The precariousness of Jewish visibility: Surviving antisemitism in Swedish cinema | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Scandinavian Cinema
  4. Volume 12, Issue 1
  5. Article
Approaching Race and Ethnicity in Nordic Film Culture
  • ISSN: 2042-7891
  • E-ISSN: 2042-7905

Abstract

The article examines Jewish ‘self-images’ in Swedish post-war film. Before World War II, antisemitic caricatures were prevalent in Swedish film and visual culture. Following the Holocaust, Jews as such were virtually erased from Swedish screens. Written by and starring Marie-Louise Ekman, (Bergenstråhle 1976) was a rare exception, the first Swedish post-war film to explore Swedish-Jewish identity. The 2002 comedy () (Metzger) remains the last of only a handful of films to fit said description. Significantly, both films draw heavily on established antisemitic tropes in their figurations of ‘Jewishness’. Through historically contextualized readings of the two films, including their reception, the article thus shows how the tradition of antisemitic caricature that prevailed until World War II has continued to condition Jewish self-representation in the post-war era.

© 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jsca_00066_1
2022-03-01
2023-09-22
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Aagård, Martin. ( 2013;), ‘ Fula grepp av Hillersberg. ’, Aftonbladet, 20 June, https://www.aftonbladet.se/kultur/a/1kRm9G/fula-grepp-av-hillersberg. Accessed 5 December 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Abrams, Nathan. ( 2012), The New Jew in Film: Exploring Jewishness and Judaism in Contemporary Cinema, New Brunswick, NJ:: Rutgers University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Agoston, Michaela. ( 2000;), ‘ En typiskt judisk icke-judisk familj. ’, Judisk Krönika, 68:2, p. 58.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Ahmed, Sara. ( 2002;), ‘ Racialized bodies. ’, in M. Evans, and E. Lee. (eds), Real Bodies: A Sociological Introduction, Basingstoke:: Palgrave;, pp. 46–63.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Amster, Harry. ( 2002;), ‘ Gefillte fisch på svenska. ’, Svenska Dagbladet, 28 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Andersson, Jan-Olov. ( 1991;), ‘ Röör hittar hem i biosalongerna. ’, Aftonbladet, 6 December, p. 13.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Andersson, Jan-Olov. ( 2002;), ‘ Modig och originell debutfilm. ’, Aftonbladet, 27 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Andersson, Lars M.. ( 2000), En jude är en jude är en jude…: Representationer av ‘juden’ i svensk skämtpress omkring 1900–1930, Lund:: Nordic Academic Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Anon. ( 2002;), ‘ Judiska begrepp. ’, Svenska Dagbladet, 28 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Bachner, Henrik. ( 1999), Återkomsten: Antisemitism i Sverige efter 1945, Stockholm:: Natur och Kultur;.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Bachner, Henrik. ( 2011;), ‘ Political cultures of denial? Antisemitism in Sweden and Scandinavia. ’, in L. Rensmann, and J. H. Schoeps. (eds), Politics and Resentment: Antisemitism and Counter-Cosmopolitanism in the European Union, Jewish Identities in a Changing World, 14, Leiden:: Brill;, pp. 329–62.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Bachner, Henrik, and Bevelander, Pieter. ( 2021), Antisemitism i Sverige: En jämförelse av attityder och föreställningar 2005 och 2020, Stockholm:: Forum för Levande Historia;.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Ben-Amos, Dan. ( 1973;), ‘ The “myth” of Jewish humor. ’, Western Folklore, 32:2, pp. 112–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Bergström, Lasse. ( 1976;), ‘ Hallo Baby!. ’, Expressen, 29 January, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Bial, Henry. ( 2005), Acting Jewish: Negotiating Ethnicity on the American Stage and Screen, Ann Arbor, MI:: University of Michigan Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Bredefeldt, Rita. ( 2015;), ‘ Judarna i Sverige – invandring, ekonomi och integration. ’, Ekonomisk Debatt, 43:4, pp. 6–17.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Carlsson, Carl Henrik. ( 2021), Judarnas historia i Sverige, Stockholm:: Natur och Kultur;.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. De Geer, Carl Johan. ( 2004;), ‘ Den optimistiske pessimisten (1937–2004). ’, Aftonbladet, 9 November, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Foucault, Michel. ( 1995), Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, New York:: Vintage Books;.