Seven is a 1995 production film from the scenarist Andrew Kevin Walker and directed by David Fincher. The unimaginable murders committed by a serial killer and the adventure of 2 detectives with 2 different characters in pursuit of the killer who believes that these murders were committed for a sacred purpose. Jonathan Doe, the serial killer character played by Kevin Spacey, defends that by punishing those who committed the 7 deadly sins of Christianity with his own methods, he fulfills his sacred duty, which he believes was given to himself, and aims to teach the society a great lesson for these sins that have become a part of normal life.
Brad Pitt in the character of Detective David Mills and Morgan Freeman in the role of Detective William Somerset are watching this psychopathic killer while also movie telling the story of 2 different characters who look at the world from 2 different windows.
David Mills is a young detective, in a city where Somerset sees no hope, who lives in such a crooked society and who believes he will somehow make a difference, play such a good and powerful role in life. In one of the first scenes of the film, Mills' attributing himself to the name "Serpico", identifying himself with the honest and good police officer who is the leading role of the 1973 crime movie, who believes he will do his job well, is also an indicator of this belief.
Somerset, on the other hand, confronts us with her very calm, unexpected attitudes and calmness. The savagery he saw in his professional life and the city he lived in caused him to lose faith in goodness and beauty. So much so that Somerset perceives the world as a too bad place to have children.
For the gloom that the director tries to reflect in accordance with the film's theme, a dirty, sunless city with constant rain is depicted. The depressive, dark and claustrophobic nature of the general film, besides this gloom, also describes the situation of the 20th-century human being alienated and isolated from himself. This may be seen as a social criticism, but on the other hand it can be more appropriate to view this gloomy alien world as the world of people demonized by John Doe.
We can say that the John Doe character is an interesting case for Forensic Psychology. John Doe's life purpose is to punish those who committed the seven deadly sins in Christianity (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Covetousness, Sloth). The perverted religious reality that made all of John Doe's life turned him into a cold-blooded person. He thinks that the murders he committed serve a sacred purpose. He thinks that he is the chosen one, the messenger of God. While these pathological thoughts make it an interesting case in the field of psychology, it becomes a case to be examined in the field of forensic psychology by further customizing it with the murders and the crime committed.
When we want to examine the character of John Doe on behalf of Forensic Psychology, we can guess the possible reasons for his committing these crimes. There may be many reasons for the commission of the crime, either originating from the individual or not. Geography, social structure, economy, or psychology may be the underlying reasons that lead to crime. The predisposition to crime may be due to the biology of the individual. In the case of John Doe, it would make sense to examine his family if he was talking about it in the movie. Whether there was anyone in his family who had committed similar crimes before could offer us a biological reason.
In the theory that Sheldon associates body shape and crime, the body shape called mesomorphic is considered to be the most prone to crime. Seeing that the body structure of the character that portrays John Doe in the film also coincides with this mesomorphic definition, we can agree with Sheldon's theory.
Apart from that, if we look at it from a psychosocial perspective, psychosocial theory examines the individual's environment and experiences. For John Doe, he may have witnessed the torture, let alone the possibility that he had observed the killing behavior and the religion he used as the purpose of his murders and his behavior as God's messenger may be because he was raised in a very religious family and society.
John Doe kills 1 person for every sin, although we will produce another theory for environmental factors. Perhaps he was the victim of those who committed these sins in his past, and he sacrifices others with a subconscious sense of revenge.
In a conversation between Detective Somerset and John Doe, when detective Somerset asked who he really was, John Doe says: "
Doesn't matter who I am, who I am is absolutely nothing." Here it shows that John Doe is not only the chosen one to fulfill the will of God, but also that he thinks that whoever is chosen is actually unimportant, who should fulfill this task no matter who he is. His words in the rest of his speech confirm this thesis: ‘I am not special, I have never been an exceptional. This is do. What I am doing. "My work."
Considered as a psychological case, John Doe can be treated with a cure to heal his sadistic personality, who has lost his feelings, can commit murder in cold blood, is unaffected by and is not affected by various tortures, and enjoys the pain of others. His belief that he is the chosen person and seeing himself as the messenger of God should perhaps be treated as a schizophrenic case and treated in this direction. Finding out if there was any difference in the brain structure of this highly intelligent and sensible serial killer would also be helpful.
The murders committed by John Doe for what he considered sacred may end when he realizes his own sin and cannot complete the murders as he originally planned. Maybe I am not sure if it has been completed. Although I was confused by the uncertainties at the end of the movie, I also think that John Doe was confused and deviated from his plan. He says that what caused him to deviate from his plan was his own transformation into a sinner. Here again, it can be seen as a part of the God-Prophet game in which he lives.
References
Kaner, S. (2019). SUÇLULUĞU AÇIKLAYAN YAKLAŞIMLAR. Ankara University Journal of Faculty of Educational Sciences (JFES), 25 (2) , 473-496 . DOI: 10.1501/Egifak_0000000593
Rowe, D. C., & Osgood, D. W. (1984). Heredity and sociological theories of delinquency: A reconsideration. American Sociological Review, 526-540.
Se7en (1995). (2017, May 17). Sinematopya. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from http://www.sinematopya.com/2017/05/se7en-1995.html
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