Andrew Nestingen - Böcker

Aki Kaurismaki is an enigma, an eminent auteur who claims his films are a joke. Since 1983, Kaurismaki has produced classically-styled films filled with cinephilic references to film history. He has earned an international art-house audience and many prizes, influencing such directors as Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, and Wes Anderson. Yet Kaurismaki is often depicted as the loneliest, most nostalgic of Finns (except when he promotes his films, makes political statements, and runs his many businesses). He is also depicted as a bohemian known for outlandish actions and statements. The Cinema of Aki Kaurismaki is the first comprehensive English-language study of this eccentric director. Drawing on revisionist approaches to film authorship, the text links the filmmaker and his films to the stories and issues animating film aesthetics and history, nostalgia, late modernity, politics, commerce, film festivals, and national cinema.

Aki Kaurismaki is an enigma, an eminent auteur who claims his films are a joke. Since 1983, Kaurismaki has produced classically-styled films filled with cinephilic references to film history. He has earned an international art-house audience and many prizes, influencing such directors as Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarantino, and Wes Anderson. Yet Kaurismaki is often depicted as the loneliest, most nostalgic of Finns (except when he promotes his films, makes political statements, and runs his many businesses). He is also depicted as a bohemian known for outlandish actions and statements. The Cinema of Aki Kaurismaki is the first comprehensive English-language study of this eccentric director. Drawing on revisionist approaches to film authorship, the text links the filmmaker and his films to the stories and issues animating film aesthetics and history, nostalgia, late modernity, politics, commerce, film festivals, and national cinema.

Digital media–GIFs, films, TED Talks, tweets, and more–have become integral to daily life and, unsurprisingly, to Indigenous people’s strategies for addressing the historical and ongoing effects of colonization. In Sámi Media and Indigenous Agency in the Arctic North, Thomas DuBois and Coppélie Cocq examine how Sámi people of Norway, Finland, and Sweden use media to advance a social, cultural, and political agenda anchored in notions of cultural continuity and self-determination. Beginning in the 1970s, Sámi have used Sámi-language media—including commercially produced musical recordings, feature and documentary films, books of literature and poetry, and magazines—to communicate a sense of identity both within the Sámi community and within broader Nordic and international arenas.In more contemporary contexts—from YouTube music videos that combine rock and joik (a traditional Sámi musical genre) to Twitter hashtags that publicize protests against mining projects in Sámi lands—Sámi activists, artists, and cultural workers have used the media to undo layers of ignorance surrounding Sámi livelihoods and rights to self-determination. Downloadable songs, music festivals, films, videos, social media posts, images, and tweets are just some of the diverse media through which Sámi activists transform how Nordic majority populations view and understand Sámi minority communities and, more globally, how modern states regard and treat Indigenous populations.

Examines Swedish depictions of childhood that expose the country's colonial past and racial hierarchiesFigures like Pippi Longstocking and Greta Thunberg exemplify an ideal mainstream Swedish childhood: they are autonomous, competent, and the voices of moral truths. In this innovative work, Liina-Ly Roos analyzes the figure of the “not-quite child”—children who, while appearing white, have been marginalized due to historical racialization and colonialism—to challenge this established ideal. Through analyses of films and literature that portray Indigenous Sámi, Tornedalian, and Finnish-speaking children, The Not-Quite Child reveals how these figures disrupt the normative understanding of growing up in Sweden. These cultural texts are filled with tensions of assimilation, invisibility, and the struggle to grow in a society that demands conformity to a specific “Swedishness.”The children in these stories are both minoritized and, at the same time, have the privilege of passing, and share a long cultural history with and within the dominant culture. Through nuanced attention to these important narratives, The Not-Quite Child contributes to dialogue on the complexities of identity, race, and the hidden colonial legacies that continue to shape understandings of childhood in Sweden.Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295753836

Examines Swedish depictions of childhood that expose the country's colonial past and racial hierarchiesFigures like Pippi Longstocking and Greta Thunberg exemplify an ideal mainstream Swedish childhood: they are autonomous, competent, and the voices of moral truths. In this innovative work, Liina-Ly Roos analyzes the figure of the “not-quite child”—children who, while appearing white, have been marginalized due to historical racialization and colonialism—to challenge this established ideal. Through analyses of films and literature that portray Indigenous Sámi, Tornedalian, and Finnish-speaking children, The Not-Quite Child reveals how these figures disrupt the normative understanding of growing up in Sweden. These cultural texts are filled with tensions of assimilation, invisibility, and the struggle to grow in a society that demands conformity to a specific “Swedishness.”The children in these stories are both minoritized and, at the same time, have the privilege of passing, and share a long cultural history with and within the dominant culture. Through nuanced attention to these important narratives, The Not-Quite Child contributes to dialogue on the complexities of identity, race, and the hidden colonial legacies that continue to shape understandings of childhood in Sweden.Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295753836

Is privilege a problem? Scandinavians ask, Is this okay?—and wrestle with the answerA twenty-first century paradox has emerged in contemporary Scandinavian societies: the region’s deeply ingrained egalitarian ideals exist uneasily alongside its undeniable global privilege. In The Predicament of Privilege, Devika Sharma examines this tension, exploring how a well-intentioned desire to “do good” collides with an unsettling realization: the very structures that enable ethical consumption, charitable donations, and humanitarian action are themselves embedded in a system of exploitation.Through an incisive analysis of contemporary Scandinavian cultural texts, The Predicament of Privilege introduces the concept of skeptimentality—a pervasive moral ambivalence about virtuous emotions like compassion and generosity. As Sharma demonstrates, this sentiment does not necessarily lead to action but creates a vacuum, leaving privilege-sensitive publics with a crisis of conscience but no clear path forward. Sharma’s book challenges both the self-image of Nordic societies and the broader assumptions of humanitarian ethics. A necessary read for scholars, cultural critics, and anyone engaging with the politics of privilege, this book offers a bold new perspective on the unfinished business of equality.

