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- Volume 6, Issue 3, 2016
Journal of Scandinavian Cinema - Volume 6, Issue 3, 2016
Volume 6, Issue 3, 2016
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feature article: Baby factory: Romance and reproduction in Norway’s first sound film
More LessAbstractThis article considers expressions of ambivalence at the intersections of gender, industry and urbanity in Norway’s first sound film, Den store barnedåpen (The Great Christening) (Ibsen, 1931). Despite its status as a city film, The Great Christening conveys a subtly anti-industrial message, suggesting that true happiness is to be found at a short but significant distance from the factory. Previous scholarship on gender has considered the innovative depiction of Ibsen’s male protagonist Harald and his soft or domestic masculinity. This article uses close reading and historical research on the family in inter-war Norway to reconsider such characterization, as well as the distinct position of the biological mother in the film. The Great Christening expresses great confidence in Norwegian kinship, fertility and urban possibilities. At the same time, it separates romance and reproduction, keeping its male hero at a distance from the anxious association of working-class mothers and mechanization.
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short subject: From imperfect strangers to new citizens: Screening race and ethnicity in Nordic film history
By Kate MoffatAbstractMinority politics has become a twentyfirst century global crisis. Nowhere is this more evident than in the five Nordic nations. Looking at representations of race and ethnicity across Nordic film history, I explore how cinema has reflected and subverted ethnic stereotypes against the backdrop of shifting political and economic landscapes.
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feature article: Encounters with immigrants in recent Finnish feature films
More LessAbstractThis article discusses representations of immigrants in recent Finnish feature films, focusing in particular on encounters, often conflicted, between immigrants and native Finns. The figure of the immigrant remains a relative rarity in Finnish cinema. Even in the nine films under consideration, immigration is not the main subject matter and immigrants are generally secondary characters. Consequently the central question of integration into Finnish society, with an attendant sense of belonging, is rarely addressed from the immigrant’s point of view. As Finnish society is becoming culturally and ethnically more heterogeneous, the way immigrants are represented in the media becomes increasingly significant. With that in mind, the films are analysed through an ethically sensitive lens.
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short subject: Environmental issues in Nordic media
More LessAbstractA recent material turn in media studies gestures towards a new type of media studies, one that considers the role of the media industries as massive utilizers of natural resources. These considerations range from the labour that cultivates resources to regulation that is designed to make the communication industries sustainable. Nordic media production is especially at a critical conjuncture due to the sustainability commitments of the respective governments. Yet little real environmental action or functional, applicable policies exist to curb or even understand the industry’s footprint.
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feature article: Film clips in Scandinavian language instruction: Building student competencies
Authors: Christian Gullette, Mark Kaiser and Karen MøllerAbstractThis article argues that incorporating film clips into instruction of the Scandinavian languages, both at elementary and advanced levels, provides an authentic and contextual model not only for developing linguistic competencies, but communicative and intercultural skill sets. Film clips can combine curricular goals with invaluable opportunities at all learner levels for critical intersectional analysis that accelerates language acquisition as well as intercultural awareness. Foreign language teachers have long valued feature film for its rich cultural content, but its use in the language curriculum has presented a quandary to instructors given its length and students’ difficulty in comprehending the rapid flow of speech. This article will consider the great potential that film has for foreign language instructors and the means for its exploitation in the foreign language curriculum. We begin by describing Berkeley Language Center (BLC)’s online database of films and clips, the Library of Foreign Language Film Clips (LFLFC), one possible resource of clips for the language instructor. We then describe how language instructors might use film in the foreign language curriculum, drawing on examples first from elementary Swedish and then from intermediate/advanced Danish.
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