Value, Authenticity, and Fantasy in Bergman

Abstract This chapter discusses a scene in Wild Strawberries where Bergman includes an allusion to Kaila's views about the status of moral judgements. The apparent thrust of this appeal to Kaila's authority is that there is no right or wrong, only motives and preferences. The chapter argues, however, that this allusion is complicated by the fact that the character who makes the Kailesque pronouncement is clearly unreliable. The chapter further discusses Bergman's and Kaila's views on inauthenticity and self-understanding, particularly in relation to Persona. Bergman's positions on moral knowledge are explored, especially in terms of characterizations in The Seventh Seal and Bergman's unpublished treatment for a film on the Crucifixion. Bergman's critiques of irrationality are linked to his rejection of cinematic fantasy and his preference for a philosophically oriented, exploratory, modernist cinema. Bergman's grounds for rejecting artistic fantasy are contrasted to the Kantian critique published by Roger Scruton.