SCAND 360
"Elina, As if I Wasn't There"
About Elina, a sick young girl that gets reinstated back into school. She defies the Swedish-only rule at school speaking Finnish but gets punished. Has strong connection with her father, who died. -Directed by Klaus Haro, Finnish filmmaker -Won 2003 Ingmar Bergman award, chosen by Bergman himself. -Elina relates to the Pippi Longstocking character, tenacious and strives for change. Themes: -Ambivalence and Self-Loathing: Elina was basically ignored, worse than being bullied. The more she lives through her father, the less she can exist as Elina. -Old Meets New: Einar comes to the school as a younger male teacher.
"Sámi Blood"
About a Sami girl named Elle-Marja who is sent to a nomad school for Lapps (or Sami people) to learn Swedish and seperate them from "normal" kids, whereas Swedish kids are smarter and learn more. -Directed by Amanda Kernell, Sami person -Details the alienated reality of the Sami people and their inferior state compared to the Swedish people
"Kitchen Stories"
About a Swedish scientist (Folke) going to observe a Norwegian man (Isak) and his habits in the kitchen, to optimize space. -Directed by Norwegian filmmaker, Bent Hamer -He was amused after perusing post-war research books on the efficiency of the Swedish housewife, and pondered on the idea of research being done on men. -Touches on the Swedish-Norwegian relationship. The observer and the observed.
"Ingeborg Holm"
About a mother who opens up a shop with her husband, but then he dies of tuberculosis. Her kids are sent to foster care when she gets sick and closes shop. In the poorhouse, she goes insane and misses her kids. In the end, her son reminds her of her children and she remebers again. -Silent film -In-depth staging, Effective use frame, Low-key acting -Social commentary on the social security laws in Sweden -Documentary style, with continuity editing. Led to a changing of laws -Shows the abuse of power from civil servants -The poorhouses were almost like jails
"The Girls"
About a trio of women that are performers, going around cities performing an ancient greek play that discusses womens femininity and the power they have over men. Liz is married with no children, Gunilla is married to a dull husband with lots of children, Marianne has a child with a married boyfriend. -Directed by Mai Zetterling -It was criticized for being too provocative, unoriginal, outdated, and too symbolic. -Relates to feminism and how women were being controlled in a society in which they didn't have freedom
Monica Kim Mecsei, "Cultural Stereotypes and Negotiations in Sámi Cinema"
About the history of representations of Sámi peoples in Norwegian cinema/film over the past century -Insider and outsider representations of Sámi culture in Sámi cinema: Changed from exoticising Sami people and treating their culture as inferior in film (outsider perspective), to revitalisation of what the Sami culture is and how they are contributing members in Swedish society (insider perspective) -ISF (The International Sámi Film Centre), created in Norway 2007. Aims to give Sami people the platform to create/screen films in their own language and promote their culture. *Mecsei argues that it's policies are controversial: a) The Sami language requirement is problematic because modern day Sami people has forgot the language because of assimilating into Swedish culture b) The language requirement creates spatial and temporal borders within the Sami people. Some assimilated more than others. c) Recurring themes: The rejection of Sami cultural identity, and how Sami people assimilated in the interwar period
"Summer with Monika"
About working class couple, Harry and Monika, who work dead end jobs. They run away together to the Archipelago and are forced to return home at end of summer. Monika is pregnant, so Harry happily supports and gets a real job while going to night school. Monika is unsatisfied with her role as homemaker and wants more excitement/adventure. Harry comes home from work and finds her cheating, they divorce. He takes custody of their daughter, June, to raise alone. -Directed by Ingmar Bergman -Met with criticism, it led to a universal thought of Sweden being sexually liberated (Monika being nude) in the 50's -The film is about expressing your utmost feelings of freedom (Monika does so), but material neccessities and responsibility catch up to them Themes: -Nature in the film is depicted as a positive phenomenom; something that provides strength and competence for survival and which is a source of renewal and re-creation. The naked human body is perceived as part of nature, and is assigned the same values as nature itself. -The Absent Home is present, when Monika and Harry are trying to adapt themselves to the ideals of the welfare state, having a hygienic home and struggling to transcend class barriers but life catches up to them -Self loathing is present when Monika stares directly into the camera non-chalantly. She is about to cheat on Harry and wallow in disgust for which she does out of resentment of the responsibilities of her new life
