Often recognized as one of the happiest countries in the world, Denmark, like its Scandinavian neighbors, is known for its progressive culture, which is also reflected in its national cinema. It is not surprising, then, that Danish film boasts as many successful women film directors as men, uses scripts that are often cowritten by the director and the screenwriter, and produces one of the largest numbers of queer films directed by and starring women. Despite all this, Danish film is not widely written about, especially in English. Inclusion in New Danish Cinema brings this vibrant culture to English-language audiences. Meryl Shriver-Rice argues that Denmark has demonstrated that film can reinforce cultural ethics and political values while also navigating the ongoing and mounting forces of digital communication and globalization.
Table of Contents
List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: New Danish Cinema: An Overview
Current Trends in Scholarship
Remarkable Storytelling = Result of Remarkable Production Strategy
Marrying Aesthetic with Ethical Boundaries and Cultural Values
Chapter 2: Dogme Beginnings
Dogme Rules: Styles and Genre
Ethics and Morality in Dogme and New Danish Cinema
Reality Aesthetic and the ‘Always On’ Culture
Chapter 3: Practitioner’s Agency; Women Directors
Chapter 4: Heterosexual Relationships
Triangular Desire and Dialectical Identity
Family and Transnational Belonging
Gender and Agency
Chapter 5: Queer Relationships
Queer Subjectivity and New Danish Cinema
Performing Masculinity and Femininity
Stereotypes and Alternative Family Structures
Individualized Desire
Chapter 6: Adopting National Identity
Adapting the National: ‘Truth’ and Story in New Danish Cinema
Trauma, Existential Crisis and Blame
Adapting the National: The ‘Hollywoodization’ of Nordic Art Film
Chapter 7: In a Better World: Empathy and Ego
Transnational Belonging and Digital Communication
Solitude and Self-Reflection
Empathy and ego
Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1: New Danish Cinema: An Overview
Current Trends in Scholarship
Remarkable Storytelling = Result of Remarkable Production Strategy
Marrying Aesthetic with Ethical Boundaries and Cultural Values
Chapter 2: Dogme Beginnings
Dogme Rules: Styles and Genre
Ethics and Morality in Dogme and New Danish Cinema
Reality Aesthetic and the ‘Always On’ Culture
Chapter 3: Practitioner’s Agency; Women Directors
Chapter 4: Heterosexual Relationships
Triangular Desire and Dialectical Identity
Family and Transnational Belonging
Gender and Agency
Chapter 5: Queer Relationships
Queer Subjectivity and New Danish Cinema
Performing Masculinity and Femininity
Stereotypes and Alternative Family Structures
Individualized Desire
Chapter 6: Adopting National Identity
Adapting the National: ‘Truth’ and Story in New Danish Cinema
Trauma, Existential Crisis and Blame
Adapting the National: The ‘Hollywoodization’ of Nordic Art Film
Chapter 7: In a Better World: Empathy and Ego
Transnational Belonging and Digital Communication
Solitude and Self-Reflection
Empathy and ego
Bibliography