we are separated from the Self, either through childhood psychological trauma or through a lack of connection via religious or spiritual means, we are likely to devolve into a state of alienation or inflation. These two characteristics involve either loneliness and loss of meaning, or the opposite- narcissism, hedonism, over-reliance on logic, and aggrandisement of the ego to where it thinks it is god. According to Edinger (1972, p.66-67), a society divorced from religion or spiritual values, encouraged to think only about themselves and their pleasure, where life revolves around “what I want, what I need”, devolves into an narcissistic chaotic state, both spiritually and politically. This can only be solved by connection with the Self, which brings us back into right relationship with our real nature, humbling us, and placing us in service of something grander. The setting in SEVEN places us deep in the egoic minefield, where narcissism and isolation has taken over due to lack of self-knowledge.

The Ego

The movie’s protagonist is Detective Mills (Brad Pitt). He symbolises the ego in the drama, and thus, embodies all the characteristic we expect in an ego. He is naïve, thinks he knows it all, and wants to be a hero. He wants to take the place of Somerset, without realising he doesn’t have the wisdom or knowledge to do so. In fact, the ego will never be able to play the role of the Self, he can only realise his relationship and become of service to it. We see this play out in the many interactions between Mills and Somerset, and the tension that ensures when Mills can’t let Somerset lead. Mils is too prideful, to emotionally reactive, too full of energy, and this gets him into trouble. These negative qualities will come to form the central theme of the movie, which is the seven deadly sins. These are: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, sloth.

Transformation through the Seven Deadly Sins

Part of the early Christian teachings, the seven deadly sins are portrayed masterfully in Dante Alighieri’s poem ‘Divine Comedy’. In this story, Dante is led down into Hell by his guide Virgil, through each layer of torment to encounter the results of sin. It is through this journey into the abyss, that Dante is able to eventually assent into the ten spheres of heaven, and finally to meet God. The movie Seven can be viewed as a modern-day Divine Comedy, featuring a similar descent and theme of transformation. During this descent, the protagonist comes into direct contact with the seven deadly sins, in order to become conscious of their foothold in his own life. The guide is Somerset, a personification of Self, the larger consciousness that resides within us and who orchestrates our transformation. Like most egos, Mills is unconsciously led into the abyss to undergo his own transformation. As is the goal in Jungian psychology, this descent entails a conscious contact with the Self as an autonomous entity, which brings into awareness the limits of the ego’s power. But first, one must encounter the shadow: the unconscious part of our personality where the deadly sins reside.

The Shadow

The shadow lies at the threshold between ego and Self. The shadow is an aspect of the Self- hidden, repressed, and unconscious, containing both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ elements. In order to experience the Self in its fullness, one must first liberate the energy lying dormant in the shadow. The encounter with shadow is depicted by many myths and accounts of people reaching enlightenment. Jesus descended into hell before being resurrected, Buddha was tempted by demons before enlightenment, St John of the Cross underwent the Dark Night before coming into contact with god, and many cultural temples symbolise the demons and monsters standing at the threshold before the inner sanctum. Soren Kirkegaard calls this experience the demonic dread, the intense agony and fall before awakening.

In SEVEN, the shadow is represented by the serial killer (Kevin Spacey). He embodies all the characterises of the shadow: he is cunning, intelligent, resourceful, methodical, mysterious, and lurks in the silhouettes, just out of sight. The killer ‘plays’ with Mills and Somerset, like a cat with a mouse, but always avoids being caught. As with the shadow, it always seems to evade our conscious awareness, although we intuitively sense something secretly bringing chaos into our lives.

From a Jungian perspective, the shadow seeks acknowledgment and will cause pain and destruction in one’s life if left to its own devices. Spacey toys with the detectives, outwitting them through his intelligence and allusiveness. Each murder he commits brings to light one of the seven deadly sins, bringing Mills (the ego) into direct contact with evil. Without knowing it, each murder attempts to make Mills aware of his own inner demons, but as with most naïve egos, he projects this onto others: the city and its inhabitants. The ego fails to see that his projections are qualities lying within his own consciousness, qualities he must own in order to see his own shadow. It is only by coming into direct contact with these qualities, that he can claim back his power, and then begin a mature into meaningful relationship with the Self. It is this naïve ego quality that makes Seven into a tragedy, rather than a Hero’s Journey.

