Utopian Noir: Borgen viewed in Denmark and the UK

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.