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Gentele, Jeanette. ( 1990;), ‘ Med humor mitt i tragedin. ’, Svenska Dagbladet, 8 November, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Gilman, Sander. ( 1991), The Jew’s Body, New York and London:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Guillou, Jan. ( 2001;), ‘ Så tystas kritik mot israelisk apartheid. ’, Aftonbladet, 16 April, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Gustafson, Klas. ( 2015), Marie-Louise Ekmans två liv, Stockholm:: Leopard förlag;.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Gustafsson, Annika. ( 1991;), ‘ Glädjande filmdebut. ’, Sydsvenskan, 18 October, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Gustafsson, Annika. ( 2002;), ‘ Tv-spelet krockar med religionen. ’, Sydsvenskan, 27 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Helmerson, Erik. ( 2001;), ‘ Biskopen är tillbaka till prästgården. ’, TT Spectra, 7 November, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Hillersberg, Lars. ( 1992;), ‘ Bättre som spöke. ’, Expressen, 21 March, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Hjertén, Hanserik. ( 1991;), ‘ Säkert handlag med bräcklig idyll. ’, Dagens Nyheter, 18 October, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Hübinette, Tobias. ( 2021), Svensk rasism under efterkrigstiden: Rasdiskussioner och rasfrågor i Sverige 1946–1977, Stockholm:: Carlssons;.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Hübinette, Tobias, and Lundström, Catrin. ( 2014;), ‘ Three cases of hegemonic Whiteness: Understanding racial temporalities in Sweden. ’, Social Identities, 20:6, pp. 423–37.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Hübinette, Tobias, and Räterlinck, Lennart E. H.. ( 2014;), ‘ Race performativity and melancholic Whiteness in contemporary Sweden. ’, Social Identities, 20:6, pp. 501–14.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Jakubowski, Jackie. ( 1993;), interview with F. Edwards. , Judisk Krönika, 61:2, p. 30.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Konstnärsnämnden (n.d.), ‘ Statlig inkomstgaranti för konstnärer. ’, https://www.konstnarsnamnden.se/konstnarsnamnden/stipendier_och_bidrag/inkomstgarantier. Accessed 5 December 2021.
  34. Krieger, Rosalin. ( 2003;), ‘ “Does he actually say the word Jewish?” Jewish representations in Seinfeld. ’, Journal for Cultural Research, 7:4, pp. 387–404.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Larsen, Lars Bang. ( 2016;), ‘ PUSS 1968–1973. ’, in T. Ørum, and J. Olsson. (eds), A Cultural History of the Avant-Garde in the Nordic Countries 1950–1975, Leiden:: Brill;, pp. 789–93.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Lindblad, Helena. ( 1993;), ‘ Stockholm värd för judisk filmfestival. ’, Dagens Nyheter, 11 May, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Lundegård, Mats. ( 1991;), ‘ Svenska judar söker sina rötter. ’, Dagens Nyheter, 31 December, p. 9.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Mehr, Stefan. ( 1976;), ‘ Marie-Louise de Geers “försupne” far … på film … och i verkligheten. ’, Expressen, 30 January, p. 19.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Michlic, Joanna. ( 2007;), ‘ The Soviet occupation of Poland, 1939–41, and the stereotype of the anti-Polish and pro-Soviet Jew. ’, Jewish Social Studies, 13:3, pp. 135–76.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Moberg, Kristoffer. ( 2002;), ‘ Patetisk pilsnerkomedi. ’, Nerikes Allehanda, 27 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Oh, David C.. ( 2021), Whitewashing the Movies: Asian Erasure and White Subjectivity in U.S. Film Culture, New Brunswick, NJ:: Rutgers University Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Olsson, Sven E.. ( 1991;), ‘ Bildsatt hörspel. ’, Arbetet, 19 October, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Orrenius, Niklas. ( 2021;), ‘ När unga judar måste dölja sig har Sverige misslyckats med något centralt. ’, Dagens Nyheter, 28 May, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Rami, Ahmed. ( 1990), Judisk häxprocess i Sverige, Stockholm:: Kultur Förlag;.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Rose, Steve. ( 2017;), ‘ Ghost in the shell’s whitewashing: Does Hollywood have an Asian problem?. ’, The Guardian, 31 March, https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/31/ghost-in-the-shells-whitewashing-does-hollywood-have-an-asian-problem. Accessed 5 December 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Salomon, Madeleine. ( 1992;), ‘ Roland Schütt: en bestämd berättare. ’, Judisk Krönika, 60:3, pp. 40–41.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Sandström, Bosse. ( 1993;), ‘ En 80-åring som gör knallsuccé. ’, Aftonbladet, 2 October, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. SCB ( 2017;), ‘ Sveriges folkmängd från 1749 och fram till idag. ’, 27 October, https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/artiklar/2017/sveriges-folkmangd-fran-1749-och-fram-till-idag/. Accessed 5 December 2021.