Eva Rudberg "Building the Utopia of the Everyday"
Functionalism and Swedishness: -Functionalism was the answer for architects, to the social problems that Sweden had endured early on. A "utopia of the everyday". -However, it was met with criticism. A "lack of Swedishness" was cited by conservatives alike, a sense of racism was present in their quarrels
Gunnar & Alva Myrdal
Gunnar: -Swedish Economist -Wanted to abolish unemployment so that people would be able to afford housing. -The problem of unemployment could be solved through interventions at the fundamental level of a social or planned economy Alva: -Swedish family sociologist -Viewed families in the cities as a highly maladjusted institution designed by an old fashioned society. -Proposed intelligent natalism (human reproduction) -Families and children should be supported by free medical care, school lunches, subsidies, and affordable housing
Marquis Childs "Low Cost Housing"
H.S.B: -A cooperative housing society in which apartments have been designed for light, air, convenience and privacy. a) Light-colored painted walls and large windows saved on electricity b) The cooperative apartments were superior to others in almost every respect, besides lower in price c) H.S.B builds its apartments on three different budgetary levels (A, B, C-Type) Cooperative Nurseries and Collective Housing: -Day care in every building, for children whose parents worked. -The day care would be in a seperate building in the nearby garden and designed with soft colors and charming decorative detail. -Mothers leave their children with nursery school attendants from 6:30 am to 6:30 pm for a small sum each day -Nurseries had plenty of play equipment and open air space for kids to run and play. Sven Markelius: -A Swedish modernist architect -Designed apartments for families in which both parents worked. Tenant members lived on an even more cooperative basis than the H.S.B. houses. -His apartments had a cooperative kitchen, cooperative servants that took care of the apartment daily, and a cooperative nursery where children were welcomed 24/7. -Created collective housing in which he wanted to simplify household work and improve solutions to the flat. Some people thought markelius put a threat to marriages and made women lazy
Mariah Larsson, "Modernity, Masculinity and the Swedish Welfare State: Mai Zetterling's Flickorna"
Miljonprogrammet (The Million Program): -Government building program with its goal to build 1 million new places to live in from 1965-1975, wanted to improve living standards. The peak of the Swedish Welfare project. -Mass production of housing that reconfigured city centers -Ralph Erskine, a British architect, came to Sweden to help construct houses that fit the needs of the environment/climate and the Swedish Welfare State's ideals.
Lundberg and Tydén, "In Search of the Swedish Model: Contested Historiography"
The authors talk about the different ways historians and political scientists like Marquis Childs have written the history of the Swedish Welfare State: a) Traditional (or democratic) approach b) Critical (or constitutional) approach *ultimately argue that both of those two narratives are too narrow* -Suggest a contextual approach
H.R.I (Homes Research Institute)
-A Swedish observational institute that studied how subjects interact in their home -Used scientific methods to measure household work. -Their ambition was to test kitchen appliances and other equipment for the household in order to improve the market and influence consumption
Film Debates in Sweden, 1913
-"Ingeborg Holm" sparked debate over the poor-laws in 1913. -George Nordfeldt (high-ranking welfare bureaucrat) thought that scenes in the film about police were exaggerated, no one was forced to stay in poorhouses, and he was confident that local authorities could implement poor-laws fairly. -After people watched the film, the debates ended. Became a national problem and the poor-law of 1918 was passed.
The Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO)
-"LandsOrganisationen" formed in 1898 -The labor movement and the Social Democratic Party (SAP) began demonstrating and organizing for universal sufferage. -Aimed to unite all labor unions into one central organization.
