En fiende till civilisationen : manlighet, genusrelationer, sexualitet och rasstereotyper i svensk filmkultur under 1920-talet

• The setting for this study is Swedish film culture of the 1920s, which has been studied with a focus on representations of masculinity and gender relations according to four themes: 1) children and youth 2) fatherhood and love 3) sexuality and popularity 4) ethnicity and racial stereotyping.      The rise of new consumer culture in the first decades of the 20th century created turmoil between traditional and modern values, not least when it came to conceptions of gender. Studies on masculinity have often directed its efforts towards writing a history of ideals, bound by the concept of hegemonic masculinity; a concept that exclude women as insignificant for the social construction of masculinity. One ambition with this thesis has been to counter the long-lasting concept of hegemonic masculinity, and in the process, try to build a bridge between men and women studies.        One other ambition has been question the canonisation of the “Golden Age” of Swedish silent filmmaking by introducing the concept of “the pluralism of film”, and by using a vast material including: Swedish feature films, reviews, articles from fan magazines and trade paper, screen plays, censorship cards, official reports, etc; thereby circumventing the concept of film as “art” in order to focus on film as representation in a more reliably way.      One conclusion is the revelation of the diversity that surrounds social constructions of masculinity and gender relations in both film culture and society. In addition, Swedish film of the 20s hardly contained any male characters that upheld the hegemonic ideal, giving way to a more prominent presence of strong female characters, often in the shape of the New Woman. Women did as well have a great influence on the formation of masculinity. However, a notion of a Swedish normative masculinity became visible when contrasted with numerous racial stereotypes, such as malicious representations of Black people and Travellers. The emphasis on gender relations, rather than on ideals, has also contributed to a wider understanding of gender, where criteria such as generation, class, ethnicity and sexuality ought to be included.         When it comes to the canonisation of the “Golden Age”, a strong notion exists about the integrated use of nature in film narratives as being a Swedish national trait, when in fact this could be linked only to a few films. If one would point out a trait that permeates Swedish film of the 1920s, it would not be the use of nature, but instead the flagrant racism and xenophobia.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Filmvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Studies on Film (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Historia (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- History (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Genusstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Gender Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Boyhood

Censorship

Children

Consumerism

Fatherhood

Gender relations

Love

Masculinity

Melodrama

The pluralism of film

Racism

Sexuality

Swedish film of the 1920s

New woman

Film

Filmvetenskap

History

Historia

Gender studies

Genus

Film Studies

Filmvetenskap

Historia

History

Gender Studies

Genusvetenskap

Masculinity

Gender Relations

“The Pluralism of film”

Boyhood

The New Woman

Youth Culture

Boyish Masculinity

Queer

Sexuality

Popularity

Stereotypes

Racism

Race

Modern Masculinity

Melodrama

Love

Gösta Ekman

Gender

Film Culture

Fatherhood

Ethnicity

Consumerism

Children

Class

Homosexuality

Emotions

Consumer Culture

Censorship

Swedish Film of the 1920s

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

dok (ämneskategori)