Ib Bondebjerg | University of Copenhagen (original) (raw)

US by Ib Bondebjerg

Hunting High and Low, 2012

A comparative and Aesthetic analysis on tendenciies in the American television industry from popu... more A comparative and Aesthetic analysis on tendenciies in the American television industry from popular format to the quality revolution in the 1980s and on. The Wire is used as a main case.

Australia 7% Denmark3% Sweden 4% RestofEurope 9% UK 50% US 25% CrimeFic on Share of broadcast me ... more Australia 7% Denmark3% Sweden 4% RestofEurope 9% UK 50% US 25% CrimeFic on Share of broadcast me 2005-2014(first-runs)

Hunting High and Low, 2012

A European Television History (edited by Jonathan Bignell and Andreas Fickers, Sep 15, 2008

Media Fictions. The Dolphin no. 17. Ed. by Michael Skovmand, 1988

Documentary by Ib Bondebjerg

The Grierson Effect. Tracing Documentary's International Movement, 2014

We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the re... more We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the result of inspiration from a distance, but of direct contact. In Denmark the main theoretician and director of documentary film, Theodor Christensen (1914-1967), found inspiration both in the Russian montage theories and film traditions and in the British documentary movement and he paid tribute to both traditions in his more theoretical writings. But there is also a piece of historical film footage from around 1935 where some of the leading Danish documentary directors are waving goodbye to Theodor Christensen who is sent on a mission to London to bring back inspiration and films from the British documentary movement (see Roos 1989). In a later interview with him after the war he explains how he studied their films very carefully, the style and editing, and that he shared the grand social vision of civic democratic information and opinion building behind their films (Roos 1989). Grierson's influence on the Danish documentary movement of the 1930s and onward is repeated in the other Scandinavian countries, all sharing an early pre-television public service philosophy of documentary film production and distribution. Whereas the years before 1930 were dominated by very actuality oriented documentary formats or the anthropological travel documentary, the 1930's and onward can be seen as a merging of the documentary actuality tradition and more dramatic and poetic styles of documentary. But even though similarities can be found between the British and Scandinavian development in the years 1930-1960 the Danish connection seem to be the most direct. The social dimension of Danish documentary was perhaps more in line with the Grierson tradition than the Norwegian and Swedish, where the travel films and an inspiration from Flaherty is stronger (Birkvad & Diesen 1994: 21ff).

Documentary, Culture and the Mind, 2020

This book present some of my most important articles on documentary film and television between 1... more This book present some of my most important articles on documentary film and television between 1994-2020. During this period I developed a theory of documentary genres inspired by cognitive theory, a theory that put the basic narrative, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of media production and media use in focus. However, even though a basic, theoretical dimension runs through all the articles defining the main genres of documentary and the way audiences relate to and interact with this, they also try to illustrate how documentary genres interact with history, society and culture, and how they speak to and influence our individual mind and the collective public debate. Documentary is a very central genre in our highly mediated and global world: the stories they tell, can potentially create mediated cultural encounters between people belonging to different societies and culture. The case studies presented deal with our historical past and heritage, with the global climate change and with war and social crisis.


Media, Culture & Society, 1996

Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film. Edited by Catalyn Brylla and Mette Kramer: , 2018

Though the complexity of documentary genres is acknowledged in documentary theory, the fundamenta... more Though the complexity of documentary genres is acknowledged in documentary theory, the fundamental role of narrative, emotion and imagination is often underestimated. This article deals with the fundamental role of these elements in our experience of reality and across the genres of fiction and non-fiction. Based on cognitive theories of emotion and the self, the article argues for a stronger focus on the embodied mind in documentary studies. The Danish documentary filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, has called his films “a documentary of the mind”. His films illustrate the theory of the embodied mind through a creative and narrative strategy, also found in documentaries in general. His films point to the importance of narrative and emotion for the understanding of the making of and reception of documentary.

In this article I primarily analyse observational war documentaries in order to deal with how thi... more In this article I primarily analyse observational war documentaries
in order to deal with how this particular form of documentary contributes to
our understanding of how it is to be at war as a soldier or as a civilian in a war zone. I analyse two very different observational war documentaries: Janus Metz’s Danish ARMADILLO (2010) following a group of soldiers to Afghanistan, and Andreas Dalsgaard and Obiada Zytoon’s Danish-Syrian THE WAR SHOW (2016) following a group of young Syrians during the Syrian spring to the civil war and beyond. Based on theories of cognition and emotion and evolutionary biology the article argues for the importance of this type of documentaries in developing and understanding of what war really is. The article also puts the films in the broader context of both fictional and documentary war genres trying to map how the different genres address different parts of our cognition and emotion.

This article analyzes the documentary strategies followed in the transnational documentary projec... more This article analyzes the documentary strategies followed in the transnational documentary projects Why Democracy (2007) and Why Poverty (2012), both initiated by the BBC and DR, the main British and Danish public service broadcasters, in collaboration with the NGO organisation Steps International. The two projects relate to and reflect the role and function of media and documentary in a globalized world. The analysis is based on theories of globalization and cosmopolitanism and takes up issues in documentary theory connected to the social, cultural and political forms and functions of documentary in a global context. Two strong forces have had a clear impact on contemporary documentary film and television, as well as our societies and cultures in general especially since the 1990s: mediatization through digital technologies and globalization. Mediatization refers to a situation in which media systems have been imbedded so deeply in our society, culture and everyday life that they create a new logic of communication and interaction. The media become important and powerful institutions in themselves, but as a consequence of this the media also influence the way institutions and social, cultural and political spheres function and communicate (Hjarvard 2013: 17). Mediatization gained prominence in the analogue era within national contexts, in which news, documentaries, and fiction were instrumental in nation-building and the creation of an imagined community (Anderson 1983). Even with their origins within national contexts, media and documentary forms dealt with transnational issues and circulated within a global media culture. The combination, however, of mediatization on a larger scale, the rise of digital networks and platforms, and the intensified structures of globalization have profoundly influenced contemporary documentary culture.

