Utopian Noir: Borgen viewed in Denmark and the UK

Lars Pynt Andersen, Dannie Kjeldgaard, Stine Bjerregaard Nielsen

Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport/konference proceedingBidrag til bog/antologiForskningpeer review

Abstract

In defiance of the global trend of dark cynical characters in classic noir settings such as Mad Men and House of Cards, the portrayal of the Danish parliamentary scene in Borgen is an inspiring and hopeful take on the dilemmas of power, politics and personal life. Challenging the 'Noir' term, the Nordic is all but cold and dark in Borgen: conservative forces of capitalism, class and gender are confronted by the optimistic, warm and likeable heroine, Birgitte Nyborg. This chapter combines analysis of audiences and critical reception discourses in Denmark and the UK, in order to show how these constructions of the Nordic in Borgen relate to those who watch and take pleasure in it. The chapter also looks to the historical context of global discourses on the Nordic mythmarket as representation of 'sustainable capitalism' and as a social utopia in the form of a modern, egalitarian welfare state, and how these are recycled in the Danish context.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TitelThe Scandinavian Invasion: The Nordic Noir Phenomenon and Beyond
RedaktørerRichard McCulloch, Billy Proctor
ForlagPeter Lang International Academic Publishers
Publikationsdato2022
Kapitel181-200
ISBN (Trykt)9781788740494
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2022

Citationsformater