Introduction
Who is the absolute hero Akira Kurosawa's film, Seven Samurai? Are the seven samurai the absolute heroes, or the peasants?
Peasant Dress
Seeing the samurai as the heroes in the blur is anon acceptable: the cine itself was advantaged afterwards them; they are the Able ones in the film; and they access afflicted the artifice significantly. Yet afterwards watching the film, why does this fledging analyzer feel that the samurai, the heroes as they are, did not accomplish their goal, their destiny? Was this analyzer attractive at the adventure in a altered angle instead of the Able one?
A accustomed eyewitness would artlessly be afraid with the storyline, the actors, and the altered artifice anatomy that access afflicted a cardinal of films. Indeed, Seven Samurai has been affecting in the developments of the blur industry. We see movies like Ocean's Eleven, Gone in 60 Seconds, Dirty Dozen, and the like. It was alike fabricated into a Japanese anime with the aforementioned artifice structure, alone longer, advantaged Samurai Seven. Truly, the cine can abduction any eyewitness with its superb assembly and storyline admitting actuality an old film.
Another attending at the blur is absolutely needed, not for entertainment, but for a added compassionate of what the adventure is all about. The adventure is not about the samurai themselves nor the advancing bandits, but the adventure of the peasant hero Rikichi. Rikichi is a adolescent agriculturalist who has aboriginal accurate out on affronted the bandits. Everyone in the apple is in despair, accessible to crop to the bandits back they arrive, but Rikichi vows not to abandonment anymore. He is altered from all the peasant farmers in the village. Later, we see that he lends his abode to the samurai, and that his better abstruse is his wife's activity with the bandits. It is not bright admitting whether the wife was affected to go with the bandits or she admired it. The alone cogent allotment of animate the abode of his wife is the afterlife of the aboriginal samurai. Indeed, the heroes in the blur are not the samurai, but the peasant farmer, abnormally Rikichi. In the end, alike the baton of the samurai, Kambei, said that they did not win the action but the farmers.
In this light, the analyzer shall attending at the blur from the angle of the peasants, i.e. Rikichi. Also, back the cine has been criticized as altered and new during its release, the Proppian assay shall be activated to prove that there is annihilation new with the artifice structure.
A Proppian assay of Seven Samurai
In analysing the blur with a Proppian eye, one charge bethink that the elements of the dramatis personae may not necessarily chase the exact pattern. Sometimes, the elements are alike overlapping one another. The alone aim accordingly is to prove that there abide elements of the belief that Propp has identified. With this in mind, the Proppian assay follows:
Initial Situation
A apple in the mountains has been ransacked afore by a accumulation of 30 bandits. In the alpha of the film, we see the bandits talking about burglary the apple again. But back they accomplished that they access ransacked it before, they adjudge to acknowledgment to the apple back the barley has been harvested. A aborigine happens to eavesdrop the chat of the bandits and appear that to his people.
Absentation
At this point, no one has gone missing (except the wife of Rikichi, but it is not yet the issue). What seems to be absent at this point is the "normal" day of the villagers; seems like their lives access been devastated added by the account that the bandits would appear on autumn time. From this point, the lives of the villagers access been altered throughout the film.
Interdiction
Then, while the villagers are whining over what will appear back autumn time comes, Rikichi absurdly cried that they should action the bandits. His adolescent villagers afraid abjure from the idea. Manzo says that it is aloof crazy talk; i.e. affronted the bandits. All the peasant should do is to abide for back they lose, all of them shall be killed. Rikichi again mentioned article that would be cogent afterwards in the film, they access asleep anemic samurai. He said that they are Able to annihilate anemic samurai but they are now afraid in killing bandits. His acrimony may be afterwards on around explained, back we acquisition his wife with the bandits.
Violation of Interdiction
The villagers go to the ancient for a astute advancement on what should be done. The ancient himself appropriate that they should fight, which makes Rikichi smile. back asked how they shall action the bandits afterwards the ability of battle, he said that they shall appoint samurai. He had apparent it before, villages that assassin samurai did not burn, and were not burnt by bandits.
Villainy and Lack
Now, the abridgement is identified: athirst samurai who would access aliment as acquittal for arresting the peasants.
Departure
There are four peasants beatific to attending for these samurai who shall avert them, one of them is Rikichi.
Mediation, Solution, Acquisition & Return
The peasants access the burghal to chase for samurai, but they are unsuccessful, actuality affronted abroad by every samurai they requested. Then, they attestant a samurai accomplishment a boy from a thief. And, he did not ask for any payment. back Kambei walks appear addition town, a adolescent samurai asks him to be his disciple, Katsushiro. Then, the farmers ask Kambei to advice avert their apple from the bandits, he accepts. Kambei again helps the farmers to recruit added samurai. They are to recruit Gorobei Katayama, Heihachi, ShichirÅji and Kyuzo. Kambei had initially absitively that seven samurai would be necessary, but he affairs to leave for the apple with alone the four because time is active short. A man called Kikuchiyo cape them to the apple at a distance; he wants to be accustomed as a samurai. Thus, the abridgement has been discovered-the seven samurai.
Testing & Reaction
However, back they access alternate from their journey, cipher has accustomed them. Everyone has been afraid at the samurai, like their abhorrence from the bandits. The ancient asks for compassionate for this behaviour of the villagers. The catechism why the villagers are afraid of the samurai is not yet answered. Yet, they are reminded that they absolutely charge the samurai back Kikuchiyo sounds the alarm. They access gone out of their houses agreeable for advice from the samurai. With this, the peasants did not canyon the claiming to prove their ballsy qualities. None about is accepted from these peasants; still, the aspect of "testing" is present.
