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Tracing Crime in Greenland-Set Feature Films and TV Series : Colonial Histories, Indigenous Perspectives and the Rise of Arctic Noir

Grønlund, Anders LU orcid (2026) In Cultural and Social Research in Greenland 2026. p.23-41
Abstract
For over a century, screen narratives set in Greenland have used crime to re-flect and rework tensions between law, society, and place. This article examines a broad selection of films and television series set or shot in Greenland to trace how crime is used to negotiate questions of justice, identity, and power. Through a place-based approach informed by location studies, it shows how spatial rep-resentation contributes to the narrative and symbolic role of crime across both local and international productions. While crime is used differently by Greenlan-dic and foreign filmmakers, the article argues that it consistently functions as a flexible narrative device for exploring Greenland’s complex social, cultural, and geopolitical... (More)
For over a century, screen narratives set in Greenland have used crime to re-flect and rework tensions between law, society, and place. This article examines a broad selection of films and television series set or shot in Greenland to trace how crime is used to negotiate questions of justice, identity, and power. Through a place-based approach informed by location studies, it shows how spatial rep-resentation contributes to the narrative and symbolic role of crime across both local and international productions. While crime is used differently by Greenlan-dic and foreign filmmakers, the article argues that it consistently functions as a flexible narrative device for exploring Greenland’s complex social, cultural, and geopolitical realities. The conclusion identifies crime as a persistent and adapt-able narrative tool, enabling filmmakers to engage with Greenland’s evolving legal, social, and geopolitical conditions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Crime fiction, Arctic Noir, Location studies, Postcolonial film, Film history
in
Cultural and Social Research in Greenland
volume
2026
pages
19 pages
ISSN
2794-6738
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
c212b34a-c4de-45ee-ba53-49512241c35e
alternative location
https://tidsskrift.dk/gksf/article/view/167212
date added to LUP
2025-11-26 14:56:17
date last changed
2026-04-29 09:45:12
@article{c212b34a-c4de-45ee-ba53-49512241c35e,
  abstract     = {{For over a century, screen narratives set in Greenland have used crime to re-flect and rework tensions between law, society, and place. This article examines a broad selection of films and television series set or shot in Greenland to trace how crime is used to negotiate questions of justice, identity, and power. Through a place-based approach informed by location studies, it shows how spatial rep-resentation contributes to the narrative and symbolic role of crime across both local and international productions. While crime is used differently by Greenlan-dic and foreign filmmakers, the article argues that it consistently functions as a flexible narrative device for exploring Greenland’s complex social, cultural, and geopolitical realities. The conclusion identifies crime as a persistent and adapt-able narrative tool, enabling filmmakers to engage with Greenland’s evolving legal, social, and geopolitical conditions.}},
  author       = {{Grønlund, Anders}},
  issn         = {{2794-6738}},
  keywords     = {{Crime fiction; Arctic Noir; Location studies; Postcolonial film; Film history}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{23--41}},
  series       = {{Cultural and Social Research in Greenland}},
  title        = {{Tracing Crime in Greenland-Set Feature Films and TV Series : Colonial Histories, Indigenous Perspectives and the Rise of Arctic Noir}},
  url          = {{https://tidsskrift.dk/gksf/article/view/167212}},
  volume       = {{2026}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}