  49. Seltzer, Sarah. ( 2021;), ‘ First Mrs. Maisel, now Joan Rivers: Why Hollywood’s Jewish women are rarely played by Jewish actors. ’, Time, 24 September, https://time.com/6101055/jewish-women-not-cast-in-jewish-roles/. Accessed 5 December 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Shohat, Ella, and Stam, Robert. ( 2014), Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media, London and New York:: Routledge;.
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Sieradzki, Fredrik, and Kaufman, Jehoshua. ( 2018;), ‘ Valenkät: vad tycker riksdagspartierna?. ’, Judiska församlingen i Malmö, https://www.jfm.se/valenkat-vad-tycker-riksdagspartierna/. Accessed 5 December 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Svensson, Karin. ( 2002;), ‘ Judiskt familjeliv i utmanande bitar. ’, Helsingborgs Dagblad, 22 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Tapper, Michael. ( 2002;), ‘ Judiska karikatyrer och plump reklam. ’, Sydsvenskan, 27 September, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Tunbäck-Hanson, Monika. ( 1991;), ‘ Frisk, varm och osvensk. ’, Göteborgs-Posten, 18 October, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Wright, Rochelle. ( 1998), The Visible Wall: Jews and Other Ethnic Outsiders in Swedish Film, Uppsala:: Centrum för multietnisk forskning, Uppsala University;.
     [Google Scholar]
  56. Zetterström, Marianne. ( 1976;), ‘ Frejdiga Baby – ett sandkorn i borgerlighetens öga. ’, Vecko-Journalen, 8, n.pag.
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Bergenstråhle, Johan. ( 1976), Hallo Baby, Sweden:.
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Bergman, Ingmar. ( 1982), Fanny och Alexander, Sweden/France/West Germany:.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Bier, Susanne. ( 1991), Freud flyttar hemifrån…, Sweden/Denmark:.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Bornebusch, Arne. ( 1946), Per Albin svarar – Välkomna till oss, Sweden:: Filmarkivet;, https://www.filmarkivet.se/movies/per-albin-svarar-valkomna-till-oss/. Accessed 5 December 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  61. Branner, Per-Axel. ( 1933), Pettersson & Bendel, Sweden:.
     [Google Scholar]
  62. Callenbo, Bernt. ( 1970), Söderkåkar, Sweden:: SVT;.
     [Google Scholar]
  63. Hildebrand, Weyler. ( 1932), Söderkåkar, Sweden:.
     [Google Scholar]
  64. Lamm, Staffan. ( 1993), Morfars resa, Sweden/Germany/Denmark:.
     [Google Scholar]
  65. Metzger, Jonathan. ( 2002), Livet i 8 bitar, Sweden:.
     [Google Scholar]
  66. Sandgren, Åke. ( 1993), Kådisbellan, Sweden/Denmark:.
     [Google Scholar]
  67. Rozenkrantz, Jonathan. ( 2022;), ‘ The precariousness of Jewish visibility: Surviving antisemitism in Swedish cinema. ’, Journal of Scandinavian Cinema, 12:1, pp. 87–104, https://doi.org/10.1386/jsca_00066_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jsca_00066_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): antisemitic caricatures; Hallo Baby; Jewish Renaissance; Jewish self-images; Livet i 8 bitar; post-war antisemitism; Swedish film

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error