The Griersom Effect, 2014

We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the re... more We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the result of inspiration from a distance, but of direct contact. In Denmark the main theoretician and director of documentary film, Theodor Christensen (1914-1967), found inspiration both in the Russian montage theories and film traditions and in the British documentary movement and he paid tribute to both traditions in his more theoretical writings.Grierson’s influence on the Danish documentary movement of the 1930s and onward is repeated in the other Scandinavian countries, all sharing an early pre-television public service philosophy of documentary film production and distribution. Whereas the years before 1930 were dominated by very actuality oriented documentary formats or the anthropological travel documentary, the 1930’s and onward can be seen as a merging of the documentary actuality tradition and more dramatic and poetic styles of documentary. But even though similarities can be found between the British and Scandinavian development in the years 1930-1960 the Danish connection seem to be the most direct.

Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur, Jan 1, 2008

"""Following the two previous volumes in this series of practitioner interviews with Danish direc... more """Following the two previous volumes in this series of practitioner interviews with Danish directors, Danish Directors 3 focuses on Danish documentary cinema. Although many of the directors interviewed here have ventured successfully into the terrain of fiction, their main contributions to the thriving post-80s milieu lie in the interconnected areas of documentary film and television.

Emphasizing the new documentary cinema, this book features film-makers who belong to the generation born in the 1970s. Many of the interviewees were trained at the National Film School of Denmark’s now legendary Department of Documentary and Television. The term ‘new’ also captures tendencies that cut across the work of the film-makers. For example, for the generation in question, internationalization and the development of a new digital media culture are inevitable aspects of everyday life, and, indeed, of the professional environments in which they operate. A comprehensive overview of documentary directors currently working in Denmark, this is the only book of its kind about this growing area of Danish cinema.""""

Mediekultur nr. 34, 2002

Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med real... more Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med reality kommer vi taettere end nogensinde på samfundets bund og det utraettelige politi, som har til opgave at opretholde lov og orden. Artiklen gennemgår en lang raekke af de senere års kriminalprogrammer og diskuterer dokumentarismens former med en saerlig belysning af aestetik, retorik og synsvinkel i undergenrerne »reality magasin« og »reality soap«. Lars Engels' serie »Historier fra en politistation« tages op til saerlig debat, fordi Engels -vanen tro -arbejder med en mindre iscenesaettelse og ukommenteret virkelighedsgengivelse, end vi finder det i andre »reality soaps«.

Hunting High and Low, 2012

A comparative and Aesthetic analysis on tendenciies in the American television industry from popu... more A comparative and Aesthetic analysis on tendenciies in the American television industry from popular format to the quality revolution in the 1980s and on. The Wire is used as a main case.

Australia 7% Denmark3% Sweden 4% RestofEurope 9% UK 50% US 25% CrimeFic on Share of broadcast me ... more Australia 7% Denmark3% Sweden 4% RestofEurope 9% UK 50% US 25% CrimeFic on Share of broadcast me 2005-2014(first-runs)

Hunting High and Low, 2012

A European Television History (edited by Jonathan Bignell and Andreas Fickers, Sep 15, 2008

Media Fictions. The Dolphin no. 17. Ed. by Michael Skovmand, 1988

The Grierson Effect. Tracing Documentary's International Movement, 2014

We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the re... more We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the result of inspiration from a distance, but of direct contact. In Denmark the main theoretician and director of documentary film, Theodor Christensen (1914-1967), found inspiration both in the Russian montage theories and film traditions and in the British documentary movement and he paid tribute to both traditions in his more theoretical writings. But there is also a piece of historical film footage from around 1935 where some of the leading Danish documentary directors are waving goodbye to Theodor Christensen who is sent on a mission to London to bring back inspiration and films from the British documentary movement (see Roos 1989). In a later interview with him after the war he explains how he studied their films very carefully, the style and editing, and that he shared the grand social vision of civic democratic information and opinion building behind their films (Roos 1989). Grierson's influence on the Danish documentary movement of the 1930s and onward is repeated in the other Scandinavian countries, all sharing an early pre-television public service philosophy of documentary film production and distribution. Whereas the years before 1930 were dominated by very actuality oriented documentary formats or the anthropological travel documentary, the 1930's and onward can be seen as a merging of the documentary actuality tradition and more dramatic and poetic styles of documentary. But even though similarities can be found between the British and Scandinavian development in the years 1930-1960 the Danish connection seem to be the most direct. The social dimension of Danish documentary was perhaps more in line with the Grierson tradition than the Norwegian and Swedish, where the travel films and an inspiration from Flaherty is stronger (Birkvad & Diesen 1994: 21ff).

Documentary, Culture and the Mind, 2020

This book present some of my most important articles on documentary film and television between 1... more This book present some of my most important articles on documentary film and television between 1994-2020. During this period I developed a theory of documentary genres inspired by cognitive theory, a theory that put the basic narrative, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of media production and media use in focus. However, even though a basic, theoretical dimension runs through all the articles defining the main genres of documentary and the way audiences relate to and interact with this, they also try to illustrate how documentary genres interact with history, society and culture, and how they speak to and influence our individual mind and the collective public debate. Documentary is a very central genre in our highly mediated and global world: the stories they tell, can potentially create mediated cultural encounters between people belonging to different societies and culture. The case studies presented deal with our historical past and heritage, with the global climate change and with war and social crisis.


