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Music, lust and modernity: Jazz in the films of Ingmar Bergman

Hedling, Erik LU (2011) In Soundtrack 4(2). p.89-99
Abstract
This article explores the recurrent use of jazz music in some of the early films of the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman: Kris/Crisis (1946), Till glädje/ To Joy (1949), Sommaren med Monika/Summer with Monika (1953), En lektion i kärlek/A Lesson in Love (1954), Kvinnodröm/Dreams (1955) and Tystnaden/The Silence (1963). In these films jazz is presented as derived from the corporeal body, as powerfully erotic and as culturally alien; it is also directly connected to a potentially destructive form of ‘modern’ female sexuality that is socially damaging. In each of the films this leads to social embarrassment, personal failure or even tragedy for the characters involved. The article considers the relationship between Bergman’s use of jazz... (More)
This article explores the recurrent use of jazz music in some of the early films of the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman: Kris/Crisis (1946), Till glädje/ To Joy (1949), Sommaren med Monika/Summer with Monika (1953), En lektion i kärlek/A Lesson in Love (1954), Kvinnodröm/Dreams (1955) and Tystnaden/The Silence (1963). In these films jazz is presented as derived from the corporeal body, as powerfully erotic and as culturally alien; it is also directly connected to a potentially destructive form of ‘modern’ female sexuality that is socially damaging. In each of the films this leads to social embarrassment, personal failure or even tragedy for the characters involved. The article considers the relationship between Bergman’s use of jazz to express distaste for modernity in relation to the cultural and social transformation of Sweden during the post-war period, and argues that the director’s attitude to the genre reflected a broader, often racist, approach to American popular culture generally and to African American music specifically within Swedish intellectual life. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
African American music, American popular culture, Post-war Sweden, Modernity, Swedish welfare state, Jazz, Feminine sexuality, Ingmar Bergman
in
Soundtrack
volume
4
issue
2
pages
89 - 99
publisher
Intellect Ltd.
ISSN
1751-4193
project
(Movies and Welfare Institutions in Sweden)
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
58555557-24c1-44da-9c4a-2c62bcd31161 (old id 3195259)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 12:51:28
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:09:46
@article{58555557-24c1-44da-9c4a-2c62bcd31161,
  abstract     = {{This article explores the recurrent use of jazz music in some of the early films of the Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman: Kris/Crisis (1946), Till glädje/ To Joy (1949), Sommaren med Monika/Summer with Monika (1953), En lektion i kärlek/A Lesson in Love (1954), Kvinnodröm/Dreams (1955) and Tystnaden/The Silence (1963). In these films jazz is presented as derived from the corporeal body, as powerfully erotic and as culturally alien; it is also directly connected to a potentially destructive form of ‘modern’ female sexuality that is socially damaging. In each of the films this leads to social embarrassment, personal failure or even tragedy for the characters involved. The article considers the relationship between Bergman’s use of jazz to express distaste for modernity in relation to the cultural and social transformation of Sweden during the post-war period, and argues that the director’s attitude to the genre reflected a broader, often racist, approach to American popular culture generally and to African American music specifically within Swedish intellectual life.}},
  author       = {{Hedling, Erik}},
  issn         = {{1751-4193}},
  keywords     = {{African American music; American popular culture; Post-war Sweden; Modernity; Swedish welfare state; Jazz; Feminine sexuality; Ingmar Bergman}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{89--99}},
  publisher    = {{Intellect Ltd.}},
  series       = {{Soundtrack}},
  title        = {{Music, lust and modernity: Jazz in the films of Ingmar Bergman}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}