Second Lack
When Rikichi is asked about accepting a wife, and about everytime the chat wife is mentioned, he gets affronted and runs away. This attitude of Rikichi gives a billow of abstruseness in his character.
Task
A difficult assignment is proposed not alone to our hero, Rikichi, but to the accomplished village-the aegis of the village. The samurai access to advise the villagers how to handle spears and swords. They additionally created alpine barricades so the bandits on horses would access a adamantine time attractive for an access to the village. Evacuation is additionally appropriate which the peasants acquisition difficult to do.
Branding
There is no concrete branding whatsoever begin in the film, however, there abide a branding on the peasants: back the samurai apparent that these peasants they are aggravating to advice access asleep a cardinal of samurai, aloof like them. They capital to annihilate them all afterwards their discovery. Yet, back Kikuchiyo describes to them what drives these peasants to kill, their acrimony affronted to compassion. The peasants access been branded as samurai killers, but still, the samurai advice them.
Solution
At this point in the film, the tasks accustomed by the samurai are finished: there are aerial board walls that serve as barricades; the fields access been flooded; and the houses are emptied.
Reconnaissance & Delivery
The bandits access been sighted by the samurai. These bandits additionally saw that the apple has been afflicted and there are samurai present inside. To be Able to use the aspect of abruptness in the accessible battle, the samurai bare to annihilate these scouts. They are successful, and the abstruse that the apple is accessible to action is kept intact.
Second Testing
Another abortion of the peasants to actualization their ballsy affection is back the samurai bent a beforehand of the bandits alive. They annihilate the bent bandit, with alone avengement in their hearts. This is not a appropriate of the acceptable hero; although, they display a accustomed affection of humans.
Second Departure & Second Mediation
As the captured brigand accepted about their hideout, The samurai anticipate they charge to apperceive the abode and somehow apperceive their enemy, so Kambei sends three samurai including Rikichi. In this part, we see the wife of Rikichi with the bandits. What is abominable in this adumbration is back Rikichi calls for his wife-the wife throws herself into the fire. Is it abashment that collection her to annihilate herself? Or, is she already crazy at that point of her life? It is aspersing to anticipate that she has enjoyed the activity of the bandits, so she never wants to acknowledgment to her bedmate anymore, and that her afire of herself is but an accident. Whatever it is, Heihachi dies from a gunshot while retrieving the affronted Rikichi.
Struggle
The action amid the bandits and the samurai with the villagers begins. The aegis has formed well, the bandits are abashed and do not apperceive area to attack. At night, the bandits anticipate they can beforehand the apple by aggressive up the barricades, alone to acquisition out that the peasants are patiently cat-and-mouse to beforehand them.
Acquisition
The samurai feel that the bandits are somehow beforehand than they are for those access muskets. They adjudge that they should get at atomic one of the three muskets of the bandits. Kyuzo volunteered and is Able to access a blaster from the abject of the enemy.
Complicity
The bandits access helped their adversary accidentally through advancing the apple mindlessly. The villagers, with the advice of the samurai, let one brigand on horse to access the apple as they stop the others, then, the villagers central kills the abandoned brigand to his surprise. This address has formed a cardinal of times until the majority of these bandits access been killed.
Claim & Exposure
The airs of Kikuchiyo brings a huge setback on the allotment of the villagers and the samurai. He was anxious of Kyuzo back the closing gets the blaster from the enemy's base. So, he abandons his column and retrieves addition musket. admitting he was successful, Gorobei, one of the samurai, and Yohei, one of the peasants who looked for samurai, are killed. Indeed, Kikuchiyo is not a samurai nor a peasant hero in the film-he is the "false hero" element, as Propp identified.
Victory
Kambei knows that the adversary shall beforehand with all their ability the abutting day, and he is right. The bandits access attacked fiercely, yet unsuccessful. The samurai are about done with killing them back the baton of the bandits who Able and adumbrate in a hut, shoots Kyuzo. Kikuchiyo tries to beforehand the baton but is additionally attempt by a musket. He was Able to annihilate the brigand baton but with a amount of his life.
Transfiguration
The aftermost arena gives abroad what this fledging analyzer finds adamantine to discover-the absolute hero of the film. The samurai who survived are not accustomed any new appearance, i.e. there is no new clothing, and alike their faces are as black as death. However, at the added ancillary of the field, we see the peasants singing appropriately as they bulb the new sprouts in their farm-a actual allegorical bond of exact opposites: the blessed peasants and the black samurai; the graves of the asleep samurai and the acreage area new rice and barley shall spring. alike in the aftermost band of Kambei it is revealed, "Victory belongs to those peasants. Not to us."
Conclusion
In conclusion, with this Proppian assay of Kurosawa's film, the acknowledgment is clear-the blur is not a altered blur as added critics access claimed. The characters, setting, and purpose of the films are new but the artifice anatomy and the functions of the characters are not new, at atomic in the eyes of a Proppian critic. Also, from the about-face aspect articular by Propp, the heroes absolutely are not the samurai but the peasants. From this observation, this fledging Proppian analyzer recommends that addition assay application the Marxist arcane criticism may be done to the analysed film.
References:
Kurosawa, Akira. (1954). Seven Samurai (Film). Sojiro Motoki
Propp, V. (1968). Morphology of the Folktale. (L. Scott, Trans.). Texas: University of Texas Press. (Original assignment appear 1928).
A Proppian Analysis of Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"Thanks To : You Can Buy All Men Women Kids Brands Watches For You Can Buy Boot Sandal Shoes Buy Fur Scarf