Media, Culture & Society, 1996

Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film. Edited by Catalyn Brylla and Mette Kramer: , 2018

Though the complexity of documentary genres is acknowledged in documentary theory, the fundamenta... more Though the complexity of documentary genres is acknowledged in documentary theory, the fundamental role of narrative, emotion and imagination is often underestimated. This article deals with the fundamental role of these elements in our experience of reality and across the genres of fiction and non-fiction. Based on cognitive theories of emotion and the self, the article argues for a stronger focus on the embodied mind in documentary studies. The Danish documentary filmmaker, Anders Østergaard, has called his films “a documentary of the mind”. His films illustrate the theory of the embodied mind through a creative and narrative strategy, also found in documentaries in general. His films point to the importance of narrative and emotion for the understanding of the making of and reception of documentary.

In this article I primarily analyse observational war documentaries in order to deal with how thi... more In this article I primarily analyse observational war documentaries
in order to deal with how this particular form of documentary contributes to
our understanding of how it is to be at war as a soldier or as a civilian in a war zone. I analyse two very different observational war documentaries: Janus Metz’s Danish ARMADILLO (2010) following a group of soldiers to Afghanistan, and Andreas Dalsgaard and Obiada Zytoon’s Danish-Syrian THE WAR SHOW (2016) following a group of young Syrians during the Syrian spring to the civil war and beyond. Based on theories of cognition and emotion and evolutionary biology the article argues for the importance of this type of documentaries in developing and understanding of what war really is. The article also puts the films in the broader context of both fictional and documentary war genres trying to map how the different genres address different parts of our cognition and emotion.

This article analyzes the documentary strategies followed in the transnational documentary projec... more This article analyzes the documentary strategies followed in the transnational documentary projects Why Democracy (2007) and Why Poverty (2012), both initiated by the BBC and DR, the main British and Danish public service broadcasters, in collaboration with the NGO organisation Steps International. The two projects relate to and reflect the role and function of media and documentary in a globalized world. The analysis is based on theories of globalization and cosmopolitanism and takes up issues in documentary theory connected to the social, cultural and political forms and functions of documentary in a global context. Two strong forces have had a clear impact on contemporary documentary film and television, as well as our societies and cultures in general especially since the 1990s: mediatization through digital technologies and globalization. Mediatization refers to a situation in which media systems have been imbedded so deeply in our society, culture and everyday life that they create a new logic of communication and interaction. The media become important and powerful institutions in themselves, but as a consequence of this the media also influence the way institutions and social, cultural and political spheres function and communicate (Hjarvard 2013: 17). Mediatization gained prominence in the analogue era within national contexts, in which news, documentaries, and fiction were instrumental in nation-building and the creation of an imagined community (Anderson 1983). Even with their origins within national contexts, media and documentary forms dealt with transnational issues and circulated within a global media culture. The combination, however, of mediatization on a larger scale, the rise of digital networks and platforms, and the intensified structures of globalization have profoundly influenced contemporary documentary culture.

The Griersom Effect, 2014

We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the re... more We know for certain that the Grierson inspiration on Scandinavian documentary was not just the result of inspiration from a distance, but of direct contact. In Denmark the main theoretician and director of documentary film, Theodor Christensen (1914-1967), found inspiration both in the Russian montage theories and film traditions and in the British documentary movement and he paid tribute to both traditions in his more theoretical writings.Grierson’s influence on the Danish documentary movement of the 1930s and onward is repeated in the other Scandinavian countries, all sharing an early pre-television public service philosophy of documentary film production and distribution. Whereas the years before 1930 were dominated by very actuality oriented documentary formats or the anthropological travel documentary, the 1930’s and onward can be seen as a merging of the documentary actuality tradition and more dramatic and poetic styles of documentary. But even though similarities can be found between the British and Scandinavian development in the years 1930-1960 the Danish connection seem to be the most direct.

Frederiksberg: Samfundslitteratur, Jan 1, 2008

"""Following the two previous volumes in this series of practitioner interviews with Danish direc... more """Following the two previous volumes in this series of practitioner interviews with Danish directors, Danish Directors 3 focuses on Danish documentary cinema. Although many of the directors interviewed here have ventured successfully into the terrain of fiction, their main contributions to the thriving post-80s milieu lie in the interconnected areas of documentary film and television.

Emphasizing the new documentary cinema, this book features film-makers who belong to the generation born in the 1970s. Many of the interviewees were trained at the National Film School of Denmark’s now legendary Department of Documentary and Television. The term ‘new’ also captures tendencies that cut across the work of the film-makers. For example, for the generation in question, internationalization and the development of a new digital media culture are inevitable aspects of everyday life, and, indeed, of the professional environments in which they operate. A comprehensive overview of documentary directors currently working in Denmark, this is the only book of its kind about this growing area of Danish cinema.""""

Mediekultur nr. 34, 2002

Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med real... more Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med reality kommer vi taettere end nogensinde på samfundets bund og det utraettelige politi, som har til opgave at opretholde lov og orden. Artiklen gennemgår en lang raekke af de senere års kriminalprogrammer og diskuterer dokumentarismens former med en saerlig belysning af aestetik, retorik og synsvinkel i undergenrerne »reality magasin« og »reality soap«. Lars Engels' serie »Historier fra en politistation« tages op til saerlig debat, fordi Engels -vanen tro -arbejder med en mindre iscenesaettelse og ukommenteret virkelighedsgengivelse, end vi finder det i andre »reality soaps«.

