Danish Mothers On-Screen / Palgrave Studies in (Re)Presenting Gender (PDF)

This brilliant book brings a fresh and original perspective to the already voluminous literature on Scandinavian screen fiction. By combining social and cultural policy analysis with content analysis, Hallsworth sheds new light on how state-supported narratives stereotype women. Its focus on absent, ashamed and transgressive mother characters across genres moves beyond the traditional focus on Scandinavian progressiveness, asking critical questions about identity and belonging in world-renowned welfare states.

- Professor Trine Syvertsen, IMK, University of Oslo

This book examines Danish mother characters in contemporary films and television dramas, revealing representational trends that have, thus far, been overlooked in scholarly criticism on the small nation's screen fiction. Despite the socially and politically progressive context from which these narratives have emerged, there is a tendency for on-screen mothers to experience guilt, shame and social isolation. The political narrative of gender equality, democracy and universal social support that permeates Danish state policy is undermined in screen fiction, where working mothers are problematised and the welfare system's integrity is challenged. Combining case studies of En Kærlighedshistorie (2001), Nymphomaniac (2014), Anna Pihl (2006-2008), Forbrydelsen (2007-2012), Borgen (2010-present) and Arvingerne (2014-2017) with the analysis of policy documents and interviews with industry professionals, this book demonstrates how narrative media functions as a highly political site of contestation over who has the right to participate in civil society.

Dr Djuna V. Hallsworth has a PhD in Gender and Cultural Studies from the University of Sydney. She has taught on cultural policy, sociology, media studies and gender and sexuality at Sydney University and Macquarie University. She is also the author of the article 'National broadcasting, international audiences' and a book chapter entitled 'Making visible the incomprehensible' about mental illness in television drama.