Brødre vs. Brothers: The Transatlantic Remake as Cultural Adaptation

Remaking Nordic television series and cinema has become a popular endeavor in the US. This article explores the remake as a category and sheds light on the specific choices that are deemed necessary to make something entirely Danish work in an American context. The article seeks to contribute to the understanding of a remake trend that, on the one hand, is inspired by all things Nordic, but on the other hand, actively engages in removing the Nordic feel from the remade productions. Using Susanne Bier’s Brødre (2004) and Jim Sheridan’s remake Brothers (2009) as cases and drawing on Danish and US war movie genre history, the article argues that the comparative analysis of original and remake can be used as a tool for contemporary cultural studies and shows that while stories travel, they might be stripped of humorous lightheartedness, local detail, and moral values in the process.