… Journal of media and communication research, Jan 1, 2002

Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med real... more Kriminalstoffet på tv bliver ofte anklaget for at spekulere i vore lavere instinkter, og med reality kommer vi taettere end nogensinde på samfundets bund og det utraettelige politi, som har til opgave at opretholde lov og orden. Artiklen gennemgår en lang raekke af de senere års kriminalprogrammer og diskuterer dokumentarismens former med en saerlig belysning af aestetik, retorik og synsvinkel i undergenrerne »reality magasin« og »reality soap«. Lars Engels' serie »Historier fra en politistation« tages op til saerlig debat, fordi Engels -vanen tro -arbejder med en mindre iscenesaettelse og ukommenteret virkelighedsgengivelse, end vi finder det i andre »reality soaps«.

Realism and'Reality'in Film and Media. Northern …, Jan 1, 2002

Nordicom Review, Jan 1, 1994

Paper presented at the Australian International …, Jan 1, 2003

Palgrave, 2021

This book offers a comparative study of historical television genres in Europe, with a special fo... more This book offers a comparative study of historical television genres in Europe, with a special focus on Germany and Great Britain and their way of narrating twentieth century European history. The book analyses our common European past and memory through central historical television narratives. Each chapter looks at how historical TV genres, fictional and documentary, have dealt with the most salient and defining periods, events and changes in the twentieth century-an age of extremes. Bondebjerg offers unique theoretical and analytical insight into the role of television in mediating and shaping the past. The book explores television's creation of transnational cultural encounters across Europe in relation to our common and national past. The book addresses how television has influenced our understanding of history, collective memory and public debate over the twentieth century. It is fundamentally a book about the importance of the past in present day Europe and the centrality of media for transnational understanding. • Develops an innovative understanding of mediated cultural encounters in Europe, of how historical television drama shapes our understanding of twentieth century European history, and how the past is still a very important part of present European cultures and societies, a place where national and transnational dimensions cross and the way we see ourselves and others is shaped • Examines central historical television genres, documentary (authoritative documentary, docudrama), and fictional (period drama, war drama, biopics) in a comparative European perspective, looking especially at German and English historical drama, but also drawing up a bigger picture, and with a central perspective on how historical drama from below (focusing on everyday life) and historical drama from above (focusing on those in power, and the larger historical structures) gives us a deeper understanding of history Argues for a strong interdisciplinary profile of media and memory studies, genre studies, and cultural studies, an interdisciplinary perspective arguing for a universal, cognitive and emotional dimension in how we relate to and interact with historical drama, the way our mind and memory works, and also argues for a strong national and historical diversity in historical drama in Europe Palgrave book website: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030604950

The first in depth and comparative analysis of the bigger picture of European television drama in... more The first in depth and comparative analysis of the bigger picture of European television drama in a transnational context across several European countries.
Offers insights into the creative television industries in Europe, the forms of co-production and different national traditions.
Combines quantitative methods and data on the production, distribution and reception of European television drama with qualitative methods and analysis of television drama genres.
Provides new perspectives on mediated cultural encounters and the role of television drama for national and European culture.

This book deals with the role of television drama in Europe as enabler of transnational, cultural encounters for audiences and the creative community. It demonstrates that the diversity of national cultures is a challenge for European TV drama but also a potential richness and source of creative variation. Based on data on the production, distribution and reception of recent TV drama from several European countries, the book presents a new picture of the transnational European television culture. The authors analyse main tendencies in television policy and challenges for national broadcasters coming from new global streaming services. Comparing cases of historical, contemporary and crime drama from several countries, this study shows the importance of creative co-production and transnational mediated cultural encounters between national cultures of Europe.

In this paper I discuss history and memory from a theoretical and philosophical point of view and... more In this paper I discuss history and memory from a theoretical and philosophical point of view and the non-fiction and fiction aspects of historical representation. I use Edgar Reitz' monumental work Heimat 1-3 (and his recent film Die Andere Heimat) as example of a very different transformative historical narrative. In terms of narrative construction and aesthetic form the Heimat-project challenges the dominant forms of historical fiction. By combining personal memory, everyday life and collective memory and a more indirect way of representing factual history Reitz wants to transform our look at German history.

... Cover Design: Gabriel Solomons Copy Editor: Rebecca Vaughan-Williams Typesetting: Mac Style, ... more ... Cover Design: Gabriel Solomons Copy Editor: Rebecca Vaughan-Williams Typesetting: Mac Style, Beverley, E. Yorkshire ISBN 978-1-84150-247 ... Nordic Ideal Types of Good European Journalism 177 Vanni Tjernström Part Three: Media, Culture and Democracy 195 Chapter 11 ...

... popular culture in a European and cultural perspective. In an interesting case study of the d... more ... popular culture in a European and cultural perspective. In an interesting case study of the development of the originally Danish but now global toy industry Lego, Stig Hjarvard shows how the mediatization of the toys is an important part of the globalization and commercialization ...