The Swedish Model
-1930's concept associated with political democracy, social welfare, and economic equality. Somewhere between Communism and Capitalism. (traditional approach) *Criticized for putting the common good before the interest of minorities or individual citizens (critical approach) *There was a long tradition of statism/collectivism in Sweden
Hedling, Erik, "Ingmar Bergman and Modernity: Some Contextualizing Remarks" Swedish Film: An Introduction and Reader eds. Larsson, Marklund (219-228).
-Bergman represents the ancient and old fashioned generation -Bergman's films depict modern societies as carriers of evil demons and believes that there is an oppressive nature of big public institutions. For example, Bergman depicts trains and long journeys to no where
Swedish Theory of Love
-Created by Lars Trägårdh -Believes being dependent on others corrupts love. Only true individual autonomy can guarantee authenticity and honesty in human relationships.
"Ingeborg Holm" vs. "Everlasting Moments"
-Depiction of class: Bourgeois family (IH) vs. cramped living quarters (EM) -Mothers and pathos (to evoke pity or sadness), especially in relations to children. -Father figures: absent father in Ingeborg Holm, father figures in that film are heartless, uncaring bureaucrats. -The function of the photograph: establishing the identities of the female protagonist. -Film/photography's relationship to the past and preserving memories
RFSU, Elise Ottesen-Jensen (1886-1973)
-Elise Ottesen-Jensen was a journalist and advocate for the idea that democracy and equality means a women's right to make their own reproductive choices. -Travelled around to advocate for birth control and started the RFSU (Swedish Association for Sexuality Education) in 1933. -Ran campaigns for the right to safe abortions, contraceptions, sex education, and decriminalization of homosexuality. Sold condoms to get money for the campaign
Klaus Haro
-Finnish director -Directed, "Elina, As if I Wasn't There" -Won 2003 Ingmar Bergman award, chosen by Bergman himself.
Revivalist Movement
-Freedom of religion that is seperate from the state church -Lutheranism became too rigid -Pietism grew out of the Lutheran religion -Pentecostal movement came in 1907. Differed from the main Lutheranism of the Church of Sweden
Anu Partanen, "The Nordic Theory of Everything"
-Guest lecture by Finnish-author -Her book talks about Nordic life (not necessarily socialism) and how it differs to American capitalism and what we could change to fit a better lifestyle for citizens. 1) Finns and Swedes aren't any more altruistic than Americans. The system of redistributing resources shouldn't be based on altruism, or the shame of welfare. Everybody pays in and everybody receives benefits no matter how wealthy or poor you are. 2) It's not a question of socialism in the Nordic countries, but of increased freedom. She was very adamant that the Nordic system was nothing like Socialism and was based on market economies. 3) Do you have to have a lot more trust in order for these policies to work? She replied that in some ways government policies in Finland created trust between people. She implies that Finns are no more trusting of each other than the Americans are. This is kind of the lovely version of the way that the welfare state is sometimes depicted as forming citizens in a less-lovely way. *Ex: In "Elina", we see the school system forming new, Swedish-speaking citizens.
Yvonne Hirdman's article, "The Happy 30s: A Short Story of Social Engineering and Gender Order in Sweden"
-Hirdman examines the ideological implications of happiness, with the emphasis of the welfare state origins not within the labor movement, but on the emphasis on everyday life. Main Points -Happiness: The main goal in the different social reforms taking playing in the 30's with the SAP. With an emphasis on the everyday life (the home and the family) -Social Utopia: The Utopian thinkers of the the late 1700's/early 1800's gave life and inspiration to the SAP's new reform laws. They had dreams of a different Sweden -The Romanticism of the Social Engineer: However, the SAP's architects, economists and politicians were not Utopian dreamers. There was the romanticism shown by the Myrdal's in their social engineering. They accepted the modern world with its problems, but wanted to find tangible solutions. How should a society be organized to bring happiness to the most amount of citizens possible? -Big World/Small World: Big world refers to the economic production and politics, while the Small world refers to family, the household, love. -Rationalization: The idea of rationality means calculating reason based laws on society. Have to know-what a human being is/what makes them happy, and have to know-how to construct a society that fulfill the right human needs
Marquis Childs, "The Middle Way"
-Hugely influential text written in 30's/40's, extremely influential in shaping a review of Sweden as between capitalism and communism. *Childs' understanding of Sweden is traditional approach but has problematic notions like ethnic nationalism, or that idea that the nation state of Sweden was somehow inevitable or natural. *Speaks problematically about the Swedish character as being pragmatic, as if that's an essential characteristic of everyone born in this place. The nation state is a human construction not some kind of evolutionary progression from the state of nature.