The Anima

The anima is the inner feminine side of a man’s psyche (animus in a woman’s psyche). She embodies emotion, creativity, receptivity, intuition, soul connection, and the gateway to the unconscious Self. The anima is embodied by the character of Tracey Mills (Gwyneth Paltrow), who plays Detective Mills’ wife. She embodies innocence and unwavering support, and is pregnant with Mills’ baby but doesn’t tell him. This impregnation suggests the seedlings of what Mills could become, his future as a potential wise and mature man, but Mills is too lost in his own fantasies and ego-driven quests to claim the role that both Tracey and Sommerset are trying to lead him towards. As an anima figure, her role is to entice the ego to meet with the Self, to become conscious and undergo a transformation. Her tragic demise at the end of the movie signifies the film’s tragedy, as the ego (Mills) fails in his initiation, and fails to become a real Self.

The Finale

The movie culminates with the killer (Spacey) handing himself into police, showing that he is ultimately in control, orchestrating Mills’ initiation journey in perfect accordance with his deeper aims. Somerset (the wise guide) acknowledges the importance of the killer (shadow) and tries to communicate this to Mills (ego), asking him to take the killer seriously. The role of the guide is to make the ego aware, yet Mills fails to become aware, even in the face of the shadow’s destruction.

The finale alludes to the beheading of Mill’s wife, a symbolic killing of the anima to show the destruction of Mills the man. The killer leads Mills and Somerset into a field and tempts Mills to take the role of the sin ‘Wrath’, after confessing to the killing of his wife. This pivotal moment enacts the whole interplay of ego, Self, and shadow, as Mills is asked to transcend his ego by not giving into emotional reactivity and destructive tendencies. It is this critical juncture that determines the ego’s fate, asked to embody responsibility of human action and will. Unfortunately, Mills fails this task and shoots the killer. This act brings great satisfaction to the killer (shadow) who has succeeded in bringing into direct awareness the archetype of wrath within Mills. Through Mill’s destructive action, and despite its negative consequences to his future life, he is able (probably for the first time ever) to witness in himself the deep elements of rage lying dormant in the unconscious. The film’s tragedy lies in the various ways Mills is warned and guided throughout the movie, by Somerset, his wife, and the murders, urging him to come to terms with his own deprived nature. In his inability to see his own projections and limits, Mills falls victim to his own shadow nature and fulfils his own destruction.

The Nature of Transformation.  

This tragedy outlines the path of human transformation from a Jungian psychological perspective, and describes the characters that play out this internal drama. With inner work and consciousness, we can come to see these internal characters playing through our dreams, emotions, and events in our physical lives. The ego is continually forced to expand its awareness, to see the projections it places on others as roots in his own character. He is guided by various representations of the Self, guided by the wise guide and the anima/animus in dreams, visions, or life’s synchronicities.

Coming into conscious awareness of our shadow leads us towards greater wholeness and to meeting the Self- as a separate entity distinct from the ego. Disidentification of the ego from the Self is the purpose of individuation- it strips us of our narcissism and self-importance and thinking we are God incarnate. We come to see ourselves as a part of a larger picture, and we learn to succumb and accept the larger forces in our lives. This brings liberation, freedom, and power, as we allow the larger part of us to lead the drama and provide us with meaning and purpose. We are free once we no longer carry the burden of life on our shoulders and are able to pass that onto a higher force.

Why is this important for Artists and non-Artists?

SEVEN is a great representation of the internal archetypal drama that occurs universally through the process of individuation. Films, painting, music, and dance, can enhance our awareness of this inner archetypal drama by making us aware of the characters at play. It can facilitate self-reflection that increases consciousness and aids transformation. The creation and appreciation of art can serve both artist and non-artist in their quest for self-knowledge, as art’s symbols provide the material to make conscious the hidden elements of the psyche.

Thanks for reading. As a gift, here’s a link to a FREE E-BOOK I wrote that teaches how to use music to quickly clear emotional and creative blocks, especial useful to bring to consciousness the hidden feelings and stories in the unconscious.  

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References

Edinger, E. F. (1972). Ego and archetype: Individuation and the religious function of the psyche. Boston: Shambhala Publications.

The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006. Jonah 1:17–2:10.