This book offers comparative studies of the production, content, distribution and reception of fi... more This book offers comparative studies of the production, content, distribution and reception of film and television drama in Europe. The collection brings together scholars from the humanities and social sciences to focus on how new developments are shaped by national and European policies and practices, and on the role of film and television in our everyday lives. The chapters explore main trends in transnational European film and television fiction, addressing issues of co-production and collaboration, and of how cultural products circulate across national borders. The chapters investigate how watching film and television from neighbouring countries can be regarded as a special kind of cultural encounter with the possibility of facilitating reflections on national differences within Europe and negotiations of what characterises a national or a European identity respectively.

Media Cultures. Reappraising Transnational Media. …, Jan 1, 1992

Northern Lights. Film and Studies Yearbook 2005. Theme: European Film and Media Culture, Oct 1, 2005

The Undeclared War (1997) David Putnam, one of the key figures behind the European film and media... more The Undeclared War (1997) David Putnam, one of the key figures behind the European film and media policy, said: 'Stories and images are among the principal means by which the human society has always transmitted values and beliefs from generation to generation and community to community [... they] are at the heart of the way we run our economies and live our lives'. This paper will analyse the 'imaginary Europe' from this perspective and look at what characterizes European television fictions and films and what the structure of the national and the European fictional space is. The European fictional space as a whole is strongly dominated by American culture. But it is a fact that just as national fictional products have formed and influenced our national and cultural identity, our understanding of European culture is also strongly linked to European fictions crossing national borders -just like the American fictions. Our Imaginary Europe is therefore a strong and sometimes forgotten cultural dimension in the European integration project and a dimension with important social, political and 2 democratic implications for the construction of a European public sphere.

This article deals with institutional changes and differences between the two German film culture... more This article deals with institutional changes and differences between the two German film cultures before and after 1989 during the unification process. But the main focus is on different genres and strategies in films dealing with the East German past and the unified post-1989 Germany, and with directors with an East German background and directors with a West German background. The article looks into three specific generic strategies: the historical transition drama; the realist strategy and the comedy strategy and the very different ways they treat the past; the transition and the present.

Nordicom Review, Jan 1, 2001

realism and everyday life  Cosmopolitanism -an element entering everyday life in the new, reflex... more realism and everyday life  Cosmopolitanism -an element entering everyday life in the new, reflexive, global modernity with blurring boundaries, both as "banal cosmopolitanism" and as introverted aggressive nationalism reacting to globalization  Constitutive elements of cosmopolitanism -both pointing to normative positions and to empirical, sociological dimensions of reality:

Images. The International Journal of European Film, Performing Arts and Audiovisual Communication, vol. XI, no. 20, special issue: (Re)imagining the Past, Poznan 2012, s. 37-51

Historical films are important carriers of collective memory, and as a genre historical films can... more Historical films are important carriers of collective memory, and as a genre historical films can activate both strong feelings and strong debate. Historical fiction films often tell very accurate and almost documentary stories, but fictional films have the freedom to make historical reality in quite another way than factual historical films. This article deals with some of the most important historical film genres and uses a general theory of genres, emotions, memory and history to analyse the historical films of Polish film director Andrzej Wajda, especially those made post 1989. Dealing with both his heritage drama Pan Tadeusz (1999) and critical historical drama Katyń (2007), the article analyses the ways in which Wajda uses historical narratives to comment on both history and contemporary society, and how this strategy is reflected in all his historical films. The article argues that the traumatic and contrast-filled history of Poland makes historical films especially important and interesting as a critical part of public debate and the reframing and reinterpretation of the past.

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2012

chapter 32 im ages of eu rope, eu ropea n im ages: post wa r eu ropea n ci n em a a n d telev isi... more chapter 32 im ages of eu rope, eu ropea n im ages: post wa r eu ropea n ci n em a a n d telev ision cu lt u r e i b b ondebjerg

This article deals with the social and cultural dimensions of globalization and uses both qualita... more This article deals with the social and cultural dimensions of globalization and uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse the effects of stronger European integration on media production and reception. It combines theories and methods from sociology, anthropology and media studies and looks at the impact of TV drama genres on the forming of social imaginaries. The article examines structural changes in production and distribution in the European TV-drama landscape since 2000. On the basis of empirical evidence it is argued that a creative, transnational European network of co-productions has increased the distribution of original and often local stories in Europe. The article analyses examples of some successful European drama series, their audiences and reception. The analysis is discussed in the context of national and transnational media policy and the impact of globalisation. Concepts like " imagined community " , " social imaginary " , " banal nationalism " , and " mediated cultural encounters " are connected to the theory of cultural globalisation. Also touched upon are studies of a European civic and cultural identity next to the national, and the role of media and cultural policy in this development. The article concludes that encounters of the kind we find in different forms of TV drama will make Europe more diverse and richer for a much broader audience. The interaction between the particular and universal in " narratives " on our past and contemporary social and cultural order contribute to a better feeling for and understanding of the " us " and " them " in European culture.