Labor Movement
-Late 1800's social reform movement that called for renewed economic relations and improved working conditions -Organized labor was the backbone of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP), which dominated Swedish politics.
Jan Troell
-Modern Swedish film director -Directed "Everlasting Moments" -Used film to depict the realities of the working class -He was originally a school teacher but started making films in the 60's.
1930s Stockholm Exhibition
-Organized by the Swedish Society for Crafts and Industrial Design, to introduce and show everyday tools and more luxurious designs to prospective tenants. -Most of the modern designs were popular due to their function use, however, some social democrats critiqued modern designs due to their lack of beauty.
Victor Sjostrom
-Pioneer in Swedish silent film history, moves to Hollywood in 1924 -Directed "Ingeborg Holm" -Critiques social welfare, workhouses, civil servants
Berggren and Trädgårdh, "Pippi: Autonomous Child and the Moral Logic of the Swedish Welfare State"
-Pippi represents: a) Total child autonomy, defies all forms of authority b) But also in need of a stable social order c) Self-sufficient and independent from other members of the community, a Swedish value d) The story is viewed from Tommy and Anika's eyes.
Hedling, Erik, "Cinema in the Welfare State"
-Post utopian landscapes in Swedish art cinema depicts the landscapes as barren or dull, suggesting there is something "rotten" in Sweden. -Modern day films portray post utopia by depicting objects with rust, moss, and other aged decay. -Post-1960's Swedish art cinema does contain a tradition of anti-patriotism social criticism, sometimes even articulated through a creative use of landscape. How has the funding of film production in Sweden changed over time? (1930's-1990's) -The Swedish Film Institute (SFI) was constructed in 1963. Goal was to develop and fund the Swedish film industry, which led to Swedish movies going international -Certain movies were favored and recieved more funding than others (Art films>Comedy, Thrillers)
Amanda Kernell
-Sami/Swedish director -Directed "Sami Blood" -Shows the alienation that Sami people endured in the early 1900s from the Swedish people
Sisu (Finnish)
-Sisu is a Finnish concept that summarizes the culture amongst the people. -Finns embody the traits of strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.
Temperance Movement
-Social movement against the consumption of alcohol; similar to prohibition *1) Prohibit public drunkenness and drink related violences. *2) The society demanded total abstinence from its members and pledge not to drink distilled liquor. -Present in "Everlasting Moments" when Maria larrson's husband Sig would drink and abuse his wife/family all the time
Statist Individualism
-Strong alliance between state and the individual -Aims to make each citizen as independent of his or her fellow citizens as possible (coined by lars tragardh and Henrik Berggren). -Swedes historically rooted longing for independence from all potentially repressive contexts: the market, the church, the family, and other communities.
Per Albin Hansson
-Sweden Prime Minister, 1932-46 -"Folkhemmet": political concept, midway between capitalism and socialism, 1936-70's -Chairman of the Social Democrat Party -Introduced social programs including old age pension. -Helped maintain Sweden's neutrality during WW2, even though he was once a store clerk with little education -Unemployment dipped sharply by the end of the decade.
