![]() In the film, the lighthouse is under threat from German infiltration. The fictitious Canon’s Rock Lighthouse in The Seventh Survivor mirrors this tension between invulnerability and susceptibility. Given their isolated location, however, lighthouses themselves remained highly vulnerable to attack from both the sea and sky. ![]() Lighthouses were tasked with anticipating any land invasions by enemy aircraft and vessels. Analogous to the castle or church spire in medieval times, during the Second World War lighthouses kept vigil not just for residents of seaside towns, but on behalf of the entire British populace. It was perceived that a “coastline brightly lit was a concrete and highly visible declaration of a nation's commitment to safety at sea” and at home (Schiffer 280). In wartime years, lighthouses took on greater significance, as Britain was heavily dependent for supplies and munitions imported by sea, and merchant ships were often targeted by German U-boats (Murphy 22). Beyond its utilitarian function as maritime sentinel, the lighthouse was seen as a beacon of modernity, demonstrating a nation's scientific, technological and military prowess. A towering lighthouse on a high cliff, rocky headland or offshore islet offered psychological comfort as an indication of military presence and national authority. Hiscott, 1941) is a propagandistic emblem, symbolizing British sovereignty and militarism. ![]() The lighthouse in The Seventh Survivor (dir. During the Second World War, lighthouse iconography predominated in four British films - The Seventh Survivor (1941), Tower of Terror (1941), Back-Room Boy (1942) and Thunder Rock (1942) - as an expression of the societal anxieties and aspirations of an embattled Great Britain. Lighthouses have long inspired writers and filmmakers, and these iconic structures have entered the collective consciousness as potent symbols of isolation, protection and guidance. In To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf evocatively described the eponymous structure, based on craggy Godrevy Lighthouse in Cornwall, as a “silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye that opened suddenly and softly in the evening” (Woolf 202). ![]()
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