Course Syllabus

 

Sexuality in Scandinavian Cinema

Semester & Location:	Fall 2020 - DIS Stockholm
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Gender Studies, Cinema Studies, Sociology
Related Disciplines:	Media Studies
Faculty Members:	Anne Bachmann
Program Director:	Iben de Neergaard - idn@dis.dk
Time & Place:	TBA

Description of Course

Tracing sexuality and sex in film history reveals a dynamic power struggle about what can and cannot be screened. Sex-liberal Scandinavia makes for an interesting case: How can we trace the history of queer cinema there? What did it take for fiction film to break the "sex wall" in the 1960s? How did the different Scandinavian countries part ways in censorship policies around the same time? And how are sex and sexuality tackled in contemporary cinema?

Bringing Swedish and Danish film into focus, the course explores contemporary and historical film practices. Scandinavian coming-of-age films typically reflect a coming to terms with sexuality and sexualities as part of fulfilment in life. In Sweden, the identity politics of the Swedish Film Institute instruct that Swedish films should mirror the whole of the population, leading to unusual situations where, for instance, the lesbian camp amateur film Dyke Hard made it through production in 2014 by means of funding from within the mainstream system. In Denmark and Sweden alike, the recent emergence of feminist and queer porn makes for an interesting study.

During the mid-century, Denmark legalized pornography. This was also the time when Swedish mainstream film was notorious worldwide for its liberal takes on sexuality. In each case, we explore notions about the welfare state, gender equality norms, and legislation behind the breaking of the sex barriers. Going back to the silent era, we learn of how the Danish "erotic melodrama" conquered the world. At the same time in Sweden, the world's first centralized board of film censorship appeared, and we enquire into these different historical conditions. Each new development concerning sex and sexuality on the silver screen reveals a dynamic power struggle where nothing can be taken for granted.

 

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, each student will have gained:

• A sound knowledge of the history of sex and sexuality on screen in Scandinavia and its relation to cultural and social conditions.
• An understanding of basic procedures of film analysis.
• The ability to produce an academic case study.
• The ability to produce a video essay demonstrating critical media literacy.

Faculty

Anne Bachmann holds a PhD in Cinema Studies from Stockholm University, and a Master of Studies in European Literature from University of Oxford. A former publisher's editor, she has taught cinema and media studies at several Swedish universities and published in a number of academic journals. With DIS since 2017. 

 

Readings

Course books

Stevenson, Jack. Scandinavian Blue: The Erotic Cinema of Sweden and Denmark in the 1960s and 1970s. Jefferson: NC: McFarland, 2015.

Larsson, Mariah and Elisabeth Björklund, eds. Swedish Cinema and the Sexual Revolution: Critical Essays. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2016.

Shriver-Rice, Meryl, Inclusion in New Danish Cinema: Sexuality and Transnational Belonging. Bristol: Intellect, 2015.

 

Additional shorter texts on Canvas

Dyer, Richard & Pidduck, Julianne (2003). Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film. 2. ed., [rev. and updated ed.] London: Routledge. Excerpt.

Engberg, Marguerite. "The Erotic Melodrama in Danish Silent Films 1910–1918." Film History 5, no. 1 (1993): 63–67.

Koskinen, Maaret. Ingmar Bergman's The silence: pictures in the typewriter, writings on the screen. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2010. Excerpt.

Krokstäde, Mia. ”Little Miss Lonely: Style and Sexuality in Flicka och hyacinter”. In Mariah Larsson and Anders Marklund, eds. Swedish Film: An Introduction and Reader. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, 2010.

Sandberg, Mark B. "Pocket Movies: Souvenir Cinema Programmes and the Danish Silent Cinema." Film History 13, no. 1 (2001): 6­–22.

Stenport, Anna Westerståhl. Lukas Moodysson’s Show Me Love. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2012. Excerpt.

Wallenberg, Louise. “Stilleristic Women: Gender as Masque and Ambivalence in the Work of Mauritz Stiller.” Aura 4, no. 4, 2000. 36–46.

 

Course films (some watched in their entirety, some in part)

Dyke Hard (Bitte Andersson, Sweden 2014)

Nymphomaniac (Lars von Trier, Denmark/UK/Belgium/France/Germany 2013)

Turn Me On, Dammit (Jannicke Systad Jacobsen, Norway 2011)

Show Me Love (Lukas Moodysson, Sweden 1998)

Bedroom Mazurka (John Hilbard, Denmark 1970)

I am Curious – Yellow (Vilgot Sjöman, Sweden 1967)

Venom (Knud Leif Thomsen, Denmark 1966)

The Silence (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 1963)

Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden 1953)

Girl with Hyacinths (Hasse Ekman, Sweden 1950)

Eroticon (Mauritz Stiller, Sweden 1920) or The Wings (Mauritz Stiller, Sweden 1916)

The Abyss (Urban Gad, Denmark 1910)

 

.

Field Studies

We will visit two government agencies:

The Swedish Media Council is the continuation of the previous state board of censorship, the oldest centralized film censorship body in the world. We get to hear about their contemporary and historical practices around age rating and sexuality, and about the archives previously held, with kilometers of violent of sexually explicit material cut from censored films.

The Swedish Film Institute is a foundation whose remit, among other things, is to support Swedish film production with an eye to reflecting a diverse Sweden. We explore how this makes it easier for queer and trans counterculture film to appear on the scene from within the system, instead of in opposition to the system.

Guest Lecturers

TBA

Approach to Teaching

We will spend much of the course discussing film images we have watched and providing them with historical and social context.

Expectations of the Students

My basic assumption about students is that you are present because you are interested in the subject being offered. For this reason, I expect that you will wish to prepare in advance, contribute to the learning situation with informed reflections and questions, and try to find out more about anything you realize you do not yet grasp or simply want to follow up on. 

To allow for the best possible learning climate, please don't take out your laptops or phones unless called for. 

 

Evaluation

Students complete a historical case study, a video essay where they include film images and reflect on them, and two quizzes. 

 

Areas for assessment for the case study and video essay

• Handling of course material 
• Scholarly argumentation and analytical abilities 
• Command of relevant terminology 

 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Film history case study	30%
Reflective video essay	30%
Two quizzes, total	20%
Engaged participation	20%

 

Grades

A = Excellent. The assignment is notably elucidative, knowledgeable, inventive and critical. 

B = Well above average. The assignment is sound, well-reasoned and independent.

C = Average. The assignment is competently understood with good individual reasoning. 

D = Below average but passing. The assignment shows adequate understanding and treatment of course contents. 

P = Pass

F = Failure or failure to complete

I = Incomplete (only issued in place of final course grade if an agreement exists for completion

   by a definite deadline which is approved by the instructor and the DIS registrar).

Plus (+) and minus (-) grades are used for examinations and home assignments as well as for final grades. For purposes of calculating grade points and averages, the "+" equals 0.3 and the "-" equals minus 0.3 of a grade.

 

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Attendance
• Coursework, Exams, and Final Grade Reports

 

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org