1963 Swedish Film Reform
-Sweden reformed its national film policy, which would be implemented in part by the newly founded Swedish Film Institute (SFI) -Harry Schein, founder of SFI, acted as its first managing director. -The film reform guaranteed continuous production of Swedish films for several decades. 10% of every ticket sold in theaters went to the film organization. -Wanted to promote "quality film" which basically were art films that were significant to the Swedish culture
National Board of State Film Censors, 1911
-Sweden's film censorship board, modeled after the U.S. -Created because of the growing political debates in films that could spark a protest -Led by the bourgeoisie people who were against the cinema in the press
Ingmar Bergman
-Swedish Director -Directed "Summer with Monika" -One of the greatest Swedish directors -His films critiqued modern society
Hjalmar Branting
-Swedish Prime Minister, 1920-1925 -Leader of Social Democratic Party (SAP) -First to be elected after Universal Sufferage was passed, 1921 -Pushed for voting reform in 1919, advocating for everyone to have the right to vote regardless of income -Against violent revolutions and worked with liberals to reform the government
The New Generation of the 1960's
-There was a generation shift in film making in the Nordic countries. -New technology made equipment cheaper, portable, and more accessible. Many of the great film makers in the 40's had either retired or died and a new flux of young filmmakers took center stage.
Contextual approach
-They call for a better understanding of the intentions of individual actors in their unique institutional or structural contexts. Nothing is black and white: a) Instead of grand narratives we should look at small steps. The welfare state is neither a consistent entity nor did it come about as a huge masterplan. The Swedish model is continuously transforming and sometimes only looks coherent retrospectively. b) Look for patterns but put historical events into context on their own terms. c) They argue we should make comparisons in time and space. In other words, don't be too quick to equate anything in Swedish history exclusively with Swedishness. The United States also implemented policies of eugenics, for instance.
Traditional (or democratic) approach
-This approach treats the history of the Swedish Model as a success story: a) Sweden went from being one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of the richest with a very high standard of living. b) Talk about how the Social Democratic Party, which was in power from the 1930s to the 1970s, went from a subversive or revolutionary party to a popular movement with the power to influence social development in Sweden. *Goal: Transformation of society as a whole and individual rights are subordinated *This approach can be summed up as not freedom from the state but rather freedom through the state. In other words, the state offers the best way to preserve the rights of individual i.e. through law and policy that the population votes on. *Cite Marquis Childs as part of the traditional approach to the history of the welfare state.
Critical (or costitutional) approach
-This approach treats the history of the welfare state (Swedish Model) as a failure: a) Through the very same process of social democratic welfare policy the fundamental rights of individuals to govern their own lives was lost b) Historians say that we need something more permanent than the current political majority to protect liberties with a constitution *If the traditional approach argues for the greatest good for the greatest number of people, the critical or constitutional approach argues that the sacrifice of those individuals whose rights weren't upheld was too great. *This critique came both from the left and from the right. *Those on the left argued that there is a negative side to the development of the welfare state: It instrumentalized private life. In other words, its intentions to prevent poverty and raise human dignity actually created gender policies that directed, organized, and controlled women in ways that subordinated them, for instance.
Crisis in the Population Question (1934), "Goals for a Population Policy"
-Written by Alva Myrdal -Sweden's population was slowly declining due to low fertility rates, would affect the economy -Called for social reforms and intelligent natalism: a) Parents should both be able to work outside the home while the children are at school/day-care/educational programs b) All families should have 2-3 kids, not just poor families c) Families with kids would get free medical care, free school lunches, child benefits, more and better housing, affordable housing and subsidized rent
Sven-Olof Wallenstein: "A Family Affair: Swedish Modernism and the Administering of Life"
Biopolitics: -Field of study that examines the strategies and mechanisms through which human life processes are managed under regimes of authority over knowledge, power, and the process of subjectivication. -It is the way in which the development of the modern state is bound up with the shaping of subjects and their desires, which not only works through the application of external coercive forces but allows the emergence of subjective agency. -Developed by French philosopher, Michel Foucault