Is privilege a problem? Scandinavians ask, Is this okay?—and wrestle with the answerA twenty-first century paradox has emerged in contemporary Scandinavian societies: the region’s deeply ingrained egalitarian ideals exist uneasily alongside its undeniable global privilege. In The Predicament of Privilege, Devika Sharma examines this tension, exploring how a well-intentioned desire to “do good” collides with an unsettling realization: the very structures that enable ethical consumption, charitable donations, and humanitarian action are themselves embedded in a system of exploitation.Through an incisive analysis of contemporary Scandinavian cultural texts, The Predicament of Privilege introduces the concept of skeptimentality—a pervasive moral ambivalence about virtuous emotions like compassion and generosity. As Sharma demonstrates, this sentiment does not necessarily lead to action but creates a vacuum, leaving privilege-sensitive publics with a crisis of conscience but no clear path forward. Sharma’s book challenges both the self-image of Nordic societies and the broader assumptions of humanitarian ethics. A necessary read for scholars, cultural critics, and anyone engaging with the politics of privilege, this book offers a bold new perspective on the unfinished business of equality.

Crime writers from the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) have become some of the most widely read authors of the 1990s and 2000s. Yet books by such authors as Henning Mankell, Liza Marklund, Karin Fossum, and Anne Holt have also tantalized readers, because many of them do not know the cultures of the Nordic countries. As the first study in English of Nordic crime fiction, "Scandinavian Crime Fiction" spells out the context into which Nordic crime fiction fits through thirteen articles on the history, aesthetics, and film and television adaptation of Nordic crime fiction.

Scholarly writing on Nordic cinema has historically focused on such auteurs as Carl Dreyer and Ingmar Bergman. Recent work has neglected to contextualize contemporary Nordic film within the increasingly global climate of the five Nordic countries. While each country retains idiosyncratic themes and cinematic identity, Nordic cinema also shows increasing homogenization in production strategies, aesthetics, and audience taste. At the same time, contemporary Nordic films have enjoyed renewed popularity at home while also vaulting to global prominence. From heritage films like Babette's Feast and Pelle the Conquerer, to the avantgarde Dogma movement led by Lars von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark), to the work of Lukas Moodysson and Aki Kaurismaki, a variety of Nordic films now have wide exposure. This collection of essays edited by Andrew Nestingen and Trevor G. Elkington is the first to focus on the globalization of Nordic film, particularly its trend toward transnational production procedures, themes, and actors. Wide in breadth, Nestingen and Elkington's book addresses the comparative cinematic histories of the Nordic countries, the factors that contributed to increased flexibility of national cinematic borders, and the effects of aesthetic and economic trends on the films themselves. To that end, a section of the book is dedicated to analyses of recently influential Nordic films, each piece incorporating transnational influences into its analysis to offer an up-to-date collection of Nordic film criticism. A groundbreaking and much-needed contribution to Nordic film studies, Transnational Cinema in a Global North: Nordic Cinema in Transition provides a unique addition to the growing body of work on transnationalism and globalization.

A deep-dive into the work of Tove Jansson (1914–2001), the Finland-Swedish author and visual artist who created The Moomins, this book considers her novels, short stories, picturebooks, comics, illustrations and paintings to provide a comprehensive overview of her genre and form defying career.With work ranging from the ironic to melancholy, playful to wise and reaching from the heights and horrors of fantasy to distinctly modern themes and affects, Tove Jansson: Literature and Art brings together literary, comics, film and art scholars to examine creations from across her oeuvre whilst offering insightful new interpretations and approaches. A long-awaited volume for scholars and students as well as a treasure trove for fans, the book, including 60 immaculate illustrations, explores the unique appeal of Jansson’s work, which has captivated readers for decades. Covering the tones and techniques that defined her works, recurrent themes and motifs, the important cultural and social contexts, and adaptations of her creations, Tove Jansson provides a rich look back at a writer and artist whose books have been translated into over 60 languages.

A deep-dive into the work of Tove Jansson (1914–2001), the Finland-Swedish author and visual artist who created The Moomins, this book considers her novels, short stories, picturebooks, comics, illustrations and paintings to provide a comprehensive overview of her genre and form defying career.With work ranging from the ironic to melancholy, playful to wise and reaching from the heights and horrors of fantasy to distinctly modern themes and affects, Tove Jansson: Literature and Art brings together literary, comics, film and art scholars to examine creations from across her oeuvre whilst offering insightful new interpretations and approaches. A long-awaited volume for scholars and students as well as a treasure trove for fans, the book, including 60 immaculate illustrations, explores the unique appeal of Jansson’s work, which has captivated readers for decades. Covering the tones and techniques that defined her works, recurrent themes and motifs, the important cultural and social contexts, and adaptations of her creations, Tove Jansson provides a rich look back at a writer and artist whose books have been translated into over 60 languages.

Nordic Noir, Adaptation, Appropriation deploys the tools of current adaptation studies to undertake a wide-ranging transcultural, intermedial exploration, adding an important new layer to the rich scholarship that has arisen around Nordic noir in recent years.

Nordic Noir, Adaptation, Appropriation deploys the tools of current adaptation studies to undertake a wide-ranging transcultural, intermedial exploration, adding an important new layer to the rich scholarship that has arisen around Nordic noir in recent years.