A1 Journal article (refereed)
Sukupuolistunut väkivalta Vares- ja Wallander-elokuvissa (2017)
Gendered Violence in the Vares and Wallander films

Pitkämäki, A. (2017). Sukupuolistunut väkivalta Vares- ja Wallander-elokuvissa. Lähikuva, 30(2), 27-47. https://doi.org/10.23994/lk.65228

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Pitkämäki, Anna

Journal or series: Lähikuva

ISSN: 0782-3053

eISSN: 2343-399X

Publication year: 2017

Volume: 30

Issue number: 2

Pages range: 27-47

Publisher: Lähikuva-yhdistys

Publication country: Finland

Publication language: Finnish

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23994/lk.65228

Persistent website address: https://journal.fi/lahikuva/article/view/65228

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/56161

Abstract

This article examines representations of gendered violence in the Swedish Wallander films (2005–2006) and the Finnish Vares films (2004–2015). Attention is paid to the manifestations of gender and sexuality in the narration of these Nordic crime films as part of the meanings, explanations, and attitudes connected to violence. The cultural meanings of violence are analysed from the perspectives of feminist media and cultural studies as well as feminist research on violence. The analysis is focused on what kind of violence is portrayed in the Vares and Wallander films, what are the explanations contributed to the violence, and how do the conceptions of perpetrators and victims in the films lend themselves to interpretation in relation to culture and cultural frames of reference. Characteristics typical for the Nordic noir genre can be recognised in both the Vares and the Wallander films. Due to their means of production and narration, it makes sense to examine the two film series together. By using individual characters and scenes as examples, the article brings forward the complexity of the connections between violence, sexuality, and gender in the films’ portrayals. The analysis indicates how Wallander and Vares films, in their own ways, expand understandings and experiences of gender and sexuality in their portrayals of violence. Both film series, albeit through partly different means, challenge as well as repeat the familiar representations in relation to the conventions of the genre as well as to the prevailing societal conceptions of gender, sexuality, and violence. The article also inspires the question of significance of national differences in portraying violence in the Vares and Wallander films. The portrayals of violence in both film series also enable a different kind of portrayal of violence, i.e. as critique against violence.

Keywords: films; violence (activity); gendering; gender; sexuality (sexual orientation); narration; attitudes; meanings (semantics)

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2017

JUFO rating: 1