Module Content and Indicative Topics

This module will offer an introduction to the cinema of the five Nordic nations (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). Taking a chronological approach, the module examines how cinema developed in the region from 1895 to the present day, using weekly film case studies to examine national and regional iterations of turning points in cinema history such as the advent of sound, and the digital revolution. A range of significant filmmakers and movements are discu5sed, as well as aspects of film culture and practice specific to the Nordic region.

The module will cover the following topics, which may be subject to variation depending on developments in academic research and the interests of the class:

Early and silent cinema in Scandinavia
	Film genres such as melodrama, comedy, documentary
	Key auteurs such as Carl Th. Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman
	Production contexts and film policy, such as Dogme 95, small-nation cinema
	Representation of landscapes, cities, and cultural practices.
Teaching Delivery

The module consists of a weekly set film, which is viewed in the student's own time via a variety of streaming platforms, plus a weekly seminar (2 hours). Additionally, one 30-minute individual consultation with the tutor is offered to help with planning the assessed coursework (an essay of 3000 words designed by the student). Students are expected to attend all screenings and seminars, to have completed the set preparatory readings before the seminar, and to be prepared to discuss the films and topics. My teaching style is informal and supportive, with an emphasis on collective participation and humour. No knowledge of a Nordic language is required; all films are subtitled, and plenty of reading is available in English.

 

By the end of the module, you should be able to:

Compare and contrast the historical development of cinema in the Nordic countries and critically contextualise it within international tendencies in film technology, style and policy.
Apply a range of aspects of film theory and film studies approaches to Nordic films and film culture, demonstrating how the study of small-nation cinema and regional cinema contribute to nuancing extant critical theory.
Demonstrate a broad grasp of modern cultural history in the Nordic region and of cinema’s role in collective identities and social change.
Critically assess and engage with a range of primary and secondary sources in English on Nordic cinema, situating them within the wider field of cinema studies.
Design, develop and write a 2500-3000-word research project on a topic related to Nordic cinema, under the guidance of the module tutor.
 

Recommended Reading

In preparation for the module, we advise reading the following core text. This is available as an e-book in the UCL Library:

Chapter selections of your choice from: Hjort, M. and Lindqvist, U. (eds), 2016. A companion to Nordic cinema. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Trigger Warnings:

This is a module focusing on Nordic visual culture. As such, you can expect during the module to be exposed to, and to be expected to discuss, images, sounds and narrative accounts depicting or referencing a range of potentially challenging and distressing events. These may include, but are not limited to: erotic dancing; murder; physical, verbal and sexual violence; torture and execution (including burning at the stake); sexual activity (not all of it simulated); nudity; suicide; sexism; racism; nazism (and critiques of these); bullying; drug-taking and drug-dealing; drunkenness; alcoholism; medical procedures; childbirth; prostitution; slaughter of livestock and companion species; occult symbolism (including, but not limited to, death, angels, driver of ghostly carriage collecting the dead, methods of divination); blood and blood-letting; spiders; profanity (in a range of Nordic languages, with English subtitles); death (causes of which include, but are not limited to: avalanche, childbirth, suicide, narcotic overdose, starvation, war, tuberculosis, drowning, old age, motorbike accidents, bubonic plague).

 