CEMES working papers, no. 1, 2011

In this report we have analysed the Scandinavian film and television culture focusing on films re... more In this report we have analysed the Scandinavian film and television culture focusing
on films released between 2002-2006, using data drawn from both cinemas in
Scandinavia and in the rest of Europe, as well as films shown on television in
Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The study involves a comparative look at the support
mechanisms and the production sector as well as the distribution sector, especially coproductions,
but the main focus is on film genres and TV drama, audiences and the
Scandinavian and European distribution of films.
Seen

To be published in: Richard McCulloch & William Proctor (2018). The Scandinavian Invasion. Peter ... more To be published in: Richard McCulloch & William Proctor (2018). The Scandinavian Invasion. Peter Lang. The Danish-Swedish crime series The Bridge (2011-) is not just a European co-production involving several national funding sources. It has also created quite an active response among transnational audiences, critics, journalists and creative industry people -further expanding and consolidating the Nordic noir phenomenon. This article deals with reception of the series in three countries (Denmark, UK and Sweden), through analysis of the demographic profile of audiences and the discourses of reception of the series in selected newspapers and on social media. Such transnational intercultural negotiations relate to universal dimensions of stories, but also initiate a cultural encounter between 'us and them'. The reception shows a fascination of Nordic Noir as a genre, but the transnational cultural encounters with the series also involve social, political and cultural themes and exchange of different norms and life styles. Themes related to the national vs. the transnational challenge firm notions of national identity and transnational otherness. Social and cultural encounters are basic to human interaction and communication. This is true of 'real' encounters with other people during the routines of everyday life, but also of extended forms of 'mediated' encounters that play an increasing role in our media saturated reality. What we sometimes call 'stereotypes' -with a perhaps negative tone -are in fact what sociologists call social and cultural categories or schemas. They are 'ways of talking about our expectations', because whether we like it or not, 'we all make assumptions about other people, ourselves, and the situations we encounter (Fiske and Taylor 1991: 97). Such schemas and categories may be fuzzy and vague, based on little experience either in real life or through media. But as social and cultural individuals, we need such schemas. They serve as short hand categorization in daily life and they reduce complexity. The interaction between our prior experience and already established schemas and what we encounter out there in the world, is an on-going process, and cognitive psychologists sometimes talk about 'the predictive brain' (Hinton 2015: 24). We predict and imagine encounters with phenomena in the world by using our social and cultural schemas, and they have a top down influence on perception and the way information is remembered.

Public funding for culture, film and media in general has been a strong element in what we unders... more Public funding for culture, film and media in general has been a strong element in what we understand to be at the core of the Scandinavian welfare state. It became a crucial part of Scandinavian cultural policy in the 1960s, and in the political philosophy of the Social Democrats and their political allies, the cultural arm of policy became important as a means to secure a diverse and inclusive public sphere. The birth of modern, visual media like film, radio and television became instruments in a political, social and cultural dialogue across social and cultural differences and barriers. They became a central part of what constitutes an " imagined community " (Anderson 1983) as carriers of those stories, narratives and communicative forms that constitute our everyday lives and feeling of belonging. Social and political issues, conflict and debate are central to modern mediated societies and public spheres, but so are deeper social and cultural stories of our present and past. News and documentaries are vital for our understanding of being national citizens as well as citizens of a global world, but TV drama and other forms of fiction are just as important for our ability to understand the contemporary and historical dimensions of society and culture. Fiction can speak to our deeper emotions and collective social feeling of being connected. In this sense, fiction, documentaries and other factual programmes are all part of a well functioning public sphere. For those many European countries that created the modern forms of public support for culture, PSB media were crucial for the diversity of culture and debate in the public sphere. A balance between market forces and public funding was seen as necessary to create the kind of cultural inclusion and democratic culture needed. From scarcity and control to abundance and choice The classical PSB culture from the 1930s onwards was a culture of scarcity and in many ways also control. The control was about securing a certain level of cultural quality, a control not really neutral to questions of elite culture and popular culture. There was also control of everyday life in the sense that in many countries there was little choice, and only a few dominant channels available. As Paddy Scannell has argued in his inspiring phenomenological history of Radio, Television & Modern Life (1996), radio and televi

Rosinante. Copenhagen, Denmark, Jan 1, 2000

... prizes alongside the latest work of Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, and directors from Iran. ... t... more ... prizes alongside the latest work of Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, and directors from Iran. ... to shed light on historical and cinematic issues relevant to Nils Malmros' adaptation of Jergen ... role that particular individuals and works have played in the construction of a national cinema. ...

Sekvens-Filmvidenskabelig Årbog, Jan 1, 1990

A Century of Cinema. Sekvens 1996. Ed. by Casper Tybjerg & Peter Schepelern, 1996

Transnational European Cinema. Palacio, M. & Türschmann, J. (red.). Wien: LIT Verlag, (Beiträge zur europäischen Theater-, Film- und Medienwissenschaft).

Cinema has always been both a very national and a very global form of cultural expression. Images... more Cinema has always been both a very national and a very global form of cultural expression. Images often travel more easily and faster across borders than literature and other cultural forms, but since 1945 the global trends in cinema have been remarkably stable in the sense that the consumption of films has been dominated by American films and by national films in most European countries, whereas the distribution and consumption of films from other European countries has been rather limited. The figures vary from country to country, but the general structural pattern is clear. In 2008 for instance, the average percentage of films in EU27 shows an American share of sold tickets of 63.9% and a total European share (both on the domestic market and in other European countries) of 27.8% (Lumiere Database, 2008).

NORDICOM-Information, Jan 1, 2002

100 Years of Nordisk Film, 2006

… Journal of media and communication research, Jan 1, 2000

European Journal of Social Theory, 2008

It is an impressive group of authors from many disciplines and countries that Fossum and Schlesin... more It is an impressive group of authors from many disciplines and countries that Fossum and Schlesinger have brought together is this very timely book with theories, models and analysis of the many aspects of Europeanization and communication inside Europe and the European Union (EU). The history of post-war Europe, the EU and the European generation is in many ways a success story, compared with the past bloody and national history of a strongly divided Europe. However, the development right now, as the editors also reflect upon in the introduction, seems to be at a crossroad where the expansion of the EU demands new structures and procedures, but where at the same time the public support for a grander and more ambitious vision of a unified and expanded European democracy does not seem to produce popular support on a national level.

MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research, 2006

Det er i mere end én forstand en vægtig bog, Gun-hild Agger har skrevet. Dels lægger den sig ind ... more Det er i mere end én forstand en vægtig bog, Gun-hild Agger har skrevet. Dels lægger den sig ind i traditionen for, at doktordisputatser er solide mop-pedrenge, dels giver den med sin grundige analyse af den danske tv-dramatiks udvikling et nyt solidt fundament under forskningen ...

MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research, 2006

Jostein Gripsrud: Mediekultur, mediesamfund. København, Hans Reitzel forlag, 2005, 384 s., kr. 39... more Jostein Gripsrud: Mediekultur, mediesamfund. København, Hans Reitzel forlag, 2005, 384 s., kr. 398. "En moderne medieklassiker" kalder forlaget bogen, og det kan man for så vidt godt sige, eftersom bogen udkom på norsk i 2000, hvor den modtog Meltserprisen for "fremragende formidling", og siden er kommet i svensk og engelsk oversaettelse. Det er altså en allerede udbredt og velmeriteret bog, som nu foreligger i dansk oversaettelse, og som udover at vaere oversat til dansk også i en raekke tilfaelde har erstattet norske eksempler med danske. Samtidig er der tale om en bog, som saetter sig for at lave en basal introduktion til den moderne medievidenskabs centrale teorier og problemstillinger, og som gør det på forbilledlig tvaerfaglig vis og med inddragelse af en lang raekke konkrete eksempler og analytiske perspektiver. Bogen er opdelt i tre hoveddele. I første del "Publikum og medierne", saettes systematisk fokus på medierne som faelleskabs-og identitetsskabere, som direkte menings-og holdningspåvirkere og i forhold til sociologiske teorier om livsstil, smag og sociale forskelle. I denne dels første underafsnit praesenteres teorier om mediernes rolle som socialiseringsfaktor, både individuelt og kollektiv. Her kommer bl.a. Freud, Horton & Wohl, Dayan & Katz, Roger Silverstone og John Ellis på banen, men forklaret med talrige eksempler fra dagligdags mediebrug. I det andet underafsnit diskuteres det snaevrere begreb mediepåvirkning. Det sker dels ved en praesentation af de klassiske, samfundsvidenskabelige teorier fra 1940'erne og frem, fra troen på medierne som en meget direkte påvirknings-og magtfaktor til forestillingerne om et mere aktivt publikum. Men samtidig inddrages forestillingerne om mediemagt i Frankfurterskolen og dens moderne udløber Birminghamskolen. Endelig bringer fremstillingen os langt ind i en diskussion om sociale skel, smag og livsstil, hvor ikke bare Bourdieu laegger teorier til, men hvor vi også kommer vidt omkring i f.eks. aestetisk teori og filosofi, og dermed også diskussionerne om kunst og populaerkultur.

MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research, 2001

An Emerging Field«. Heri definerer han det cen-tra le i termen computer medier som »the compu-ter... more An Emerging Field«. Heri definerer han det cen-tra le i termen computer medier som »the compu-ter as knowledge processor with special reference to communication«. Centralt for studiet af compu-ter medier er derfor også computerens »interface« for stå et som det sted, hvor ...

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 2015

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 2014

This article provides an overview of the main tendencies and ideas in the embodied mind paradigm ... more This article provides an overview of the main tendencies and ideas in the embodied mind paradigm in the expanding field of modern cognitive science. The focus is not on the biological and neurological aspects of cognitive science, rather the article demonstrates how basic concepts and theories from cognitive science have influenced linguistics, sociology, the understanding of art and creativity, film and film perception, as well as our understanding of historical film narratives and mediated memories. Although these areas of humanities and social science may seem unrelated, this article demonstrates how the embodied mind paradigm has actually forged links between separate scientific disciplines. Cognitive science and the embodied mind theory have created a stronger interdisciplinary connection between cognitive understanding in social science and humanities. Metaphors and image schema, the way our brain relies on narrative structures, the dynamic ability of the brain to blend old and new schemas, and the unparalleled creativity of the brain are all part of the approaches of the cognitive social science and humanities to social interaction, communication and creativity described here. The article also discusses the relationship between the more universal dimensions of the human mind and the question of cultural and social variations. The argument here is that a cognitive and more universal theory of human beings is not the same as determinism. On the contrary, when we understand our universal com-monalities and the basic functions of our embodied mind we will also be better placed to understand cultural and social differences and variations.

Abstract Historical and contemporary case studies are presented which contribute to understanding... more Abstract Historical and contemporary case studies are presented which contribute to understanding the role of cinema in the construction of a modern visual culture. The role of visual media for socially and culturally defined audiences and in a cognitive and ...

… Journal of media and communication research, Jan 1, 1988

 In modern societies, cultural encounters are largely mediated encounters.

