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Upplevelser av svensk film : en kartläggning av genrer inom svensk film under åren 1985–2000

Marklund, Anders LU orcid (2004) In Critica Litterarum Lundensis 7.
Abstract
UPPLEVELSER AV SVENSK FILM offers a broad understanding of Swedish cinema during the years between 1985 and 2000. The dissertation focuses on those Swedish films that have been given a wide distribution, i.e. films that in many cases can be considered popular films. (Films that have only obtained a marginal position in the cinemas have not been included.) The films studied attract an average of 2,5 million viewers each year (about 15 percent of the total cinema audience), and to a high degree they contribute to the comparatively strong position Swedish film has in its domestic market.



Many of the films share characteristic features. In fact, most of them belong to, or are related to, established genres and cycles. For... (More)
UPPLEVELSER AV SVENSK FILM offers a broad understanding of Swedish cinema during the years between 1985 and 2000. The dissertation focuses on those Swedish films that have been given a wide distribution, i.e. films that in many cases can be considered popular films. (Films that have only obtained a marginal position in the cinemas have not been included.) The films studied attract an average of 2,5 million viewers each year (about 15 percent of the total cinema audience), and to a high degree they contribute to the comparatively strong position Swedish film has in its domestic market.



Many of the films share characteristic features. In fact, most of them belong to, or are related to, established genres and cycles. For this reason, genre theory is presented in some detail and it is later used to analyse the various groups of films that can be distinguished. In the analysis and presentation of these groups particular emphasis has been put on narration and narratives, as well as on the different moods and worlds that are used. The groups discussed are crime films, crime comedies, relationship films (including both relationship comedies and dramas) recognition comedies, music comedies, teenage films, children’s films and history films. The most important aim of this study has been to offer a good account of these groups, and for that reason these chapters make up the largest part of the dissertation.



Nevertheless, a few conclusions about genres as a system and as part of the cinema institution are made in the last chapter. A general pattern that applies both to the genre system and to the films within each genre is that films that are facile and playful, that distance themselves from everyday life and serious matters, and that provide smooth solutions to difficult situations attract more viewers than films for which the opposite applies. Thus, within the Swedish genre system there is a strong preference for comedies of various kinds. Although comedies maintain a good position among the genres, they become less attractive after the first years of the 1990s, when Sweden entered a period of economic hardships. The opposite is the case with crime films, whose importance increased during the 1990s. The popularity of some other genres, such as teenage films and children’s films, remain more or less on the same level throughout the period. The same is true for relationship dramas and reality-based history films. These two groups of films have had difficulties attracting large audiences, without doubt because of their relatively serious nature. Their marginalised position underlines the dominance of rather light entertainment in the Swedish cinema institution during the period studied. (Less)
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author
supervisor
opponent
  • Ph D. Senior Lecturer & Head of Film Studies Åberg, Anders, Växjö University
organization
alternative title
Experiencing Swedish Cinema : A Survey of the Genres within the Swedish Cinema Institution during the Years 1985–2000
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Possible Worlds, Narration, Popular Film, Genre Theory, Film Genres, Swedish Cinema, Historia och konstvetenskap, 1985-2000, Humanities, Moods, History and Arts, Humaniora
in
Critica Litterarum Lundensis
volume
7
pages
289 pages
publisher
Comparative Literature
defense location
Hörsal 128, Stora Algatan 4, Lund
defense date
2004-09-27 10:15:00
ISSN
1651-2367
ISBN
91-970946-6-8
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
c51a2e3c-ac32-43f3-81a6-461a2b2f446c (old id 21823)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:04:13
date last changed
2019-05-21 12:51:05
@phdthesis{c51a2e3c-ac32-43f3-81a6-461a2b2f446c,
  abstract     = {{UPPLEVELSER AV SVENSK FILM offers a broad understanding of Swedish cinema during the years between 1985 and 2000. The dissertation focuses on those Swedish films that have been given a wide distribution, i.e. films that in many cases can be considered popular films. (Films that have only obtained a marginal position in the cinemas have not been included.) The films studied attract an average of 2,5 million viewers each year (about 15 percent of the total cinema audience), and to a high degree they contribute to the comparatively strong position Swedish film has in its domestic market.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Many of the films share characteristic features. In fact, most of them belong to, or are related to, established genres and cycles. For this reason, genre theory is presented in some detail and it is later used to analyse the various groups of films that can be distinguished. In the analysis and presentation of these groups particular emphasis has been put on narration and narratives, as well as on the different moods and worlds that are used. The groups discussed are crime films, crime comedies, relationship films (including both relationship comedies and dramas) recognition comedies, music comedies, teenage films, children’s films and history films. The most important aim of this study has been to offer a good account of these groups, and for that reason these chapters make up the largest part of the dissertation.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Nevertheless, a few conclusions about genres as a system and as part of the cinema institution are made in the last chapter. A general pattern that applies both to the genre system and to the films within each genre is that films that are facile and playful, that distance themselves from everyday life and serious matters, and that provide smooth solutions to difficult situations attract more viewers than films for which the opposite applies. Thus, within the Swedish genre system there is a strong preference for comedies of various kinds. Although comedies maintain a good position among the genres, they become less attractive after the first years of the 1990s, when Sweden entered a period of economic hardships. The opposite is the case with crime films, whose importance increased during the 1990s. The popularity of some other genres, such as teenage films and children’s films, remain more or less on the same level throughout the period. The same is true for relationship dramas and reality-based history films. These two groups of films have had difficulties attracting large audiences, without doubt because of their relatively serious nature. Their marginalised position underlines the dominance of rather light entertainment in the Swedish cinema institution during the period studied.}},
  author       = {{Marklund, Anders}},
  isbn         = {{91-970946-6-8}},
  issn         = {{1651-2367}},
  keywords     = {{Possible Worlds; Narration; Popular Film; Genre Theory; Film Genres; Swedish Cinema; Historia och konstvetenskap; 1985-2000; Humanities; Moods; History and Arts; Humaniora}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Comparative Literature}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Critica Litterarum Lundensis}},
  title        = {{Upplevelser av svensk film : en kartläggning av genrer inom svensk film under åren 1985–2000}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2004}},
}