Hybridity, Fluidity and Ingmar Bergman's Alternative Moral Picture : The ideological value of Fanny and Alexander (1983)

Sammanfattning: 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.