Moving Images, Culture and the Mind (ed. by Ib Bondebjerg, Sep 5, 2000

Palgrave Communication

Since the 1980s the study of the brain has developed from being a primarily biological field to ... more Since the 1980s the study of the brain has developed from being a primarily
biological field to a significant interdisciplinary area with a strong influence on the humanities
and social sciences. In this article I describe fundamental elements in what I call the
embodied mind paradigm, and new understanding of the relation between mind, body and
emotions. The new paradigm challenges certain notions of constructivism in the humanities
and social sciences, but also opens up fruitful venues for new interdisciplinary research. Here
I outline such possibilities in the particular areas of linguistics, philosophy, sociology and film
studies. This article is published as part of an ongoing collection dedicated to interdisciplinary
research.
DOI: 10.1057/palcomms.2015.15

International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2015

Genre is a concept used in film studies and film theory to describe similarities between groups o... more Genre is a concept used in film studies and film theory to describe similarities between groups of films based on aesthetic or broader social, institutional, cultural, and psychological aspects. Film genre shares similarities in form and style, theme, and communicative function. A film genre is thus based on a set of conventions that influence both the production of individual works within that genre and audience expectations and experiences. Genres are used by industry in the production and marketing of films, by film analysts and critics in historic analysis of film, and as a framework for audiences in the selection and experience of films.

MedieKultur: Journal of media and communication research, 1986

Transnational European Television Drama, 2017

In this chapter, we deal with the technological revolution of the European television market, the... more In this chapter, we deal with the technological revolution of the European television market, the development of new streaming services, both national and transnational, the changing forms of production and distribution and new forms of viewing. The chapter maps the structural changes these developments entail, along with challenges and possibilities and their impact on the European media landscapes, not least for national and European media policy. The chapter discusses potential scenarios for the existing public service and commercial media and how these may affect the principles of cultural diversity in Europe.

Nordic Council of Ministers, Nordicom, Aug 1, 2014

This chapter deals with European historical television drama, with examples from Scandinavia, the... more This chapter deals with European historical television drama, with examples from Scandinavia, the UK, Germany and Belgium. The chapter discusses why historical drama is one of the most popular transnational European genres. Our past seems to appeal to our present, living memory, and historical drama in Europe often creates strong reactions and debate. This is due to the role of memory in both the individual and the collective contexts. Part of the forming of identity in human beings is connected to the ability to create a link between past and present, the feeling of being a person with a particular history. Through case studies, the chapter deals with different kinds of historical drama, their transnational distribution and reception.

Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Jan 2, 2023

Edinburgh University Press eBooks, Oct 21, 2019

Ib Bondebjerg Globalization is a phenomenon much discussed in contemporary society, and rightly s... more Ib Bondebjerg Globalization is a phenomenon much discussed in contemporary society, and rightly so. But it is by no means just a dimension linked to modern societies and cultures. In fact, globalization as such is as old as civilization. Globalization is a complex phenomenon, both now and in a historical perspective. Therefore, a simple and descriptive definition is a good starting point: Globalization can be defined as the movement of objects, signs and people across regions and intercontinental space (…) Globalization can be located on a continuum with the local, national and regional. At the one end of the continuum lie social and economic relations and networks which are organized on a local and/ or national basis; at the other end lie social and economic relations and networks which crystallize on the wider scale of regional and global interactions. Globalization can be taken to refer to those spatio-temporal processes of change which underpin a transformation in the organization of human affairs by linking together and expanding human activity across regions and continents. (Held et al. 1999: 15). Defined in this way and removed from more normative and political discussions focusing on the consequences of different forms of globalization, it seems obvious that all societies and cultures are dependent on globalization. No society or culture can exist in splendid isolation from other near or distant parts of the world. Societies need to find ways to communicate and exchange ideas and goods in order to be open, creative and dynamic. If we were to close borders and ways of interacting, we would also narrow down our mental and cultural space. Globalization is a fundamental and necessary dimension of our societies and cultures, and it has been ever since we started leaving the East African savannah thousands of years ago. Globalization has always been with us, but what has changed historically is the form and intensity of global processes. Globalization used to be dependent on very slow processes of communication and very physical and material forms of transportation. Furthermore huge divides, even bigger than today, existed between developed and developing countries. Today, a vast part of our communication takes place through fast, digital networks that cover larger areas of the globe than before (Held et al. 1999: 327ff, Castells 2001: 207ff & 248ff). The world is not completely wired yet, and many parts of the globe are still inhabited by people who live in an everyday life culture with very little access Keynote Speeches

Nordicom Review, Sep 1, 2002

Nordicom Review, Aug 1, 2014

Aarhus University Press eBooks, Apr 21, 2015

K&K - Kultur og Klasse, Feb 25, 1982

montage AV. Zeitschrift für Theorie und Geschichte audiovisueller Kommunikation, 2000

Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine Weiterverbreitung-keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfü... more Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine Weiterverbreitung-keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Gewährt wird ein nicht exklusives, nicht übertragbares, persönliches und beschränktes Recht auf Nutzung dieses Dokuments. Dieses Dokument ist ausschließlich für den persönlichen, nicht-kommerziellen Gebrauch bestimmt. Auf sämtlichen Kopien dieses Dokuments müssen alle Urheberrechtshinweise und sonstigen Hinweise auf gesetzlichen Schutz beibehalten werden. Sie dürfen dieses Dokument nicht in irgendeiner Weise abändern, noch dürfen Sie dieses Dokument für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, aufführen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Mit der Verwendung dieses Dokuments erkennen Sie die Nutzungsbedingungen an. This document is made available under a Deposit License (No Redistribution-no modifications). We grant a non-exclusive, non-transferable, individual, and limited right for using this document. This document is solely intended for your personal, non-commercial use. All copies of this documents must retain all copyright information and other information regarding legal protection. You are not allowed to alter this document in any way, to copy it for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the document in public, to perform, distribute, or otherwise use the document in public. By using this particular document, you accept the conditions of use stated above.

Routledge eBooks, Oct 4, 2016

MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research, Aug 26, 1988

Psyke and Logos, Aug 4, 2022